At the center of our worship, both public/corporate and private/individual must not be experience.

Broken hearts in ministry leadership seem to have a common thread of unmet expectation that is inextricably linked to a lack of the right congregational “experience”.

I was at a conference recently, talking about this stuff to worship leaders & planners. I couldn’t help but be broken hearted because I saw a momentary glimpse of their own disappointment. They felt like they weren’t delivering a good “worship experience”, to which I ask the question — what exaclty defines this? And my answer is that experience is secondary to theology. That is, how we worship is second to who and why we worship. This defies experience and instead asks for a statement of standing.

At the center of our worship is not an experience. It is the crucified, buried and ressurected Jesus. Through the sacrifice of the Son we enter into the presence of God the Father by the movement of the Holy Spirit. This is not an experience. This is theological fact.

If we can get Jesus at the center of our worship instead of experience, it would change everything.