I was sitting in a church I attend when I visit family, and happened to be sitting behind a row of high school boys. Observing the service and watching these boys' lack of participation, brought this thought to mind:
The church service is not about the Body getting together to BE the Body, but rather to come to God AS the Body. We ARE the Body, including high school boys! Our corporate worship experience should be formatted/focused on coming to God AS the body, expressing our worship together, reflecting the diversity of our group in a way that affirms the truths we believe. Greeting time, singing, songs that express intimacy or emotion, etc. may be fine. But if those who “organize the church service” go about their task without acknowledging that a high school boy will be in the service (or a grandmother of 70, or a single mom, or a man with cancer, etc) who has come to express worship to God, then the service will be conducted in such a way as if to require all the attendees to worship God like the song leader or the pastor, not as the Body.
Yes, there is time to pray for one another and focus our attention on meeting each other's needs. But I think our focus on expressing our feelings to God, making visitors feel welcome, waiting to feel the presence of God, is too egocentric and “man-centered” as opposed to focusing on the God we all serve and being thoughtful to give each one a means to worship God in a corporate venue.
This may sound like I'm promoting an individualistic preoccupation, however, I am encouraging just the opposite. Only when we acknowledge the diversity of the Body, recognizing each one has something to offer, can we truly approach God AS a body, instead of as a bunch of individuals sitting in the same room at the same time. It might be a minor twist of distinction, but so is tuning a guitar string. The slightest ease or pull of tension in a certain direction makes all the difference in the world.