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Beyond an “Order of Worship” Facilitating Spiritual Atmosphere

Beyond an “Order of Worship” Facilitating Spiritual Atmosphere. Sources: George Barna, Kennon Callahan seminars John.chandler@vbmb.org. Barna Survey of 1800 Christian Households. www.Barna.org surveys regular (2x+ /month) attenders of Christian worship :

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Beyond an “Order of Worship” Facilitating Spiritual Atmosphere

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  1. Beyond an “Order of Worship”Facilitating Spiritual Atmosphere Sources: George Barna, Kennon Callahan seminars John.chandler@vbmb.org

  2. Barna Survey of 1800 Christian Households • www.Barna.org surveys regular (2x+ /month) attenders of Christian worship: • “When did you last experience the presence of God in worship?”

  3. “When I Last Experienced God’s Presence in Worship” • Instructions: • This is an embedded graph. • To edit this graph simply double-click anywhere on the graph. • When you’re done editing the graph, click outside of the graph to return to PowerPoint.

  4. Conclusions • 32% who regularly attend claim to have never experienced God’s presence in church • 48% have not in the last year • Note: the younger the person, the less likely • Millions regularly attend U.S. worship events, but relatively few worship

  5. Reasons for Poor Worship: Cultural • Burger King spirituality • “Have it your way” • Egocentric, need-meeting expectations imported • Consumer thinking of worship as something God does for us

  6. Reasons for Poor Worship: Congregational • Worldliness • Goal of pleasing people, not God • Educational • Goals of learning about God rather than connecting with God • Information > transformation

  7. Reasons for Poor Worship: Character • Wrong criteria • Professionalism • Peppiness • Willard’s A-B-C’s • Right criteria • Awe, reverence, humility, gratitude • Intimacy with God

  8. Reasons for Poor Worship: “Order” • Premodern: chaos • You look like an incompetent, thoughtless idiot • Modern: order • You look like a cheesy manipulator of unspoken will • Postmodern: chaordic • You look prepared but not scripted

  9. Chaordic: Spirit and Form “I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day …” • Revelation 1:10 • Animating Spirit • Ritual-shaping Form

  10. Spiritual-Ritual • Will attend to non-cognitive, character-related spiritual dynamics within and around the worship event • Will think steadily about formal characteristics of physical, temporal, and interpersonal environment

  11. An alternate image: Worship “Hardware” and “Software” • If the building (hardware) is uncomfortable … • If the time of service is wrong … • … then the spiritual atmosphere will be poor

  12. But … • By attending to hardware and software dynamics, leaders can facilitate an effective, chaordic spiritual atmosphere

  13. “Software” Issues in Worship Atmosphere • 1. Preaching • 2. Music • 3. Personhood • 4. Environmental

  14. 1. “Spiritual” Preaching 1. Preach to prepare people to grow spiritually • Are your goals informational, congregational, ___? 2. Consider “tone” • “Ought/must/should” • People remember twice as much on how one preaches vs. content of what one preaches

  15. Average comprehension level of U.S. adult 7th grade Average linguistic complexity of U.S. evangelical sermon: 12th grade Average U.S. boomer/buster attention span: 6-10 minutes Average U.S. evangelical sermon: 32 minutes “Spiritual” Preaching:Missionaries recognize cultural limitations!

  16. 2. Spiritual Music • Beyond “style” • “sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” (Col.3) • Beyond the cognitive • Music offers access to emotive realms key to spiritual worship and personal transformation

  17. Spiritual Music • Away from presentational and toward the participatory • Recognizing cultural limitations re: music education • Away from the yo-yo of the order of service • 20 minute minimum?

  18. 3. Personhood • Issues of the character of the worship leaders • Philosophy of ministry • The funeral leader? • Follow me?

  19. Effective Worship Leaders • Personally engage in worship • Coach folk to come along in the vacuum

  20. Inscrutably sold out to Christ Fruitful character (Galatians 5:22f) a student of the Bible Devoted to prayer a skilled musician not world-class music is a means to the end submissive to church leaders Characteristics of The Great Worship Leader

  21. An intense worshipper willing to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading Spirit/Form Perceived by others as authentic and genuine Sensitive to the worship climate still growing spiritually in significant ways willing to assess Characteristics of The Great Worship Leader

  22. 4. Environmental • 5 Keys • Prayer • Length of service • “Flow” • Intentional contrasts • Climate details

  23. Environmental: Prayer • Intercessory prayer • for worship attenders • before and during service • for those who may not get there • the “empty chair” • for the event and leaders

  24. Environmental: Length of Service • Culturally determined • Long enough to have people connect deeply with God, cut off when it wanes • Preaching: 32 vs. 6-10

  25. Environmental: Flow • Often more simple than sophisticated • major moves vs. choppy parade • Think “blocks” of time • The incessant announcements • Swoosh?

  26. Environmental: Intentional Contrasts • Beyond hyper-modern cognitive gymnastics • Heart/head • joy/contrition • security/awe • intimacy/reverence

  27. Existing Worship Imbalance Preaching Music • Simple Complex • Stirring Profound • Inspiring Thoughtful • Emotional Intellectual

  28. Existing Worship Imbalance Music Preaching • Simple Complex • Stirring Profound • Inspiring Thoughtful • Emotional Intellectual

  29. Worship Balance Preaching Music • Simple Complex • Stirring Profound • Inspiring Thoughtful • Emotional Intellectual

  30. Environmental: Climate Details • Light • Sound • Temperature • Typos • Length of time on site • Time of day • Local/national news • The bulletin: an excuse not to worship? • how about handing out on the way out?

  31. Facilitating spiritual worship means paying attention to: 1. Cultural conditions that obstruct worship 2. Critical thinking about “spirit”and “form” 3. Praying & planning about “software” issues of preaching, music, personhood, & environment

  32. Non-offensive ritual? Ever-stimulating excitement? Consumer need-meeting? New information? Connection with God Expression of love, need, and gratitude Personal and corporate transformation Congregational mission What is the goal?

  33. Good worship can make Great Christians! • People who have worshiped God profoundly tend to grow in the most remarkable ways as Christians • We can help this happen by facilitating spiritual worship

  34. Beyond an “Order of Worship”Facilitating Spiritual Atmosphere Dr. John P. Chandler www.rasnet.org John.chandler@vbmb.org Copy right John P. Chandler, 2002

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