As Lauren and I have looked for a church, one of the main things that We’ve been hung up on is the worship format. And by “worship format” I’m talking about the singing, preaching and whatever else goes on during the main service. For the two of us, our experience is pretty limited to baptist traditions in the strain of Southern Baptists and Independent Fundamental Baptists with some experience in the last few years with non-denominational, more informal, but still baptistic-styles of worship.
I don’t feel entirely comfortable with what I’ve experienced. A lot of times, I feel like I’m left wanting something a bit deeper or more substantial. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy some of the more contemporary praise and worship and I certainly enjoy southern gospel, but a lot of times, for me, the worship experience in these formats seems disjointed or even theologically shallow. That may not be your experience, but it’s mine. So, I’ve been looking for something different, something a bit more intentional…purposeful worship.
When I was in seminary, I took a course called “Ministry of Worship”. It ended up being one of the most thought-provoking classes that I’ve had. Basically, we studied the question: “what should a worship service look like and why?” It’s not just about singing songs we like just because we like the way they sound and how they make us feel. Whatever format is used, there should be a purpose behind it, a movement of focus throughout the service. At the church we’ve been visiting, the worship service has seemed more intentional than other places we’ve been. The songs, readings, prayers, and preaching have had common threads running through them. This morning, we noticed in the bulletin that visitors were encouraged to pick up a “welcome” folder that had more info about the church. I grabbed one and it had some great info in it. What stood out from other places we’ve been is the care and theological depth that was crafted into the info about the church. One section in particular that grabbed my eye was “How we Worship”, which read:
“Our worship is biblical in that it is shaped by the movement of God’s redemptive story in Scripture. Each week our worship takes us through God’s story of redemption so that our lives become patterned into His story. Worship enables us to bring our lives to God, re-enter His story of redemption, and be dismissed as redemptively-shaped people going out into the world. Specifically, that means that our worship moves from preparation to adoration to confession to proclamation to dedication.”
I absolutely love that description of this church’s worship style, and it accurately describes what I’ve experienced in their services. Even my kids have picked up on the difference. I was surprised when they told us that they liked going to this church better than the popular, more contemporary church we’ve been at for the last couple of years. They seem to be picking up on the idea that they are there for a purpose, not to be entertained, but to participate, learn and “move” toward God and others.
This church also describes their worship as:
“liturgical in that it practices the rhythm of the Christian calendar. As we move through the year, our worship moves us through the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time. In conjunction with the seasons we use the traditional liturgical colors.”
Until recently, my religious heritage has been completely void of any experience with the Christian calendar or any of the traditional liturgical forms of worship. In fact, I would venture as far as to say that many of the churches and pastors I’ve been connected to would warn against anything that even hints at traditional liturgy as “vain repetition” or “too Roman.” I don’t think that they rightly understand or appreciate liturgical worship. There’s a great post over at The Internet Monk – Another Look: Church Year Spirituality – that explains the Christian calendar and lays out some very good reasons for incorporating it into worship. The Internet Monk referenced Robert Webber’s “Ancient Future Time: Forming Spirituality Through the Christian Year” for a deeper look at the Christian calendar, and a closer look at Webber’s work led me to adding his “Ancient Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World” to my reading wishlist. This connection with the past is something that’s been lacking in my Christian experience.
I like the tradition and symbolism of this worship format and it brings me a bit closer to understanding where I’m at in my faith and spiritual journey.
I know what popular church you attended the last couple of years (we go there), and I agree that it oftentimes seems shallow. I know there are a lot of good people, dedicated people and such, and the messages do challenge me somewhat, but I often feel there should be …something more.
I enjoyed reading about the new church,and I love their “how we worship” section. And I really love that your children get it!!
There are certainly a lot of good, dedicated and talented people there. I hope my post didn’t come across as degrading their ministry. That certainly wasn’t my intent. We came primarily for the preaching, which we found dynamic, relevant and personal. But there were a couple of things that just didn’t click into place for us. Despite the huge number of people there, we were never welcomed into any new friendships or circles (or even invited to join with anyone). I didn’t mind that. The last several years have been fairly lonely and I’ve gotten used to it. That doesn’t mean that it’s healthy and one of the things that I want most is for us to connect with other couples. The other issue for me was the music. I guess the best way to put it is…I desired a style that better resonates with my natural introversion. I like it when the music leads to reflection on the attributes of God and my relationship with Him.
One of my friends posted an article the other day, http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/fire-in-my-bones/12784-seven-things-ive-always-wanted-to-say-to-worship-leaders” that did a good job of identifying some of the things that can make contemporary styles of worship seem theologically shallow. Here are a couple that stand out:
1. “Please give us content. Most of us packed away our hymnals 30 years ago and discovered the liberty of free-style choruses. Yet I get tired of singing the same phrase over and over—especially if that phrase has questionable theology. And we are cheating people if half of a song consists of lines like “Ooh, Ooh, Ooh!” or “Whoa, whoa, whoa!”
and
2. “Don’t run a song into the ground. Maybe this is just a pet peeve of mine: When a worship leader announces, “Let’s sing it one more time!” and then proceeds to sing a chorus again and again and again and again (and again and again), this is a form of lying. This happens especially with certain choruses that are like broken records—they never resolve. If a song is so repetitive that it’s annoying, or if you can’t figure out when to stop it, just retire it. No one will ask why you don’t sing it anymore.”
And, while mentioning pet peeves…why don’t many baptists sing all of the verses of a song. In my experience, a baptist worship minister will usually call for the congregation to sing, “the first, second and last verse of hymn #123.” As a kid, I wondered if there was something wrong with the other verses. Do we disagree with the skipped verse(s); do we dislike the way they sound; does the pastor not know how to pronounce a word in them? Hymns usually have a theme to them and tell a story and/or teach a truth and the verses complement one another. How do you understand what the songwriter is trying to convey if you skip the middle part? Just another pet peeve.
I like holding and using a hymnal with the songs that have been handed down from centuries of generations that have gone before us. If you compare our music with our ancestors, it seems quite apparent that they had better attention spans and a lot more depth to their thoughts.
Oh yeah…we went there for the preaching,too! And I totally get you on singing the chorus to the ground. Some of them I really like – at first, and at second – but, yeaaaah, singing one chorus over and over and over gets to me after awhile.
Andrew has connected more with people than I have because he’s involved more. He teaches a Sunday School class and helps with the youth, and volunteers to help with dinners. He loves that sort of thing. Oh, he also assists with the Dave Ramsey classes. So he’s met a number of people that way.
I hope you find a place where you and Lauren can connect with other couples, and a place where your children continue to find richness in the worship. Also a place where you can find that time for reflection that you need!
And I didn’t think you were degrading their ministry at all!