Is it better to plan and organize your worship, or is worship more authentic when spontaneous?
It often feels like the Holy Spirit is more active in meetings where the spontaneous is allowed than He is among the halls of greater learning. A pastor reading his script for a Sunday sermon does not often compel us in the way that some "off the cuff" preaching tends to. Why is this? Is the Holy Spirit against organized plans?
As a worship leader for over 21 years, I know the value of spontaneity, and yet, what we call "spontaneous" is not often truly so. True spontaneity usually involves rambling and searching as we try to articulate something we have never really considered before. But the moments of power, when someone speaks an unplanned word at just the right moment or a song is born in an instant, or preach a sermon effectively "out-of-pocket," is not the work of true spontaneity but extra preparedness. The spontaneous moments that compel us are generally the result of extra thought, prolonged meditation, prayer, and practice. When the right moment came along, the word was ready because it is always ready.

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