This question is specifically for pastors. How does your church do worship? Do you try to manage it alone, maybe with a couple of elders, or do you have a worship crew? In some ways corporate worship is like sailing; if the ship's very large you better not do it by yourself. If you try to you may end up sinking the ship! To be successful you need a willing "crew" to help keep the vessel sailing in the direction you want it to go.
With sailing, managing the riggings and sails, charting the course, turning the wheel, having hands on deck to watch for hidden danger, all are valuable contributions when it comes to making safe passage. When the weather becomes unpredictable and the waves run high, having a seaworthy crew becomes even more important.
With worship, if most of the responsibility falls upon the shoulders of one or two individuals, not only are you headed for trouble but you're missing a wonderful chance to involve more members in ministry and you are depriving them of the joy of being used in God's service.
Variety and Spontaneity
A vital ingredient that's missing in more than a few Adventist services is variety and spontaneity. Not having a worship "crew" (worship planning team) means that over time you'll probably fall into a rut and do almost the same thing every Sabbath. Sameness in worship programming would be like eating the same foods every day. As much as you may like spaghetti, you would hate to eat it for every meal. As you bring more members into worship planning, new menus will be created that introduce fresh thinking, faces and program elements.
Including more members is harder than doing it yourself because it requires planning sessions and coordinated calendars. But group planning makes for a truly "corporate experience" and is far more meaningful than solo leading.
Spontaneity happens when we vary the elements from Sabbath to Sabbath and introduce new features and people. One church includes a short time at the beginning of their service to highlight a different ministry of the church. Sometimes this consists of a short interview, a brief video clip or a guest presentation.
One effective offering appeal featured a man sitting on a stool eating an apple while holding a bag full of apples. As he ate, another man walked by and commented on the desirability of the apples. The man with the apples agreed they were "delicious," and kept on eating his apple and clutching his bag. Finally, the passer by asked for an apple, to which the man on the stool responded, "sure," then he gave him the remnants of the apple he had been eating and walked away. The moral is obvious--too often we give God the leftovers.
Another way to keep members focused and attentive is by not spelling out everything in the bulletin. By varying your service's content and drawing in new people, you can make worship events more meaningful and alive.
A Shared Experience
Your worship events will be truly shared when you "share" the planning process. If you pastor a church where you have solo leadership of worship planning start seeking input from members. Brace yourself for criticism but try not to become personally offended. You may discover they don't like what you've been doing.
If you're not a pastor but wish to see a more dynamic service in your church, talk with your pastor about it and assure him or her that your comments are not meant as criticism. Volunteer your services.
Of course, true worship can only occur as Jesus graces our human efforts to draw nearer to Him. As our true Captain, He invites us to join His "crew" on the gospel ship that's bound for glory. All aboard!
At the time this article was written, Rich DuBose was Director of Church Support Services for the Pacific Union Conference and a producer of Christian web content.
