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: • “When did you last experience the presence of God in worship?”

“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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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?

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

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

Beyond an “Order of Worship” Facilitating Spiritual Atmosphere