When I was leading the
church, my whole week was aimed toward Sunday.
When Sunday was over, I took a day off and then took aim at the next
Sunday. I lived for these special
times! Although I had many other
responsibilities during the course of any given week, making certain that I had
Sunday’s plans well under control and immersed in prayer was pivotal.
Over the years, I developed priorities about the development of worship. These emerged from
·
personal
experiences,
·
reading books and
other materials,
·
attending
conferences and seminars,
·
the seasons of
the Christian year,
·
participation in denominational
emphases,
·
dialogue with
other leaders,
·
participation in
many worship experiences of different traditions and forms, and
·
the study of God’s
Word.
By my very nature, I bring a creative surge to worship planning. I believe that worship should be engaging, fresh, vibrant, meaningful, participatory and relevant! To a certain extent, spontaneity should be allowed for. We are not watchers – we’re worshipers! The experience can be shaped, but it cannot be controlled. Everyone – as well as the leaders - has a part in forming the experience and flow of worship.
In forty-three years of pastoral ministry, I was privileged to see most of the churches I served at least double in size. Thanks be to God! A growing church that is seeing new converts is an exciting place to be! When people are trained to come with an expectant spirit, good things are likely to happen!
I’ll list some constants as far as our planning went:
ü Our purpose is
to bring honor and praise to God!
ü Creative
efforts must serve this purpose, but never overshadow it.
ü Utilizing the
gifts and abilities of the congregation is a high priority. They can do far more than greet and take the
offering.
o Some are gifted musicians to assist in facilitating
meaningful worship.
o Some are gifted readers for sharing scripture lessons and other readings.
o Some are capable of assisting with drama to convey the
message via the arts.
o Some are capable of leading in meaningful prayer
times.
o Some can use humor to present announcements and the
life of the church family.
o Others are suited to add elements of technology to the
practice of worship.
I distinctly made it my
goal not to step onto the platform until it was time to preach the Word of
God! Others are capable of caring for
and leading the rest of the worship experience.
I wanted the people to associate seeing me with receiving a stimulating
message from God’s Word!
Holy Communion is a dramatic expression of God’s sacrifice for our salvation. I always invested deeply in the Sundays when we received the Lord’s Supper!
·
The directions and
invitation were clarified.
·
We made certain
that people knew when children were welcome and how to handle their experience.
·
We prepared
resources for corporate reading that varied every time communion was served.
·
The music/videos
were carefully selected ahead of time to add meaning to the experience.
·
Other elements of
worship were abbreviated to allow appropriate time for Holy Communion without
going unduly long.
·
Prayer stations
were provided where people could receive special prayer with a trusted,
respected leader.
·
We encouraged
people to speak to one another throughout this portion of worship and to pray
together.
We tried to keep David’s statement in
our minds as we planned: [Psalm 122:1]
“I was glad when they said to me,
‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”
Worship is more than an obligation! Worship is something we should look forward
to. It should challenge us in our faith
and walk! It should facilitate our joy
and our pain. People need to be given
the opportunity to minister to one another!
Leaders are present to lead and direct, but not to control or manipulate.
Music is a large component of worship. It can add to or detract from our experience.
·
It must be done
well.
·
It must be led
well.
·
It must invite
participation.
·
In most cases it
should be familiar to the people. I feel
robbed when the worship experience involves songs that I don’t know and have
never heard!
·
It must ‘flow’.
Flow is an important factor in worship! We should aim for a seamless involvement with little or no distractions. Choppy, disconnected elements do not advance our potential to experience God’s presence.
And that really is the end-goal! We want our people to experience the presence of God! We want Him to draw near to bless and touch and minister to the needs of our people. We would hope that any evaluation of our people would find reports that they frequently experience the presence of God in worship.
I always worked in a framework that allowed for freedom and diversity. Churches that rely on liturgy must be especially on guard that the oft-repeated components don’t become boring, monotonous and devoid of meaning. When people begin to feel that every Sunday is exactly alike, we have missed the mark! When the order never is altered and the components are always in exactly the same order, we fuel disconnection!
If we want our people to experience the presence of God, we – as leaders and planners – must keep ourselves clean and our purpose and role clear!
