Here are a few thoughts that I wrote in response to our Pastor's request for dialogue on what Sunday Worship should be about:
My wish for Sunday morning is for people to come away with a fresh new excitement and passion for God. I believe the Bible uses the term zeal. I think Worship should be exciting and vibrant. The atmosphere in the building should be buzzing with joy that comes from knowing God's grace and goodness. Worship songs and activities should focus on who God is and what God has done, is doing, and will do. I think Sunday mornings should engage our minds, emotions and senses. Currently our times together are primarily focused on music and the word (essential elements no doubt!). I would like to see us incorporate other things like readings, drama, art, dance, history, literature, instrumental music, liturgy, silence, confession, testimony, prayer and communion. I would like more candlelight and other sensory elements (JB's use of a cross this past winter was very effective). I believe that believers should enter worship with hearts already attuned to God (something I personally struggle with). I believe that we do not pray enough before and during our time of worship. I believe that worship should evoke response and be participatory. The typical "invitation" needs to be retooled. If we are honest and "real", the entire congregation (myself included) should be at the altar everyweek. How awesome of a testimony would that be? I believe that Sunday mornings should not be stuck in a rut (5 songs and a sermon). Sometimes, the people need the Word before they sing. Sometimes the Word can come in the form of song alone. There is no Biblical mandate for what a Service should look like. I believe we have the freedom to mix it up a little. Try new things. Experiment. Finally, I believe that believers should approach Sunday morning worship far more seriously than we currently do. We should come to church with the fear of God on our hearts and with anticipation that GOD IS PRESENT among us. Too often we just show up expecting the worship team and pastor to do all the work. We need to do more than merely sing along, stand and sit on cue, and "listen". This all sounds great as I write it, but how do we implement it? I don't pretend to live all of these ideals out in my own life, so is it fair to expect a whole church to? I hope I haven't stepped on too many toes here (cue Bono: "Am I buggin' you? I don't mean to Bug ya."). Take what you will from this. I welcome any and all responses.
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Here's my pastor's email:
Hey Everyone,
I am sending this email to you because you are either on the worship leadership team or you are recognized as a leader at Mt. View. First of all, thanks for all you do to build up the kingdom in Mt. View and beyond. The reason for the email is the staff needs help. We are in the process of evaluating the plethora of ministries we have going at Mt. View and want to define what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. We (the staff) have been going through a great book by Andy Stanley called 7 Practices of Effective Ministry. It is a great book, but the first step he sets forth is one that has really hit home with the three of us (again, the staff – Gary, Matt, and me). That first step is “Clarify the Win.”
The premise is that everyone loves to be a part of a winning team or project. So, our question for each area is “what’s a win for this?” For the church as a whole we looked at our mission which comes from the Great Commission “to help people discover their need for Jesus Christ and journey together in a growing relationship with Him.” We asked the question, how do we know when we’re doing that? Our answer came out to be that we are winning when a person is “Sundays, Strategic Service, and Small Group.” In other words, when an individual has made the transition from lostness to being committed to Sunday worship, serving in a ministry that matches their SHAPE, and participating in a Small Group (LIFE Group, SS) then that’s a win. We can’t simply measure salvations because there is more to becoming a disciple than getting saved – that is only the beginning.
All that to say this – we are in the process of praying and thinking about “what is a win for our Sunday morning worship services?” Here is where we need your input. The interesting thing is that we have all done these so long, maybe we’ve lost our focus to the point that we can’t pinpoint the answer to this question. Keep in mind – we can’t say “people getting saved.” That’s not our win but God’s. We cannot save people. Here are the basic thoughts we’ve had so far…
Followers and seekers alike to leave with God on their mind.
People leaving knowing they were in the presence of God.
To create an environment where God is free to move. (have to be careful in how we express this)
People leave with a desire for more.
People are inspired to pursue God more.
People to have an unforgettable experience with God.
This was a great dialogue but we are looking for God to give us something simple and measurable that expresses exactly what He wants to see happen. So, please send your thoughts and feel free to Re: ALL. Thanks
Good post Jeremy. You have addressed some thought provoking concerns about worship - which is really the core of what it means to be a disciple. To be a follower of Jesus means to worship.
How many hours have we spent discussing liturgy? So you could probably guess that I would agree with you about those elements you would like to see incorporated. Of course, I have never worshipped at Mt. View, so my comments must necessarily be limited. But I know that I appreciate those same elements wherever I worship.
Of course, I also agree with you about those worship services that feel like it was just the pastor and music minister's "show". I refer to this as the entertainment complex of Church. We do not come to worship to be entertained, or to have someone else worship for us. So churches must do things in worship that lead congregants to actively worship with their senses. And of course, you mention all of that, and we are in agreement.
So I guess I wrote all of this to say a hearty amen to everything you mentioned.
My one concern is about the attitude of "winning" that relates to how to do worship. Winning connotes a competition...and what is the worship of Almighty God competing against?
It sounds like what is really being striven for here is some measure of success. And that attitude causes me a small level of discomfort.
Perhaps a different way of looking at the issue is to ask, is the congregation dissatisfied with worship?
If the answer is no, then there is probably no need to change anything. If worship is leading the community into the presence of God, and helping to form the identities of the people as the image of God, and the Body of Christ to the world, then this e-mail may be unnecessary.
But the very fact that such a dialogue was begun implies that there is some measure of dissatisfaction, and that perhaps some changes may be necessary.
Then you have to ask certain questions. Is the worship of the community leading the people into the presence of God? If not, then why not? Is worship aiding in our formation as the Body of Christ? If not, then why not?
But instead of approaching these questions like the world does...asking such things as "what is a win for us"...perhaps a better way of approaching this is, how is our current worship matching up with what we believe and teach theologically? How can we better bring them together? What can we do to bring the community into unity so that we worship as one body? What can we bring to worship that will exalt God and humble ourselves as His servants?
Those are just a few of my thoughts. I hope that my small critique is taken as just that - a minor point that is hopefully just a semantic point. I do not know the pastor or the leadership team of Mt. View, so I of course do not know their hearts or their minds. I am just responding to what I have read off the black type against the white background.
May God bless Mt. View and the people who are growing in Christ there.
What we're really talking about is Postmodern Worship. Our generation is moving away from the traditionalism of our parents, grandparents, et. al. We're looking for a deeper personal relationship to God and a community with which we can relate in relevant ways. We want a 'non-religious' experience, stripped of man's expectations and composed of 'Pure God'. The unchurched of today are, in fact, interested in being spiritual, but not in the confines of religious traditionalism. They want relationships and trust. The 1950s church service model [evangelical] has become outdated as a tool for reaching today's unchurched 20/30/40-somethings. (Willow Creek calls them 'irreligious')
There are amazing possibilities for reaching these people (and growing in our own relationships). But we have to listen to the Spirit, be able to deal with change in our traditions, and learn to think in new and creative ways.
There's a whole bunch more about this subject here;
http://www.newwway.org/practical_considerations_for_postmodern_sensitive_churches.htm
Didn't fit. Try this Web address;
http://tinyurl.com/oul6x
What a great post. I found your blog on "Retrieving the tradtion". When I read your post on Sunday morning worship, I went crazy. I was so glad to see I was not the only one that felt that way. I also want to shaire with you that my church Woodmen Valley Chaple here in Colorado Springs is doing the very thing you talk about. We have really started to open up to many diffrent types of arts, Like Drama, visual arts (Painting etc.), Diffrent types of music and even Dance. We have a tech crew that runs sound, lighting and even video which we use to send to another location here in the springs that we also worship from. My church is very large, but you can feel right at home here. when we have our worship services you can really feel God's presence.
One worship service we had an unbeleviable serivce. the worship team played while down at the front we had artists painting what God inspired them to paint. we also sang alot of worship songs and there was no preaching. it was a very diffrent type of service, but what a worship time. It is hard to understand what it was like unless you were there.
Now I must say that at frist I was a little conncern that all this was just a big show or a form of entertainment, and I msut tell you that this is not the case with this church. Even with all the lights and art and the fancey things they do, they go out of thier way to make sure that you understand that they are here to worship him and it is not a show or about the worship team or even the pastor, its all about worshiping the living God.
I guess all I am trying to say is that there is at lest one church out there that is not afraid to change things around in order to reach others for him and we are using the arts to do just that.
If you ever get out to Colorado Springs, stop by Woodmen Valley Chaple and see what I am talking about. Our services are 1 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. Agian this was a great post and I look forward to reading more.
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