Your Brain On God

Decades ago, Nobel Prize winner Roger Sperry posited the “left brain/right brain” theory in neuroscience.  

 

Since then, research has revealed that the brain is more complex and not so binary.

Still, there remains some support for Sperry’s original premise: generally, the left hemisphere of the brain is more verbal, analytical, and linear, while the right hemisphere tends to be more creative, visual, and intuitive.

In the 1990s, neuroscientists and psychologists began to explore the connection between spirituality and physiology, proposing the idea of a singular “God spot” somewhere in the brain’s neural networks.

It turns out it’s not that simple. Just last year, in the journal Nature, neuroscientist Patrick McNamara wrote:

“…brain-imaging studies have shown - unsurprisingly - that religious and spiritual experiences and practices (such as prayer) are associated with the upregulation and downregulation of neural activity in multiple regions in the brain.”

But for the sake of a metaphor, let’s play with the idea that the right brain, with its creative and intuitive inclination, is best at vertically connecting with our creative God, while the left brain is best at horizontal communication with other humans.

So here we go:

I would assume that when preparing your sermon, you pastors pause at various points in your writing and research to ask God about it—or even better, what He wants to say to your congregants. In other words, there’s a mix of left/right brain interactions—a seesaw of vertical and horizontal communication during your preparation.

But when you actually deliver your well-prepared message on Sunday, aside from perhaps an opening prayer, your brain activity focuses primarily on horizontal connections—you’re communicating directly with the people in the room.

Now let me suggest a more complex activity that happens in real time: worship leading.

Worship leaders multitask horizontal and vertical communication simultaneously while technically managing their musicality and instrumentation—all in front of people. A good worship leader is actively worshiping Jesus—that is, intimately communicating with Him—while also maintaining horizontal communication with the church.

In other words, they’re “reading the room,” noticing what God is doing among the people in that moment—including the person standing with arms crossed, lips clamped shut, staring blankly ahead. How does one draw that person into engagement with God while simultaneously listening for the Spirit’s nudges that might shift how you’re playing—or not playing—a particular song?

In reaching a lost world that is drunk on music, it’s critical that we think like a missionary and use the cultural artifact that remains profoundly relevant: music. Plus, use the style that most people are most comfortable with to usher believers into the presence of God for intimate worship.

My contention? it’s more difficult to lead worship in the moment. A good, heart-centered, non-performative worship leader is worth their weight in gold. Of course a lead pastor carries much more overall responsibility, but in the moment of a weekend service, leading worship requires a unique heart, skill set, and balance of both the horizontal and the vertical.

Over the span of about thirty years, I spent years as a worship leader and years as a lead pastor—all in the same church. I can only reflect on my own experience and challenges.

So if you have a good worship leader, give them a sloppy wet kiss. And yes, I remember that song.

And thank Jesus you crossed paths with them. 

Dave Workman | The Elemental Group

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