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”

within last month

41%

1-12 months ago11%

not in past year16%

never have32%

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

“Spiritual” Preaching: Missionaries recognize cultural limitations!

• 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

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

Characteristics of The Great Worship Leader

• 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

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

• Simple Complex• Stirring Profound• Inspiring Thoughtful• Emotional Intellectual

MusicPreaching

Existing Worship Imbalance

• Simple Complex• Stirring Profound• Inspiring Thoughtful• Emotional Intellectual

MusicPreaching

Worship Balance

• Simple Complex• Stirring Profound• Inspiring Thoughtful• Emotional Intellectual

Music Preaching

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

What is the goal?

• 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

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.orgCopy right John P. Chandler, 2002