Encounter Everywhere

There's a growing awareness of the complexities and challenges of the worship industry—tours, artists, albums, all of it.

We often look to popular worship movements and YouTube culture to define what worship means for us. This can lead to a knee-jerk reaction, labeling the worship industry and its artists as negative.

Some believe that small, local teams without famous faces are more authentic. Similarly, there's a notion that simple, stripped-down music is more spiritual than ornate productions.

We can get stuck judging forms of worship, thinking one type is "bad" because it's too complex or commercialized. But what does success in worship really mean?

For me, it's always been about encounters—corporate encounters, personal encounters, team encounters—recognizing and responding to God's presence among us.

The size or complexity of the music doesn't matter. Whether it's a big production or a simple acoustic set, the encounter is what matters.

When Solomon dedicated the temple, God's presence filled the place so profoundly that even the priests couldn't perform their duties. That service had 120 trumpets and probably hundreds of singers—a massive production by any standard. Yet God wasn't repulsed by its grandeur.

He encounters us in both simplicity and extravagance because He loves His children.

Just as parents appreciate both simple and elaborate gifts from their kids, God values our sincere acts of devotion regardless of scale.

Let's not confuse encounter with form. Whether a big worship set or a tiny prayer room session, both can be places of profound encounter.

Let encounter be our success metric. Our Sunday services and set lists should be spaces where we meet Jesus and recognize Him in our songs and one another. The goal is always to see Him as He is in our midst and become more aware of His presence.

I'll discuss this further at the worship mentoring conference in Dallas during my breakout session titled Karaoke Versus Encounter.

Let's pursue encounters with God, no matter the style or size of our worship arrangements.