Is Your Worship Leading Mere Emotional Manipulation? by David Santistevan

The more you lead worship, the better you get at creating emotional experiences.

You become skilled at choosing songs that flow well together and evoke a certain response from people.

Raised hands, loud shouts, resounding claps, unison voices.

You become less concerned with pleasing the heart of God and more preoccupied with what will garner the greatest response.

But I’m wondering today:

• Is our corporate worship in danger?
• Have we become too dependent on songs, sounds, and stages?
• Is our worship simply psychological manipulation?
• How can we be sure our worship is pleasing to God?
• Is a fragrance is rising from the hearts of God’s surrendered, desperate people?

Because I know how to lead worship.

I know how to be a good worship leader with my heart somewhere else.

I know how to organize my songs to have a powerful impact on you. I know what kind of body language to use. I know what worship leader phrases to say that will draw out your shouts and amens.

Is God Pleased with Your Church’s Worship?

In the Bible, God says things like:

• “Away with the noise of your songs.”
• “These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.”
• “But let justice roll like a river and mercy like a never failing stream.”

This isn’t so much a teaching post as much as it is a post asking for your feedback.

What do you think?

How do we keep our worship from psychological manipulation and truly offer the real thing on Sunday morning?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.