That’s the Spirit!

I enjoyed being a cheerleader during my college days at Howard Payne University!

Our job was to create enthusiastic spirit from the fans to the team. We had several cheers that were known by the student body. The cheers that were really familiar took less effort on our part to elevate the crowd noise. We were to create spirit!

There are basically two events for cheerleaders – (1) the pep rallies, and (2) the games. Pep Rallies are usually a mixture of cheering, yelling, and fight songs by the school marching band. The “centerpiece” of  a Pep Rally is an address to the student body by the head coach. We were to get the crowd “pumped up” in cheering for  our team!

It occurred to me in a worship service the other day that corporate worship could be confused with a pep rally in some ways.

When I am at a sporting event or pep rally I expect to be manipulated into cheering for my team. However, when I am in worship I don’t want to be manipulated – only humbly led before God’s throne.

A pep rally is aimed primarily at the emotions. A worship service is aimed primarily at the heart. A pep rally promotes spirit (lower case). A worship service follows the Spirit (upper case). A pep rally prepares you for an event. A worship service IS the event.

As fun and exciting as a Pep Rally is, it is no match for a Spirit led worship experience.