I found this article and another on this app called "Flipboard", which is a really cool way to read about a lot of really cool things on your iPhone/Android (I don't know if there's another mobile OS that supports the app...but check it out!). Just a shameless plug for the app. It's really fantastic.
The article about the Aristotle book focused on the subject of "intuition", which the book spends about a chapter on. Intuition is that "magical" quality that some people seem to possess more of than others. It's that ability which allows one to "just know" something about someone or some situation. And in worship, this quality is invaluable in knowing where your congregation is and how to minister to that. Pigliucci writes,
...these days cognitive scientists think of intuition as a set of nonconscious cognitive and affective processes; the outcome of these processes is often difficult to articulate and is not based on deliberate thinking, but it's real and (sometimes) effective nonetheless....Cognitive scientists treat [intuitions] as quick first assessments of a given situationand it is important to note the last words of the quote: quick first assessment. Pigliucci also writes that intuition can only happen in specific domains, meaning although we may be really great at intuiting when our mothers are angry at us, we can be just as clueless as the next guy when trying to figure out if that girl is flirting with us or if she's just being friendly (and if she is flirting with us, does that mean she actually likes us or she's just flirty?). Finally, he writes that intuitions get better with practice because intuition is all about the brain's ability to pick up on recurring patterns.
So how does this apply to worship and being a worship leader?
Those who know me know that I talk a lot during worship services when I'm leading. It's a tool that I use to help make myself a little more relatable to the people I am leading in worship. Often I try and give some insight into how a specific song we're singing (or maybe, even more specifically, a line or phrase) relates to what the speaker/pastor spoke about and how it relates to our lives. For example, one night during our Thursday night worship services (Vespers) at Greenville College, our speaker's topic was about coming to grips with your identity and how God will use you, just as you are, for His plans and purposes. We (the band) planned on singing All Sons & Daughters' song "All the Poor and Powerless" with a flair of The Digital Age's arrangement (which you can find here). The song's bridge contains the declaration and command "Shout it / Go on and scream it from the mountains / Go on and tell it to the masses / That He is God". I then took a moment to speak to the congregation at the end of the song. Referencing The Great Commission, I told the congregation that it is laid upon everyone to go, therefore, and make disciples. It was the faith and action of 12 men that created the global religion of Christianity, for without their action the movement would have stagnated and died and Jesus would have been forgotten. I spoke the truth of Habakkuk 1:5, that God would do something to the nations in our time--something we wouldn't believe, even if we were told about it. It was a powerful night.
In my mind, this whole post can be summed up in four words: Just Go For It. People have told me how, although they appreciate my music, they often appreciate my prayers (a.k.a. spoken word) more. People have told me that they appreciate when I go "off-book" and just start talking about things like the above paragraph, and I think it's because I intuit where people are and speak Truth (a.k.a. Scripture) into their lives. How do I know what and when to say things? I speak when I need to, and it's usually related to what has already been talked about by the speaker. Oftentimes, I speak at transition periods, either between songs or between major service transitions (like going from worship into the message or from the closing songs to the end). Am I scared I'll say something dumb or incorrect? Of course I am! But I trust in God's grace, and I would rather make a mistake and trust His grace to cover over my humanity than to miss an opportunity to be a part of His plan and potentially speak life into someone that needs it.
Update: Not a few minutes after I had posted this to Facebook, I was cautioned by a friend of mine to not be a "know-it-all" by all this talk of intuition. Please understand, this is not my intent at all! I find it funny that I made a mistake and said something dumb in a post like this (which is meant to help people or incite conversation/thought). The following is added as a clarification. Thanks for keeping me in check Dane ;)
This intuition, this gut feeling, is the Holy Spirit leading me. Now, I don't think that every time you have some information that you've intuited it is the Holy Spirit, but in a worship service covered by prayer, when you have spent time getting your heart prepared to lead God's people in giving something back to Him, nine times out of ten, it will be the Holy Spirit. This is where the risk lies in speaking out during a worship service: if you are not spending time with God in your personal life, or if you haven't spent time with the people in your congregation to know where they are spiritually, you have not prepared well and run a higher risk of looking like a fool and saying something that doesn't have a lot of meaning behind it.
The article that started this post in my head seems to suggest that intuition is a skill that everyone has and can hone to an expert level. God doesn't do things without reason, and every talent/skill that we have and give back to God will bring Him glory. The relationship of Christ and His church is the most beautiful thing about Christianity; that we are chosen to take part in God's story, even though He doesn't need us, never ceases to amaze me. This partnership is the summation of my post. It is through intuition that the Holy Spirit guides us when we need Him to, and it is to this partnership of divine knowledge and human intuition that I trust when I speak in worship services. This article isn't really even about intuition; it's about understanding your talents and how you can use them to bring glory to the God that gave them to you. My intuition is great, but without God, what's the point? If He is not leading my steps, or if I am not chasing after Him as I lead a congregation, then where are we going? Once you adopt this philosophy with every gift and talent you have, becoming invisible, decreasing in your own stature so that Christ may increase in your place, becomes incredibly simple (to understand, not necessarily to do).
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, oh Lord.
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