It’s issue 25! Thanks for taking the time to subscribe and read (about seven minutes) the newsletter. Our newsletter has been exploring philosophical, theological, and historical perspectives on worship. It is about time to get practical. Ready?
Psalm 115:1–9
Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
2 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.
9 O Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.
I have titled this issue, “Identity and Idolatry.” And if my title scares you, don’t worry. Today’s newsletter addresses practical concerns rather than heavy philosophy. I want us to consider the elements we put in our services and the order we use, and then I propose one simple tool—something new—which I used at Bethlehem to make those decisions. I propose a new method for planning worship services. And my proposal is not a “silver bullet” solving all our problems. My newest thinking about planning worship services will hopefully help you.
INTRODUCTION: What are we doing?
First, I add my voice to the many worship thinkers who call us to choose our songs more carefully because we pick worship songs for all too pragmatic reasons.
Imagine your church has
a lady who insists we sing a hymn every week,
an older guy who misses the Calvary Chapel songs he learned when he got saved, and
a hipster who you are witnessing to who might accept Christ if only there were more banjos.
And your church has asked you for blended worship for hymn lady, chorus guy, and hipster dude. So you try making a casserole medley using the hymn “O, How I Love Jesus,” the praise chorus, “I Love You Lord, and I Lift My Voice” (hint: the key of D goes with both!) and arrange to sound like the band Ascend the Hill has rended their collectives. But then you’re singing another song because the pastor (or perhaps the pastor’s wife) made a special request. And you think, “There’s gotta be a better way to do this.”
What criteria should we use when choosing songs for a worship service? The words should reflect theological truth, and so you check the lyrics for heresy and find none. But is there something more?
Second, I add my voice to the many worship thinkers who call us to structure our services more carefully because, again, if we are honest, we structure our services for all too pragmatic reasons. We usually structure worship services in three ways (based on some insights from Greg Scheer):
Plan #1: The 50/50 Plan
The 50/50 Plan represents a truce between a pastor and his worship leader: “Do your best with the your 40 minutes and I’ll do my best with my 40 minutes.” You can tell you are seeing a 50/50 plan when the the preacher and the worship leader often talk about who “went over” their designated time. The plan has the advantage of allowing a level of cooperation with the preaching ministry, but the level is basically a truce. The worst part about this plan is when people in the congregation don’t like the job one ministry is doing, they will talk to the other ministry. And God help the church when the complainers find allies.
Plan #2: The Revivalism Plan
A service based on the Revivalism Plan begins with a warm-up—congregational singing, special music, engaging announcements—just get the place going and ready for the main event: the sermon. After the sermon, the service concludes with a time of response. The response might not include singing “Just as I Am,” but usually something similar. The Revivalism service order follows the logic from sociological common sense and good event planning.
If, during the 80’s or 90’s, you created a good mix-tape, you can structure services using the Revivalism Plan. Start the service celebrating by rocking hard, then cool the mood down before ending bigger than ever! Historically, the Revivalism service order traces its lineage to Charles Finney and the 19th century’s Second Great Awakening. The Revivalism Plan provides an order for our elements, but lacks theological or pastoral insight.
Plan #3: The Theme Plan
Many thoughtful worship planners aspire to the Theme Plan. What, they ask, is our service’s theme? To use the title of a book by Dave Ferguson, what is our worship service’s “big idea”? Whatever the theme, we choose elements which match our theme. It can be like the process my wife describes as “choosing an outfit.” She tells me about people who choose one element that they want to build around and then choose other clothes to match. She tells me this because, well, I dress in the dark. But I think I see her point.
Being good evangelicals, many worship planners build their services around the big idea of the sermon.
While the theme helps us find fitting elements, sometimes the results feel hokey. Imagine a preacher speaking on Psalm 23 and the worship planner choosing elements to match the theme of “Shepherd.” The service might begin with the hymn “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us,” then move into “Lamb of God,” and for a finishing touch, we have the worship team members wear wool blazers. That’s a bit hokey. The theme plan does help us choose elements of our services, but the plan does not provide us an order.
So, to summarize, we need a plan which helps us intentionally choose our service’s elements (like the Theme Plan, but without the hokey) and our service’s order (like the Revivalism Plan, but with more pastoral insight) while allowing healthy cooperation with our preaching pastor (like the 50/50 Plan, but with more than a truce).
Next week, I’ll introduce my paradigm for planning services. “See you” then!
Your paradigm? 🙋🏼♀️ I know…I bet I know…
It’s too good not to share!
You had to leave us with cliffhanger. Looking forward to the next episode.