Worship that Engages

Janice was leaving the church after worship, when she bumped into Julie in the hallway, "Hey, Janice," Julie smiled. "How's your weekend going?"

"Pretty cool," Janice said, as she gave Julie a hug. "Last night, Jon and I went to a Keith Urban concert. It was awesome!" At that moment, Jon joined the conversation, "Talking about the concert?" he asked. "It was great! You know, you pay sixty bucks for a seat and everybody stands. I wonder why they even bother with seats."

"Yeah, it was really awesome," added Janice. "Everyone was really into it. They had their hands in the air. Some were waving their cell phones - it looked really cool. Some girls in front of us were dancing in the aisle. At one point, Urban came into the crowd, down our aisle, playing his guitar and singing the whole time."

Jon and Janice made their way to the car for the short trip home. Jon was thinking about worship...and the concert. "I wish our worship service was like that."

Janice came right back, "Jon, it was a concert, not a worship service!"

Worship Is Not A Concert

Janice was right. Worship is not entertainment. However, Jon had a point, too. What he was feeling was engagement - or the lack of it, in worship.

In many churches, worship could be more engaging. Why? Because that's God's style!

For creation, God just spoke - and it was created. Yet, when it came to Adam and Eve, God moved to hands-on engagement. Hands in the dirt for Adam and a rib transplant for Eve. For Salvation, God chooses incarnation - Jesus in the flesh, engaged as a part of the culture, interacting, modeling, leading. This is God's nature. Engaging worship is a vehicle God uses for greater impact among worshippers.

Years ago, churches were often built with balconies in the back. Choirs would sing from the balconies. Somewhere along the journey, people started turning around in the pews to look at the choir. Ultimately, in most churches, the trend moved the choir to the front. Most recently that choir has, in many churches, been replaced by a worship team. It's a form of biblical leadership!

Seeker-Driven

During that same journey, church leaders began to think more with the mission side of their brains. They had the right goal, but picked the wrong strategy: they developed seeker-sensitive worship services. This thinking was beyond engagement and visitor-friendly levels. Worship became more simplified - "dumbed down," as some called it. It also became passive: sit, listen, and sing along, if you want.

The strategic error behind this whole trend lies beyond worship altogether. It reflects two of (what I call) the Big Different Ideas - or Biblically Different Ideas - we teach in the Learning Community DVDs used for the Healthy Churches Thrive! Pilgrimage. They are both related to one another. We have drifted so far from the New Testament culture of the church that we have lost sight of these key New Testament paradigms.

(1) We have developed the church as an institution and lost sight of the reality that it is a movement. Therefore, we have reduced so much of what we do to programs, when, in fact, the essence of Christianity is relationships.
(2) We have made the institution a destination even for missions. Consequently, our outreach program is primarily to invite someone to church. This "y'all come" approach is Old Testament and Old Covenant: come to the temple in Jerusalem where you will find God. The New Covenant, for New Testament churches, turns the church inside out: "Go make disciples...."

Getting that straight, at the causative level, paves the way for the freedom to focus on engaging worship that is interactive.

What Does It Look Like?

Does the leader still welcome everyone at the beginning of the service? Sure! Is there opportunity to greet one another? Of course! And it will go longer, as the worship leader recognizes the value of community over the agenda to "get on with real worship."

A good example of engagement in worship is prayer. Here are two examples:

There is often prayer for someone who is installed as a leader, or someone leaving for the mission field, or who has just been baptized. Does the pastor or worship leader speak the prayer? Do they invite the worshippers to extend their hands toward the front to "lay on hands" from a distance? That would be engaging!
Often, there are those who are ill, have lost a loved one, etc. and want prayer. Their names are often listed in the bulletin or prayer requests are collected during the service. In common practice, the leader (pastor or worship leader) prays through the list of people. A variation of this approach is when churches provide "prayer warriors" stationed around the worship space, where people go for prayer. The most engaging option I've seen is practiced by my friend, Mick, at his church in Sheffield, England. Mick announces: "We are going to provide prayer for those who need it. The worship team will play music. There will be words on the screen to sing along, but anyone desiring prayer, just raise your hand - no one will be put on the spot, called forward, or required to say why they want prayer. Now, those nearby, gather around them. Pray for them." Those who are led to pray lay hands on and pray for the person. It's engagingly chaotic in a powerfully spiritual way! It's the priesthood of all believers in worship.

Another dimension of worship is singing. To stay seated during the worship songs leads to passivity. To sit through an occasional contemplative song is fine, but a whole service of sitting reinforces a consumer mentality. It is not engaging.

What do you do with your hands? I was at a worship service where the worship team played the song The Stand (Hillsong United, written by Joel Houston, 2006). Before the song, the leader reminded those in worship that the chorus says, "So I'll stand, with arms high and heart abandoned...." He encouraged people to raise their arms in worship. However, the pastor, who was also up front, stood through the whole song with his hands folded at his waist. This amounts to mixed worship signals. It seemed like schizophrenic leadership. All worship leadership needs to be on the same page of engagement.

What about clapping? Some would connect clapping to entertainment. However, in our interactive culture, I think this could be, for many, a worshipful expression of giving thanks to God, a modern expression of "Amen!" When people clap, worship leaders should clap also, signifying they don't receive it for themselves, but see it as praise to God - like in the Psalms. Also, leaders can model "worshipful applause" by raising their clapping hands higher, lifting praise to God.

Leaders Lead

Worship team members do more than sing and play musical instruments. They lead. I was at a church not long ago where one of the singers had her hands in the pockets of her blue jeans. That leadership modeling visually encourages the worshippers to disengage in a passive stance.

Pastors often sit unengaged until it is their turn to lead preaching, announcements, or prayers. However, the way they look, at any moment, is an act of leadership: good or bad! They are cheerleaders for worship - "leaders of good cheer," also known as praise.

We live in a highly visual, interactive world. The church through the centuries has employed whatever was available to engage people for worship: from stained glass to worship dramas. Today we have screens, video clips, a variety of instruments, and a highly interactive group of people in every aspect of their lives. Help them to engage in worship!