Back at it - Worship planning
I have been sidelined for a while with some arm surgery and typing with one hand and one finger makes a slow blog post. So now I am up to three fingers and here I go again.
For a few blogs in a row I am going to comment on a list of observations I have been making about church life in Eastern North Carolina. My goal in doing so is to hopefully spark some thought on the readers part as to what God might say to you as a result that you can take away.
This post I want to talk about worship planning.
Here is what I see happening in many churches. A standard order of worship has been etched that moves from week to week. The music leader adds fresh hymn numbers, song tittles or chorus information. The pastor will insert usually a text and topic, the secretary will fill in the rest and voila, worship is planned for this Sunday.
Problem is , no one actually planned worship. Someone may have planned a service, there is a huge difference.
May I suggest some steps for worship planning?
First step. Make a plan to have a plan. The pastor ought to lead but everyone who will be part of the service ought to be involved as you take a block of time and focus on how you are going to lead the worshippers to worship.
Second step. Decide on a good model for worship. You can use Isaiah 6, or one of many Psalm models or the Revelation Model. The main point I am making here is that you ought to design your worship service out of a Biblical pattern or else you will not have a guide for meaning.
Step three. Pray through and thoughtfully plan elements. By this at each of the steps of the model, ask, "What will we do this week that will aid the worshipper to apply the meaning of this particular element?" (Such as adoring God, repenting of sins, receiving forgiveness, making an offering etc. )
Step four. Make assignments. Who will handle each element and how.
Step five. Walk through it. I know someone is ready to say, "Hey why are you doing all this, why don't you just depend on the Spirit?" The answer is that we have wrongfully assigned spontaneous lack of planing to the work of the Spirit.
Step six. Go do it like you really were doing it for God. You get that don't you.
Worship services are misnamed unless worship takes place. Worship does not happen just because you had a service. How is it that we have come to assume that such an awesome experience such as worship of God could be treated so casually. If this really is for God, then does it now make sense that it ought to have our best effort?
For a few blogs in a row I am going to comment on a list of observations I have been making about church life in Eastern North Carolina. My goal in doing so is to hopefully spark some thought on the readers part as to what God might say to you as a result that you can take away.
This post I want to talk about worship planning.
Here is what I see happening in many churches. A standard order of worship has been etched that moves from week to week. The music leader adds fresh hymn numbers, song tittles or chorus information. The pastor will insert usually a text and topic, the secretary will fill in the rest and voila, worship is planned for this Sunday.
Problem is , no one actually planned worship. Someone may have planned a service, there is a huge difference.
May I suggest some steps for worship planning?
First step. Make a plan to have a plan. The pastor ought to lead but everyone who will be part of the service ought to be involved as you take a block of time and focus on how you are going to lead the worshippers to worship.
Second step. Decide on a good model for worship. You can use Isaiah 6, or one of many Psalm models or the Revelation Model. The main point I am making here is that you ought to design your worship service out of a Biblical pattern or else you will not have a guide for meaning.
Step three. Pray through and thoughtfully plan elements. By this at each of the steps of the model, ask, "What will we do this week that will aid the worshipper to apply the meaning of this particular element?" (Such as adoring God, repenting of sins, receiving forgiveness, making an offering etc. )
Step four. Make assignments. Who will handle each element and how.
Step five. Walk through it. I know someone is ready to say, "Hey why are you doing all this, why don't you just depend on the Spirit?" The answer is that we have wrongfully assigned spontaneous lack of planing to the work of the Spirit.
Step six. Go do it like you really were doing it for God. You get that don't you.
Worship services are misnamed unless worship takes place. Worship does not happen just because you had a service. How is it that we have come to assume that such an awesome experience such as worship of God could be treated so casually. If this really is for God, then does it now make sense that it ought to have our best effort?
posted by Phil | 10:10 AM
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