What is Corporate Encounter

As I start the next chapter of my life, helping worship leaders and talking about worship, I've been trying to find the core of my message. I keep coming back to the idea of a "corporate encounter." At first, I thought, “No one knows what ’corporate encounter’ means; it’s not a buzzword people are searching for or talking about, but then I realized that's exactly why I need to talk about it.

I want to champion the idea of “Corporate Encounter” and help presence-based worship leaders lead in such a manner that regularly brings people into a corporate encounter.

I imagine a world where corporate encounters are a regular, anticipated part of local church gatherings/services.

I don’t know where I got the phrase - I don’t think it was anywhere specific - it was just two words that captured an idea in my heart and mind. I held on to this phrase for a few years, thinking I was all alone in this - till one day in 2022, I was encouraged to visit a church called ‘Mercy Culture’ in Dallas, TX, I went to their website to learn more about it and nearly fell out of my seat. Yep, had to go.

So, what is a corporate encounter? It's when everyone in the room recognizes and responds to God's presence among them. It doesn't have to look a certain way; in fact, I’d hope it would vary in form from week to week and between cultures, denominations, and nations.

You might wonder how this differs from our current approach to worship. Nowadays, we often leave worship services talking about how great the production was. “Worship was really good today”.

But with a true encounter with God, He's the only one on our minds. We're left amazed by His presence. While not every week needs to be a dramatic experience like Moses' burning bush, perhaps we've settled for too little.

We're too easily satisfied. Stephanie Gretzinger says that when we lack God's presence, we tend to focus on production.

In many churches today, good worship is marked by performance and production rather than God's presence. But God wants us to prioritize His presence over performance and focus on the “song of the people” rather than just the “song from the platform”. We’ve become ‘Platform-dependent’. I mean - what would happen to worship in many places if the team didn’t show up, or the sound system broke…

When worship starts and stops from those who lead from the platform, we might have a platform culture. It sounds so normal and logical. But there is a place where the people’s song begins to rise, like waves - only sparked, not controlled by the worship team on the platform. The Lord is helping us rediscover what congregational worship is, or call it “the song of the people” - or perhaps we can capture the concept with the phrase - corporate encounter.

Here are some quick contrasts

Nothing here is mutually exclusive - but we must recognize that one column needs talent and money. The other comes from our relationship with Him and one another. We tend to focus on the one we can control and replicate week after week. But it doesn’t have to be that way…

I hope you feel the same way or that some of what I've shared has helped you see that there is more to worship. This whole newsletter started with a thought, "What if there's more?". I believe the answer is “Yes - and it’s regular Corporate Encounters”

There’s something beyond our current experiences. Instead of leaving this idea to a select few, let's make it for everyone. We just need to be intentional, go after it with determination, and understand the Lord's heart and directions. Let the Spirit guide us to new depths in our gatherings.

You might think that it's up to Him how much He gives, and that's partly true. However, there's something about us pursuing and seeking Him out. There's so much to discover together.

Let's become the worship leaders we know we can be and fulfill His calling on our lives…

Till next time…

You are loved - as much as Jesus is loved. 🤯