Can You Engage Both Heart and Mind?

There's an old joke among Meyers-Briggs users. Question: what happens when a passionate, hyperexpressive, exquisitely emotional feeler meets a logical, hyperrational, Mr. Spock-type thinker?

Answer: they get married.

What that means for pastoral counseling we must leave for another time. But too often deep thinking and profound feeling never meet in the one place they are most needed: in worship. How can we worship in ways that both engage the mind and touch the heart?

Some churches specialize in generating emotion. The platform people are expert at moving worshipers to laughter or tears. Attenders gradually learn to evaluate the service in terms of the emotion they feel.

In time, however, the law of diminishing returns sets in. Prayers are offered in highly emotive style and bathed in background music. Stories have to get more dramatic, songs more sentimental, preaching more histrionic, to keep people having intense emotional experiences.

Such worship is often shallow, sometimes artificial, and rarely reflective. Little attention is given to worshiping with the mind. It produces people who have little depth or rootedness. They may develop a "zeal for God, but not according to knowledge" (Rom. 10:2). They become worship junkies, searching for whichever church can supply the best rush.

This is Scarecrow worship: it would be better if it only had a brain.

On the other hand, some churches focus keenly on cognitive correctness. They recite great creeds, distribute reams of exegetical information, craft careful prayers ahead of time. And yet the heart and spirit are not seized with the wonder and passion that characterize those in Scripture who must fall on their faces when they encounter the living God. No one is ever so moved that she actually moves.

This is tragic because, as Dallas Willard writes, "to handle the things of God without worship is always to falsify them."

Those who attend such services may be competent to spot theological error, but the unspoken truth is they're also a little bored. Their worship is dry—it does not connect with their deepest hurts and desires. Rarely does it generate awe or healing, and never raucous joy.

This is Tin Man worship: if it only had a heart.

Some attempts to bring head and heart together have led not to the glimmering Emerald City, but to the Wicked Witch's forbidding dungeon guarded by drones. At times we've gotten it backwards, managing to combine in a single service the thoughtfulness usually associated with chandelier-swinging Pentecostals with the emotional expression of Scottish Presbyterians.

There must be a better way. How can we pursue worship that links well-ordered minds to overflowing hearts?

Yellow brick makers

People have the tendency to approach worship as consumers. The focus is on my experience, sitting back with arms folded and saying to those leading worship, Wow me. Do something to grab my attention, catch my interest. They assume worship is like watching a movie; it's something I critique afterward.

Can you imagine the Israelites, freshly delivered from slavery, before a mountain that trembles violently with the presence of God (Exod. 19), muttering: "We're leaving because we're not singing the songs we like. Like that tambourine song, how come they don't do that tambourine song anymore?"

"I don't like it when Moses leads worship; Aaron's better."

"This is too formal—all that smoke and mystery. I like casual worship."

"It was okay, except for Miriam's dance—too wild, not enough reverence. And I don't like the tambourine."

No, Scripture doesn't read like that. The people were filled with awe and wonder and trembling and hope and fear, because there in the middle of nowhere, before this bunch of ex-slaves, was God.

Getting a head start

In our day—when the beauty of liturgical traditions, the freedom of charismatic expression, and the intellectual rigor of the Reformation are being cross-fertilized—we have a wonderful opportunity to pursue worship that balances intellect and passion.

We must address the issue head-on, so we often challenge our congregation:

1. Prepare yourself to worship

. Football players prepare for the big game. Sales people prepare for a big pitch. And worshipers should prepare to worship, both mind and heart. We frequently tell our worship attenders that they should prepare at home and even in the car enroute to the service.

2. Invest yourself fully in each moment we're together, regardless of how you feel.

Too often in worship people experience what psychologists speak of as mindlessness. They go on auto-pilot. Worshipers need to be taught not to wait for something to grab their attention. They need to say to God, "I'm fully present—listening, praising, confessing, responding—every moment of worship. I offer myself fully to you."

3. Learn to make the most of the service.

Some people need to be encouraged to become freer in their expressiveness. We talked about that the week after Mark McGwire hit his 62nd home run. The stadium erupted with celebration: hugs, high fives, roars of joy, Sammy Sosa blowing kisses, McGwire's arms raised in triumph.

Some worshipers need to say something like this: "I'm not going to raise my hands way up like that in church. After all we're not celebrating home run number 62. But since we are celebrating that Jesus died for my sins, saved me from hell, overcame my guilt, was raised from the dead, and will share his triumph with me through eternity, maybe I'll at least put my hands in my lap palms up."

On the other hand, some may become so expressive that they create a distraction. They need clear, gentle (sometimes not-so-gentle) reminders to balance their desire for expressiveness with what will help the body. Give worshipers clear boundaries.

Putting hands on holy things

We have two goals as leaders of balanced worship. First, remove obstacles that prevent people from worshiping. Second, lead worshipers to use every expression at our disposal to ascribe greatness, goodness, and beauty to our God.

If we aren't highly intentional about using a variety of means for worship, our plans for encountering God will fall into a rut.

In many churches on the contemporary side, worship is almost synonymous with singing. A string of songs broken only by an impromptu prayer or two won't necessarily engage the mind. Besides, in any congregation there will be people who are not particularly musical, and if music is the only expression of worship, they leave untouched.

We must pursue worship that links well- ordered minds to overflowing hearts.

Music, Scripture, visual arts, prayer, silence—all these and more must be pressed into service to involve the whole person in praising the fullness of God. Here are some elements we use to bring Scarecrow and Tin Man together in worship:

Reading of Scripture.

Ironically, churches that claim the highest devotion to the authority of Scripture often neglect its public reading in worship. It's either not read at all, read merely as part of the sermon, or read casually and without preparation. Scripture deserves better!

Sometimes we have Scripture read by a number of people trained in drama. Sometimes we present it visually on screens, perhaps accompanied by music or visual images.

Scripture reading requires thoughtful preparation to be effective.

Teaching moments.

We often spend five minutes on a brief teaching. A pastor will explain something about the character of God or an aspect of doctrine that relates to what we are about to express in worship. The rhythm of learning and worship helps to enrich both.

Visual enhancements.

A friend of ours commented recently that the lack of symbols at most of our services made worship harder for him—his eyes didn't have much to do. Some churches have rich traditions of color and beauty that make worship a feast for the eyes; our church is still working on this.

When we do, it can be powerful. At our baptism services, we place a large wooden cross at the center of the stage. As people come to be baptized, they first pin to the cross a list of sins they've written out (in a contemporary touch, occasionally someone pins up a list of sins stored on a computer disc). When the baptisms are done, the sight of that cross covered with lists of rebellion and regret for which Christ died is a powerful expression of God's mercy and forgiveness.

Opportunities to respond.

Worshipers need ways, in addition to singing, to express their hearts to God. We may give people a few moments for self-examination and confession, sometimes using a structure such as Psalm 139:23-24. We may invite them to write down blessings they've received or prayer concerns. Sometimes we simply sit quietly before the Lord in silence.

In one memorable service, we gave everyone small pen lights; after darkening the room, we asked those who had become Christians through the ministry of this church to shine their lights. The sea of lights that illumined the room impressed upon us the goodness of God in a manner beyond words. Years later people still talk about that moment.

Storytelling. We share stories of how God has been active in the lives of our congregation. Sometimes this is done by interview, occasionally by video, or the story might be written out and read by someone else. But few things have the ability to move the heart God-ward like a true story.

Few things have the ability to move the heart God-ward like a true story.

Sacred movement.

Finding people with the right giftedness in this area is a challenge. When it works, dance can express the desire of the heart for God in a unique way. This may involve professionals who bring a high degree of artistry, but there are other possibilities. A church in Ethiopia used a team of six girls around the age of 12 who had been trained to do simple choreographed movements during a worship song.

A related expression is signing. Many churches offer a signing ministry for the hearing impaired during services. Having the signing take place on the platform gives a beautiful visual expression to worship. Recently we had a "signing choir" of about 12 people, some of whom were hearing impaired, others who serve as signers, to help lead us in worship, and it was a moment of great beauty and poignance. In this case, head, heart, and hands joined together in worship.

Planning for head and heart

We have a team to plan worship. One change we've made is to assign different team members to be responsible for planning each segment. The service can never reach its creative potential if a single person has to plan the whole thing. By having different people own the elements, we are more likely to develop an invigorating but balanced service. We may not use all the elements each week, but we want to keep growing in our ability to use all our resources.

Those planning worship must answer two vital questions:

1. What do we want people to understand?

2. What do we want people to feel?

Of course, God may move during worship in ways no one anticipated. But if we aren't clear on how we hope worship will engage minds and hearts, we're not likely to experience it during the service.

We've found it helpful to have one person in charge of the big picture, so the entire service flows together. Without this, a service may feel disjointed and sometimes even contradictory. We talk about a clutchless transition. When a moving worship moment is followed by an inappropriately lighthearted announcement, the gears grind in protest. With a big picture person owning the whole service, elements can be shifted smoothly.

The single most important aspect of balanced worship, though, is making sure the hearts and minds of those who plan and lead are fully engaged and devoted. When this happens, moments will come when worshipers feel and understand God in ways no one could have planned.

John Ortberg is teaching pastor and Pam Howell is director of New Community at Willow Creek Community Church 67 E. Algonquin Rd. South Barrington IL 60010 Randy Lyhus