Copyright 2008 © Emmaus Road Mennonite Fellowship
Worship can't be dead. People can be. The Word of God is living, active, and life-giving. It isn't liturgy that makes people insincere - insincerity exists in every religious tradition and in every congregation. People are capable of “going through the motions” faithlessly in any worship experience - no matter how spontaneous, casual, or exuberant the praise. For that matter, enthusiasm can be evoked at a concert or a ball game.
Mere enthusiasm is not authentic worship either. At Emmaus Road Mennonite Fellowship, we are very much concerned about practicing and passing on a living faith. But it is the Spirit of God through the “living and active” Word of God that brings life to God's people, not our own attempts to be fervent. Our worship is grounded in both the proclamation and response of God's Word, and we trust that if people are given an opportunity to hear God speak, the Spirit will bring life.
Won't this worship become monotonous?