MIM Ezine - August 18, 2006

IN THIS ISSUE--

-- LOGIN LEADERSHIP - "Interactive Worship," by Tom Hanover

-- SCOTT'S RAMBLINGS #6 - “Perfecting Worship and Marginalizing The Holy Spirit” by R. Scott Miller

-- PRODUCT REVIEW - Women's Retreat Resources, Reviewed by Teena Stewart

Interactive Worship

    Recently Tom Hanover, editor of MIM ezine, had the opportunity to interview his daughter, Rebekah Hanover, Director of Worship, Crossroads United Methodist Church in Ashburn, Virginia.    We include some excerpts of that conversation here.

    Tom:  What is interactive worship? 

    Rebekah :  Many people have this image of church being rigid and formal. It’s seen as some place you go to sit quietly and try to behave yourself for an hour. But worship is real life. It is authentic living. So, we try to create an environment that is casual--feels like a family gathering--where people can just be themselves.  Worship is more than just a chance encounter with God.  It is interacting in relationship with God and each other.

    Tom:  Where do you see this in Biblical literature?

    Rebekah:  It is all through the Bible.  God created Adam and Eve so God could be in relationship with them.  The Genesis story tells us it was God’s habit to stroll through the garden with them.  In the stories of the patriarchs and matriarchs God interacts with them by inviting them on journeys and accompanying them in their travels.  For example, Jacob runs from his father’s house and is surprised to discover God is still with him, even though he is far from home.

    The stories of the covenants of Noah, Moses, and David are all about God wanting to bind himself in relationship with his creation. In Jesus, God became human to interact with people in an extremely intimate way to love us.  In Jesus, God reveals to us the depth of God’s heart for us and the heart we are to have for each other.

    We tend to talk about God in terms of a great and powerful but seemingly distant deity, but Jesus reveals God in the up close and personal . . .   God who touches the untouchable, cries with those who hurt, laughs and plays with children, and passionately opposes injustice. The power of the gospel is in God becoming small to get close to us; to get personal with us. That is the epitome of worship:  God became part of everything that it means to be human, even suffering and death, in order to interact with us.

    Tom:  So, how do you do interactive worship in large group gatherings?

   Rebekah:  First of all, you have to remember that you can’t make people interact. All you can do is create an environment, an atmosphere where interaction is allowed and encouraged. We create an environment in which people are asked to wrestle with specific questions: to stop and think and feel.  People are then invited to respond by engaging in conversation with a counselor or each other, to write or draw something, or to do something with their hands. If we only allow expression by someone who is singing or speaking, we limit the opportunities for the Holy Spirit to work. We want to call each other to discipleship and by letting others react for us, we unfortunately too easily relieve the pressure to be, to express what we are wrestling with, to make decisions and act.

    Tom:  So, I imagine worship looks pretty chaotic at times.

    Rebekah:  There have been moments, but for the most part, it’s highly organized.  The paradox is that the leadership of worship is carefully planned and timed.  The expectation is that God wants to interact with the congregation, not just the leadership.  So planning creates an intentional flow of invitations to interrelate with God pointing towards a response time that is often specific but at the same time, much more open and spontaneous.

    Not everyone expresses interaction in the same way so we try to keep some variety. Some of our families enjoy coming to a table to write or draw together with their young children. Others prefer to remain in their seats meditating on a song or a video. And still others would prefer to talk to those seated nearby. We try to be specific enough with instructions so that no one feels intimidated on their first visit, but open enough for people to express what’s going on inside them.

    Tom:  There is an old question in worship of asking who is the audience.  Often we think of the congregation as the audience and the leaders as performers.  But some have noted that in reality God is the audience and the congregation is performing the drama of worship.  The leaders are prompters for the congregation.

    Rebekah:  I have heard that, but I still don’t think it gets to the soul of what worship is meant to be. It implies that God is a passive observer of worship. God is not. God is intimately engaged when people worship. It is more like an improvisation performance. There may be a basic structure but so much is dependent on the interaction of the audience and the performers. Or it could be compared to jazz. There’s a structure and there’s a band leader, but what makes a song great is the ability of the players to listen and interact and play off each other. They could play the song over and over again and each time it would be different because they are listening and responding to each other.

    As those who work professionally in ministry, we tend to forget that most people are not interested in our theology. I hear it so often: the most meaningful moment in worship celebrations is our invitation to communion because we try to over emphasize the open invitation to EVERYONE. They don’t really care about the why. They want to know, to experience, God and His grace in relationship. If we can help people understand not only that God wants to interact with us but give them an opportunity and ways to interact, then we have helped them worship. When people experience that, their lives will be transformed. That is true worship!

(Check in next month when Rebekah shares some practical tips for designing interactive worship.)

    Tom Hanover has served in a variety of pastoral leadership roles for over 30 years, the last four as a District Superintendent supervising the ministries of more than 100 pastors and churches in southwest Ohio. He has a BA (cum laude) from Taylor University, and  MDiv and DMin degrees from United Theological Seminary in Dayton.

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    The nice part about rambling is that there is no set direction for my articles.  As long as I deal with youth worship, I am on topic.

    This month I want to analyze worship.  Let me begin with a question.  Have we worked so hard to make worship smooth and perfect that we have marginalized the Holy Spirit?

    We are living in a contemporary world.  Whether you are in an “old-school” traditional church or a hip modern church, you are probably dealing with some form of hi-tech in your worship services.  This may even be in more of an experimental mode rather than a routine week-to-week use.

    Let me say this, I am not ripping on using tech in worship.  I deal with tech in worship every week.  Whether I am using presentation software to set up my worship service, editing a video clip that makes a point for the message, or needing that perfect picture to emphasize one of my points, I am involved in tech.

    I went to my first National Youth Workers Convention 12 yrs ago in Chicago.  Worship that week blew me away.  Even when I could not find a great seat, I could see the speaker so well on the video projector I could tell he cut himself shaving that morning.  They had words to songs on the screen without using an overhead projector.  They showed cool music videos before and after worship.  They even had some video clips similar to skits my kids did in worship.  It was amazing!  I came home feeling renewed that week, because I really had a chance to worship.

    Today I can do that for my Youth Worship Services.  During worship with one song called Dancing Generation, I used a video clip of Christopher Walken dancing in the background.  With other more serious or contemplative songs, I use other types of images.  I am currently producing and editing an original video production to use in an upcoming worship service.  These are all parts of worship that do not make up worship, but do enhance it.  I often equate the use of tech in non-traditional worship to the use of stained glass in a sanctuary.  They are images that lead us toward worship.  They set the tone or mood for worship.

    The problem is the more slick worship becomes, the more we want to make every aspect of the services perfect.  It would be sacrilege to have a typo in a song.  On the other hand, what if for some reason a song does not work for the service.  Alternatively, what if the pastor or song leader really feels God’s spirit working in the service and adds something in that is not ready to go on the screen.  Does this damage the perfection of worship? 

    God wants the best from us in worship.  What good is worship that is non- authentic worship?  What good is worship if we really are not coming to God honestly? 

    I was at a church not long ago where a worship leader got really upset at someone because they did not have the words for a song.  What is the big deal?  What did we do about new songs before the video projector?  Have we forgotten that God is not working with perfect, but imperfect people?  If not everything is perfect it’s OK. If something is misspelled it’s OK.  It is fine if our worship leader goes into a chorus that is not on the screen.  We really need to be open to God and let God’s spirit work within and through us.  We need to quit trying to do everything perfectly and “marginalizing God” working through us in worship. 

    Worship is not about us!  Worship is not to impress new people.  Worship is not for performance.  It is about us coming before God humbled, because in reality we are not even worthy to be in his presence.

    Psalm 100:1-5 is a great reminder of what worship truly is:

         Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

         Worship the LORD with gladness;
           come before him with joyful songs.

         Know that the LORD is God.
         It is he who made us, and we are his ^[a] ;
           we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

         Enter his gates with thanksgiving
           and his courts with praise;
           give thanks to him and praise his name.

         For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
           his faithfulness continues through all generations. (NIV)

    Worship is not something we do to entertain others and ourselves nor is it a performance.  Worship is truly a chance for the sheep to come to the master with a time of true thanksgiving and praise.  It is a time to remind us of God’s love for us no matter what.  True, we need to give our best.  Our best, however, should not be spent on trying to make a perfect worship experience. Our best should involve spending time giving our heart to God.

    This may seem more like a rant than ramblings but lately the attitude of worship has been weighing very heavy on my heart.  If you have comments, agreements or disagreements that you would like to toss out about this article, feel free to e-mail me at rscottmiller1@aol.com. 

    R. Scott Miller is the Director of Christian Education and Youth at Milford First United Methodist Church in the suburbs of Cincinnati, OH.  In his 15 years of youth ministry, Scott has written and developed much of the youth programming used in his churches.  Scott has a B.A. in Radio/TV and Journalism from Morehead State University and an M.A. from Asbury Theological Seminary. 

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Women's Retreat Resources

Reviewed by Teena Stewart

    Group Publishing recently developed two unique women's retreat resources.  Neither retreat requires a speaker and can be customized to suit your time slot whether you prefer a one-day retreat at your church, an overnight retreat, or a longer, two-day retreat.

    Kits come with everything you need to delegate areas of giftedness.  So that women overseeing specific areas of the retreat can facilitate where they are gifted. After ordering the kit, retreat organizers need only delegate specific facilitator areas and then order the specific number of supplies:  i. .e books, journals, crafts, for the number in attendance.

    At the retreat women gather together in small groups of four where they share and grow.  One of these four women then serves as a group facilitator to help guide the discussion.  Each group theme is related to the particular retreat.

    HeartSpa Retreat. 

    The HeartSpa retreat has a spa-related theme, billing itself as "offering relaxation and spiritual refreshment."

    Three larger groups are named after colors and scents:  mango, lavender, and mint.  The HeartSpa retreat also includes decorating ideas, journals for each person, discussion questions, and devotionals.

    Session one starts with worship and the retreat packet includes songs written uniquely for the retreat.  Leaders can either use the accompanying CD or printed music for singing.  During this session women play icebreaker games to become acquainted.

    Each retreat session includes a lesson that focuses on the woman at the well.  For instance, the first lesson covers vulnerability and friendship, while another talks about sharing Jesus with others.  There are three sessions. 

     Breakout groups then go to different stations that focus on a pampering spa theme with an applied spiritual lesson.  The different groups include:  Healing Hands, where women can try a mango scrub and hand treatment; Pampering Pedicure, where women rest their feet in a peppermint soak while having devotionals; and  Refreshing Facials, a cucumber facial and treatment while they share and reflect on God's experiences.

     During one of the sessions women will also have the opportunity to create a scented, heatible, comfort pillow while learning a spiritual lesson.

     Directions for supplies and treatments are provided with the kit.

    Chocolate Boutique Retreat 

    In the chocolate boutique retreat women explore and experience God's extravagant grace. The theme is based on the theme, "taste and see that the Lord is good."

    The retreat is managed much like the HeartSpa retreat with women beginning in a large group where they worship and become acquainted.  They are then organized into four "grace" groups, which allow them to make new friends and grow spiritually while they share.

    From grace groups women merge into larger groups.  Each woman receives a journal, discussion questions, and devotionals.

    Session one looks at the story of the miracle of Jesus turning water into wine, the focus of which is trusting Jesus. Breakout activities include: prayer, which includes a devotional box with hands on objects; laughter, where women share joyful memories, and a chocolate tasting boutique, where participants taste different types of chocolate while discussing their tasting with God.

    Session two explores the extravagance of the first miracle.  Session 3 covers chocolate for the heart, the extravagance of God's grace.

    Both the HeartSpa retreat and the Chocolate Boutique are unique, fun, and spiritually focused.  The hard part will be choosing which resource to go with. Whichever you select, women are sure to talk about the memorable experience for months to come.

    Teena Stewart is a published writer, a ministry consultant and coach, and a product developer for Ministry in Motion. You can email her at smartwords@sbcglobal.net.  To learn more about Teena, her writing, and consulting services, click here.  

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