The Worship Quote of the Week for (09/23/1997):

Heart and Mind Pastors and worship leaders often wrestle with the delicate balance between fact and feeling in worship, between the objective and the subjective aspects of our response to God. Today's WORSHIP QUOTE OF THE WEEK comes from John Stott and deals with the heart and the mind in worship. HEART AND MIND The first characteristic of heart-worship is that it is rational; the mind is fully involved in it. For the 'heart' in Scripture is not simply equivalent to the emotions, as it usually is in common parlance today. In biblical thought the 'heart' is the center of the human personality and is often so used that the intellect is more emphasized than the emotions. Thus, the exhortation in Proverbs 23:26, 'My son, give me your heart,' has often been interpreted as an entreaty for our love and devotion. It has served as a convenient text for many sermons on whole-hearted discipleship. But in reality it is a command to listen, to pay attention, to sit up and take notice, an appeal more for concentration than for consecration." -John Stott, CHRIST THE CONTROVERSIALIST, InterVarsity Press, 1970, p. 162, as collected in AUTHENTIC CHRISTIANITY: FROM THE WRITINGS OF JOHN STOTT, compiled by Timothy Dudley-Smith, InterVarsity Press, 1995. [Lord, teach us that heart-worship is mindful worship. Amen!] Have a great week, Chip Stam