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Practicalissuesinworshipministry:ACaseStudy
Thesenotesfromafictionalchurchmeetingaredesignedtorepresentsome
fairlytypicalcommentsaboutworshipservicesforyourconsideration.
“Atarecentchurchmeeting,personAsuggestedthatthereshouldbeagreater
varietyofspecialmusic.
PersonBsaidthatpeopleweren’tsingingaswellastheyusedto,andit’sbecauseof
allthesenewsongsthatnobodyknows.Weshouldsingmoreofthegreathymnsof
thefaith.
PersonCdidn’tenjoysinginghymnsbecausethereweretoomanywordsandthey
weredirge‐likeandboring.
PersonDsaidtheyalwaysenjoyeditwhentheworshipserviceflows,andthey
wouldlikeustodoseveralsongstogether.
PersonBsaidshecan’tstandupforverylong,sodoingseveralsongstogetheris
difficultandbecomespainful.
PersonCsaidthatwedidn’thavetostandupforallofthesongs,butPersonEsaid
that,ifyousitdownwhileothersarestandingyoucan’tseethewordsonthescreen.
PersonFwouldlikeprintedmusictosingfrom.
PersonAwonderedifwecouldwelcomenewcomersandgetthePastorsand
leaderstointroducethemselves.Itwouldhelppeopletofeelmoreathome.
PersonDagreedandthoughtwecouldbecomeafriendlier,morewelcomingchurch.
Perhapsweshouldallwearnametags?
PersonGwouldlikethechildrentoremainintheservicelongerbeforegoingto
theirclasses.
Themeetingendedwithprayerandsomeongoingconversation...”
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Discussionstarters:
Let’sconsidereachofthesecommentsandwhattheymightrevealabouthoweach
personthinksaboutthechurch’sworshipservice.Thereareno‘right’or‘wrong
answers,here;buttherearesomethatwouldhelpyourchurch’sculturetoaddress
theissue…
SpecialMusic.“PersonAaskedaboutagreatervarietyofspecialmusic.”Onegood
reasonforaskingthiswouldbetogetmorevolunteersparticipatingintheservice.
It’sagreatideatoencourageschoolstudentsandyouthgroupmemberstooffer
theirgiftsinthecontextofworship;regularly,ifpossible.Ontheotherhand,
sometimeswe’retemptedtomakeourservicesmoreentertainingorattractivefor
visitors.Wemaythinktheserviceisboring,orevenbeconcernedthatthe‘offence
ofthegospel’istoostrongamessageforourvisitors.Whoistheservicedesigned
for?
Newmaterialandquality.FromthecommentsattributedtoPersonB,wholoves
hymnsbutcan’tstandfortoolong,wedetectalovefordeep,familiarexpressionsof
thefaith–andweareremindedthattoomuchstandingisdifficultforsomeofus.
However,wealsohearsomeprejudiceagainst‘toomanynewsongs’,whichisreally
missingthepointthat,foranybodyofbelievers,ourcurrenttestimonyneedsfresh
expression.Asaleader,Iwanttomakesurethatthenewmaterialweuseisofgood
qualityandlastingvalue.
There’salsoanissuehereaboutlearningstyle.Inthetwentiethcentury,many
peoplelearntsongsfromreadingmusic;now,mostpeoplelearnnewsongsby
hearingthemrepeatedly,perhapsontheradioorapersonalstereo.Wehavetofind
waysofintroducingmaterialthathelpseveryonetolearnand‘own’it.Howdowe
wanttogoforward?
SongsandHymns.ForPersonC,hymns‘havetoomanywords’andare‘dirge‐like
andboring’.However,whatIthinktheyaresayingisthatthewordsaresometimes
obscure(therearealotmorewordsinarap,butwedon’toftencriticizerappersfor
theirstyle)andperhapsunfamiliar.Ourmusicianscanusuallyfindmorelivelyways
ofplayinghymns(whereappropriate)butitmaybethatPersonCdoesn’t‘identify’
withanyhymns.Iftheyknewsomeonewholovedthathymn‐forwhomitwasa
preciousexpressionoftheirtestimony–suchanobjectionmaywelldisappear.Do
weassociatesongswithtestimony?
Flow.Singingseveralsongstogetherinaflowing‘segué’(PersonD)isafeatureof
someordersofworship.Thiscommentmaybeasimplepreference,oritmaybea
pleaforastyleofworshipthatseekstoseemusicasatranscendentalor
sacramentalelementintheworship.Whatdowebelieve?
Posture.PersonsBandChadasmallconversationaboutstandingup–andthere
areseveral“all‐age”issuesthatweneedtoconsiderwhenplanningworship
services–moreonthatlater.Olderpeopleandthosewhofindithardtostandfora
longtimewillappreciateour“socialpermission”toadoptsitwhilewestand,or
adoptanotherposture;butit’softendifficultforsomeofustodosomething
differentfromthemajorityofthecongregation.Postureissignificant,butwedon’t
wanttobeprejudicedaboutanyabilityoragegroup.Ourhighestpriorityisto
honorGod;andahospitable,generousatmosphereandawelcomingspiritwillgo
farinhelpingpeopletofeelthatwevaluethem,anddon’twantthemtobe
discomfortedbysuchmatters.Arewefreetositorstand,moveorstaystill?Arewe
freetokneelormakeasignofthecross?
Booksorscreens?Forsomepeople,theideaofstyleisalsoassociatedwith
whetheronnotwe’reholdingbooks.Thesedays,Ioftenputwords,andmusictoo,
onthescreen–usingahighcontrastratio,and(formychurch)atleasta36point
typesize.Iliketousescreensbecausepeoplearelookingupandsingingout.Those
ofuswhoareolderreallyappreciatethelargerfontforeasyvisibility,andIalways
announcethehymnnumber,forthoseinthecongregationwhostillwanttoholda
book.PersonEisright;ifI’msittingdownandothersarestanding,it’stoughtosee
thescreen.Couldweputthewordsinthebulletin,too?
Nametags.PersonAandDwouldlikeourchurchtobemorewelcoming,and
introductionsmighthelpsometimes.Notallthetime,buttobewelcoming;same
withnametags–ithelpsifpeoplewhocanhelphaveapinthatsays“MayIhelp
you?”Doesthatsuitourculture?
All‐age.PersonGhasagoodpoint,too.Worshipinthescripturesisdescribedas
bothindividualandcommunal,andweoftenseeexamplesofthewholeextended
familyworshippingtogether.However,werecognizethatdifferentageshave
differentlearningstyles,sowedivideupforourteachingtimes.
Nowadays,it’seasierformanyofussendourchildrenouttoachildren’sserviceor
SundaySchoolandwepickthemupafterchurch.Laterintheirschoolcareer,they
gotoyouthgroupandworshipseparatelyonceagain.Whendoyourchildrenlearn
thatthewholechurchiscalledtoworshiptogether?Furthermore,ifthechildrendo
comein–sometimesit’stodo‘specialmusic’–weoftenseemtomakethema
showpiece,processinginandoutandperformingforus.Howdowewanttogo
forward?