As the covid pandemic restrictions seem to ever change around the world some congregations are choosing to meet online only, however, many churches are trying to gather in person or making preparations to do so.
In the UK church congregations are legally allowed to meet for 'in person services', but there are a number of restrictions making things VERY different. One of the largest challenges in not being able to sing! This like everything through this time should be used to teach and help lead to greater intimacy with Jesus.
Worship is not just singing, we know that, yet corporate singing has been part of the worshipful expression of the church throughout history and the people of God for millenia.
However, whilst in many places, certainly in the UK we cant sing, it is worth us revisiting the area of worship. Let us choose to see this as a blessing, instead of sticking with the familiar and often unimaginative default of singing as our only expression.
List to unpack:
Encourage meditation
Enjoy the worship team singing over the congregation
Speak in tongues
Clap, Hum, Speak out praises to God in prayer
Dancing and movement
Liturgy (creeds, prayers, readings often with congregational responses)
Media - video etc
Experiment e.g. meet as a church in a different location
There are lots of things we CAN still do and that is where we need to focus. Worship is about giving 'worth-ship' to Jesus. It is not purely about singing. Yes you know this, however, in the contemporary church we have focused heavily on song perhaps at the detriment of other wonderful forms of worship. So let's revisit some tradition and be creative in finding some new ones!!
Like all areas of church life the key to good leadership is communication. Talk about the subject, teach on the subject. I have not yet seen any, though I am sure there are, many church leaders running a series on worship. Now for me this is a HUGE missed opportunity.
Two of the key things people missed when church buildings were closed was 'worship' and 'community', sorry to all the great preachers out there! As church leaders and shepherds there had been an obvious need to help people learn how to find a new rhythm of life which includes more private and diverse ways to worship.
Ok so let's unpack some ideas, but firstly can I encourage you to do a series... unpack and then IMPLEMENT opportunities to worship God in alternative ways!
Meditation
This is a much lost art, in the constantly connected society where the average person picks up their phone 96 times a day and when we see over 6000 adverts per day. No wonder spending time in contemplation is difficult. It is not emptying our minds but rather filling them with a focus on God, His goodness, His love etc. Try reading a scripture and the spending 5 minutes dwelling on it, inviting the Holy Spirit to speak to us. The Bible itself exhorts us to 'mediate on it (Bible) day and night' in Joshua 1:8 & numerous other places. There are loads of great ideas and thoughts on this subject out there.
Here is a good wee article on Christian meditation
Singing over the congregation
This is linked to meditation and can be a wonderful and powerful time. It can help those who may struggle to focus meditatively in silence as the words are being fed. There are also opportunities to give the worship team extended freedom to sing in the Spirit prophetic songs. So as a church leader I encourage you to give freedom and encouragement to your team to explore this. One this that is important is that this is still a led corporate experience which meets a felt need. Why not encourage the congregation to physically engage with the song e.g. to kneel etc. It is a time to perhaps sing different songs to those normally song as a congregational.
Speak in tongues
One thing I have noticed is that in many setting the congregation has not only stopped singing but has essentially gone mute!! As a church leader again communicate clearly that it is ONLY singing not allowed and so speak to Jesus, speak in heavenly tongues etc. This is something that our worship leaders / pastors must keep reminding people of and giving them permission. In guest focused gatherings I know there has been a move away from supernatural gifts in some settings. There is more to be said about this, another time, but again why not use it as an opportunity to teach and encourage the gift?!
Clap, Hum, Speak out praises to God in prayer
'Make a joyful sound to the Lord' or as the NIV puts it 'shout to the Lord' in Psalm 100. It ain't just singing!! Make a racket make a noise, lift up a shout, get busy making a holy ruckus. This is again about creating freedom of expression and encouraging people to be demonstrable in their praise. It is the opposite of meditation and something that might suit the extroverts best but that is fine. People are capable of incredible worship or pop stars and football teams with cheering, clapping and so on. Sometimes we get this religious nonsense when it comes to worshiping Jesus. The most significant act of worship that Jesus experienced was when a prostitute gate crashed a dinner party smashed a bottle of perfume and dumped the ridiculously expensive contents over His head..! This was outlandish worship, it was worship which focused entirely on Jesus and forsook personal image/dignity. Let's try and encourage some of that in our churches!
Dancing and movement
When ever I think of this I am back in the 90s with flag waving and ribbons as an embarrassed teen... However, that is probably more my issue than anything else lol. The point is a bit like the previous, why not learn to let go a little? Some cultures find this easier than others, and in the UK us Brits can be a bit stiff to say the least. Nevertheless, we must remember King David who danced with all of his might before God. He reminds us that we must at time become undignified in our praise. In other words not letting our pride stop us from giving due worship to God. I wouldn't for a moment try to make everyone dance but you could have some fun now and again encouraging some movements and its a great way to engage the kids in leading and that always loosens up the adults. In fact my experience as a pastor is that the adults usually seem to get WAY more in to action songs than the kids do!
Liturgy
Yes, yes, yes!!! Here we can learn from the traditional churches, I have spent some time in the Church of England over the past few years and one thing I have loved is the liturgy. Like anything is can become lifeless religion, however, often these are fantastic words that have been penned by people with great thought and that contain powerful, majestic and beautiful concepts. There is lots of help online or use the excuse to reach out to a local CofE minister to ask them to give some pointers. One of the many benefits of liturgy is that it is interactive with the congregation confessing, affirming, declaring fantastic truths. These can be things that you can remind your community of during the week and encourage them to spend 5 minutes meditating on.
Media
Ok so let's not go overboard, everyone is sick of screens and have 'Netflixed' their way through lockdown. Yet there are some fantastic and powerful short films and creative pieces that can really help diversify your time of worship. If you have creative people with a gift in this area then great, however, there are loads of amazing things out there already. If you like something you see on YouTube for example then message the creator and ask them if they can send you it to utilise in your service. My experience is that most people are more than happy to have their hard work being used in different churches. The key again is to experiment, try integrating a video in the middle of worship that conveys something that the next song allows people to then express themselves.
Experiment!!!!
This is a great time to start using this word. I always say to leadership teams I am working with to use this word often. Especially when in a time of change/transition/uncertainty. It is obvious nobody really has all the answers, we have never been here before and so don't pretend. Instead invite people along for the ride saying 'we are going to try some stuff, if it works great if it doesn't we know for next time'. You then take people with you. You can use this time to do some totally different things, maybe a nature walk where you stop and do some readings and encourage people to see the wonder of creation, that always leads to worshiping the creator! If you have never read the book 'Sacred Pathways' by Gary Thomas I highly recommend it - you can get in on Amazon or whatever
Mostly just have fun by trying new things as a congregation, don't be afraid to try things.
'You're not singing, you're not singing, you're not singing any more, you're not singing any more!!' is a common chant in stadiums across the UK when the opposing fans go quiet when they are losing.
The devil may think he has the church on retreat and is humming this tune. Yet my prayer is that singing will be replaced with rediscovered forms of powerful worship which will deepen intimacy, grow reverence, deliver revelation and increase body unity, of this I am confident.
We are all different in how we express ourselves introverts and extroverts, creatives and intellectuals etc. I hope that in this WIERD season you find fresh expressions of worship both personally and for your church community.
Please do share with your leadership, worship leaders and social media, let's encourage everyone to use this time to develop our faith.
Big love
Joss Nicholas
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