Traveling
around the country observing and critiquing worship services in consultations to
help congregations better engage their community and enhance their mission
effectiveness has proved enlightening. Through these many opportunities to see
and reflect on the state of worship in our churches, I've considered how some
very simple changes can bring about dramatic improvement in passion, freshness,
and authenticity. If you're looking to advance the climate of your worship, here
are three common areas for improvement that are easy to make regardless of your
church's size, location or style of worship.
1.
Enliven your reading of God's
Word.
I'm amazed how often the
presentation of God's Spirit-breathed, life-giving Word is read with about as
much interest as a grocery list. Often, the reader, whether lay or staff, uses
about two "notes" of vocal inflection which, musically speaking, sounds like a
boring recitative - any number of syllables chanted on one boring note followed
by no more musical interest than a brief solitary change in pitch - down a whole
step on the final syllable of a phrase. Consider these sentences from the book
of John which I've set graphically into a "two note recitative style" of
monotony similar to what I hear God's great Word subjected to in our
churches:
"Now my heart is
troubled and what shall I say? '
Father save me from this hour'?
Father glorify your
name!" (John 12:27-28)
Consider instead, how this reading
would sound with the inflection, pauses and emphases that God's holy Word
rightly deserves!
"Now! (dramatic pause) my
HEART is TROUbled (medium pause) and
WHAT shall I SAY? (pause). (dramatically and
deliberately) FA-ther -- GLOri-fy - your --
NAME!"
It's hard to depict this
non-aurally, but hopefully you get the idea, using your own best imagination and
memory of what awesome reading sounds like. Why does the reading of God's Word
deserve anything less than the finest heartfelt and authentic inflection to
match its spiritual tone, content, and import? When I hear the vocal inflections
on any TV show or commercial I get jealous for the Lord: would that His Word be
portrayed at least as beautifully as the dullest commercial on
television!
2.
Enlarge your prayer topics beyond
the sick and mourning.
In an effort to show loving care
for people, the main prayers are often reduced to a laundry list of dull
recitation: names of the sick and mourning with the petition that the Lord would
"be with" them followed by "Lord in your mercy; Hear our prayer." First, news
flash, God IS with them whether we pray that or not - that's what He promised He
would do - to the very end of the age. More than that, He has already
especially promised to be close to those who are hurting ("The Lord is
close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm
34:18), so what's with all these "be with" prayers?
If "be with" prayers must be
prayed, maybe it would be more useful to pray that they would fully "sense"
God's presence, or that they would "fully recognize" His loving comfort and care
or that God would move US to show them physical compassion as the hands of
Christ.
Second, where is the thanksgiving? Considering the long lists of
sick people I hear in many congregational prayers, I'm surprised there is
simultaneously so little thanksgiving for the healing and comfort of the same.
Did God stop answering our prayers with gracious mercy and miracles? Is no one
ever getting well or are they all still in the hospital? Is no one receiving
comfort or encouragement or is everyone languishing on their couches of despair?
Was Nietzsche right that "God is dead" or do we still worship a resurrected Lord
who is Himself interceding for us at the throne of the Father and still sending
us His Comforter and Healer? Why are our petitions so badly trumping our
thanksgivings? Philippians 4:6 makes it clear that our requests should occur in
the same breath as our thankful remembrance for all of God's benefits: "Do not
be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
Third, why are petitions
for the sick and suffering in our churches completely overshadowing every other
worthy topic of petition? Even the most cursory study of the Lord's Prayer which
we hold dear as the 'model prayer' has only one petition out of seven asking for
physical needs ("Give us this day our daily bread"). The other six petitions are
all about our spiritual needs or God's Kingdom and glory so why
don't our worship prayers have that same kind of balance?
What about
other topics in general, like the salvation of people in our neighborhoods and
spheres of influence, prayers for godly teachers and mayors, protection for our
nation from all sorts of evil, for the growth of God's Kingdom in and through
our churches, confession for our failures to be salt and light, petitions for
godly people to be raised up into positions of influence in our godless public
media and thousands of other spiritual needs of great concern? "I urge, then,
first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for
everyone- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and
quiet lives in all godliness and holiness" (1 Tim 2:1-2).
A good way to plan prayers for the
weekend services would be with a Bible in one hand and the local newspaper in
the other with spiritual needs and the advancement of God's Kingdom in our
community and nation at the forefront of our topics.
3.
Be attentive to the Spirit for
transitions between elements of worship.
Too many worship elements are left
to stand alone without any connectedness between them. I once overheard a son
ask his father, "How many more things do we have left to do?" as
he scanned his bulletin. That's a perfect example of the problem in the way we
worship. It's as though we're checking off a list of "things to do in worship"
rather than seeing ourselves as participants in an unfolding, soul-satisfying
drama that carries us along as on eagle's wings before the very throne of God. A
song or hymn is sung, then we're summarily told to stand, or to sit, or to turn
to page 3 in the bulletin or to page 246 in the hymnal. A better transition
would be to explain why we're moving from one thing or the next, or better yet,
to say something briefly that ties the two things together in a
meaningful way. This is not hard to do but it requires spiritual
alertness.
Brief is best - I'm encouraging
transitions, not sermons. Here is an example which shows the difference between
checking off "things in a row" versus making "smooth, spiritual transitions of
connectedness" in both traditional and contemporary
worship: | 
