I define ‘manipulation’ in congregational worship as: causing people to have an emotional response apart from the root of the truth and the fruit of long-term change.
God has designed music to move us emotionally. What a gift! The error of manipulation comes when the emotional power of music replaces the truth, so that what stirs us is not the glory of God in Christ, but the vibe.
Only God – by His Spirit through the word of the gospel – can bring about lasting change, conforming us into the likeness of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). That, however, doesn’t make music an enemy. As a friend of mine says: ‘We need to be moved by truth, and we need to be moved by truth.’ God has given us music for this very purpose.
