“Intimacy In Worship”

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St.Stephen’s University, Essentials Green Online Course with Dan Wilt

INTIMACY – a posture of the heart!!

I love this view on intimacy, it’s encouraging, and exciting. Too often in my experience a style or genre has determined whether something is intimate or not. If it’s a mellow song, quiet and reflective it’s bracketed ‘intimate.’ Romance is one of those notions that gets confused too. We think if it’s lights down low, roses, dinner for two, it’s romantic. Yet laughing, joy and fun is some of the best romance out there. I wonder why we do this?

Dan Wilt suggested that intimacy is a posture of the heart, that it has nothing to do with style, and everything to do relationship, safety, and mutual self-disclosure. This is freeing stuff, when in a position like mine you have opinions shared with you regularly on what songs we should or shouldn’t do, what we’re doing wrong, where we’re missing the boat with intimacy, and all that jazz. I certainly feel validated in my choice of some more celebratory songs that express feelings and emotions that we haven’t often sung, because, in light of ‘intimacy being a heart posture’, celebration and joy, shouting and dancing no longer appear to be a move away from intimacy, but rather a greater expression of it.

So i feel encouraged with something that rings true in my heart, yet i feel challenged at the same time. I must continue to pursue intimacy, to push in, to come near, to posture  my heart in the right way that mutual self-disclosure, self-revealing and vulnerability actually happen with God. 

Whatever song i sing, may it draw me near and invite me into conversation with Him.

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