By Shockley Flick
When I transitioned from teaching college to serving in church ministry, I asked a fellow music minister who had traveled that path before me what I should expect. He said, “Well, it will seem like Sunday comes every three days.”
Most of us who plan worship services would agree. The demand of weekly planning is a taskmaster that never lets up. And with everyone a “worship expert” these days (that”s someone who wants you to plan services meaningful to him), it”s sometimes hard to know when you”ve put together a God-honoring, church-edifying service.
The framework for my planning is based on those two criteria: God-honoring and church-edifying. Years ago a book by John Wilson, An Introduction to Church Music, had what I consider the best, everyday, bread-and-butter definition of worship: adoration and submission. If you plan a service that encourages your people to adore the Lord and want to submit to his authority, you”ve hit a home run. (See Isaiah 6:1-8 and John 4:21-24.)
THE RIGHT ELEMENTS
Since I want to lead the church into genuine, authentic adoration of God, I need to know which cultural elements to use or not use. I like to use the metaphor of language.
We each have a language (set of cultural values) that makes it easy for us to worship the Lord. These values are somewhat generational, but with many exceptions.
For example, some folks relate to God with traditional worship, hymns, formality, and preaching as the center of their worship. This style is a hybrid of liturgical worship and frontier revivalism.
Others connect with God if the service is strictly liturgical, and some are moved to their best praise with a revival-style service. Other “languages” include praise and worship, seeker, and countless blends. The best book to help one understand what values these various worshipers hold is Paul Basden”s The Worship Maze: Finding a Style to Fit Your Church.
I know what I want to do (honor God), and the language the majority of my people use to speak to God, so next I turn to the resources I have to accomplish my task.
THE BEST RESOURCES
I must admit, I”m a blessed man. The Lord has given East 91st Street Christian Church tremendous resources to consider as I plan””soloists, choir, brass ensemble, full orchestra, vocal ensembles, men”s quartets, a dance troupe, adult and youth handbells, a fine organist, and several fine pianists. We also have a contemporary service with a top-notch leader and band, several large screens, and technical and video production support. We also use actors, artists, and poets.
In addition to these people resources, I also keep a vertical file with special Sundays on the tabs (e.g., Advent, Christmas, Christmas Eve, parent/child dedication, missions, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Easter, Father”s Day, Mother”s Day, and patriotic). In these files I put any idea, song, or program I run across that may help with planning in the future.
In recent years, it has become popular to “theme” the service around the sermon topic, including everything from the welcome that introduces the theme, to the Communion meditation, skits, songs, and all printed materials. Planning a thematic service, of course, depends on advance detailed planning by the preacher(s). In actuality, thematic planning is used in varying degrees, from no thematic planning, or just having the decision hymn relate to the sermon, to “everything must advance the topic.”
The worship leader/music minister and preacher(s) must agree on how far in advance the sermon details will be available. Generally, worship planners like to have at a minimum the sermon title, text (a verse or two), main thoughts, the “take away,” and any metaphors and illustrations that may be used.
THE TIME TO PLAN
Almost all workshop leaders and authors I”ve read insist on a team approach to planning services. If you plan the services with a team, send each person all of the sermon information a week in advance of the planning meeting. This gives them a chance to pray and think about ways to create a service that is relevant, sermon advancing, and engaging.
Then meet and brainstorm. Have your members write their ideas on a whiteboard. Using the list, let the group choose the best ideas for building the service. (Here”s a group planning maxim: “Bad ideas go away by themselves.” In other words, don”t feel like you must be the bad guy and throw out a bad idea yourself; the group will do it for you.)
If you plan alone, take the gathered information, and after prayer, put together a rough outline that advances the theme, is creative with regard to the order of the elements to make them meaningful, encourages congregational participation, uses various senses1, and tweaks the “every Sunday” elements to keep them fresh and connected with the sermon.
If things have to be designed, learned, made, bought, or built, assign the tasks to the appropriate people. Rehearse as needed, and give the technical team plenty of lead time for any special elements.
Regardless of your situation””the size of your church or the resources available to you””prayerful planning will minimize distractions, draw people into worship, and help lift them to his throne. And God will be honored.
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1For more on multisensory worship planning, read Experiential Worship by Bob Rognlien (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2005).
Connecting with the Congregation
During my 15 years at East 91st Street Christian Church, I”ve learned the elements most in my congregation connect with, but that doesn”t mean we remain stagnant in our planning. Change will and should happen over time. In the past few years I”ve added and/or changed the following in our services:
“¢ Videos
1. Scripture videos (with the sound turned off as the orchestra plays the prelude). See www.visualscripture.com.
2. Call to worship”””That”s My King” video before the choir sang the anthem “Indescribable.” See www.worshiphousemedia.com.
“¢ Dance (admittedly this is not the “worship language” of several of our traditional worshipers).
“¢ Changed the focus on instrumental music. For years we had the instrumental group of the day (brass, orchestra, bells) play an offertory by themselves. Last year, we began adding a soloist or vocal ensemble to sing with the instrumental group to ensure the “message” of the song is clear to all.
“¢ Changed the anthem selections from choosing fewer objective messages (sing to God and praise his name) to more subjective messages (I was lost, but Jesus found and cared for me).
On the right is a planning outline for a service we used in June.
“”S.F.
Shockley Flick is worship pastor at East 91st Street Christian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana.
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