1 of 5

Church leaders dream about discovering the ultimate combination of worship style and music that consistently attracts big crowds to life-changing worship gatherings. No one's found it yet—it probably doesn't exist. But even if it did, it soon would be outdated. Does that mean the search for better worship is useless?

Not by a long shot, says Tom Greever, media arts director for Community Christian Church, a multi-site church based in Naperville, Illinois. "We have an enormous influence over people's worship experiences, regardless of their background," he says. In fact, the average churchgoer is every bit as engaged in the worship style search as are church and worship leaders.

According to Jodi Adams, a worship culture coach in Denver, people from all kinds of churches are asking about the very foundations of worship in their communities. "How do we know when we are worshiping well? It's more than just how many people raise their hands or close their eyes," she says. Instead of focusing on following a particular style, churches are now delving into basic issues of worship.

That's why it's so important for church and worship leaders to know the societal and cultural factors influencing worship styles and music, and to understand the ever-growing role of technology in the worship experience.

The key to defining the "right" worship style is authenticity, revealed when a church does the work of discerning its unique identity and mission. This self-discovery takes precedence over pursuing a specific worship style, or studying other churches and copying their strategies. It translates into churches presenting genuine worship to people who seek authenticity.

"I think churches are becoming more real in their worship style," Greever says. "That's reflected in musical styles, the way people dress, in small groups and in Bible studies. You can see it in the language people use and the illustrations pastors use."

As you struggle to discover your unique calling to worship, you must also be aware of and account for three very important societal trends:

1. The primacy of the visual.

2. The desire for participation.

3. A culture that hungers for both fast-paced and quiet worship experiences.

Visual: Worship presentation software has been used primarily to convey information, such as sermon notes, song lyrics, and church announcements. Some churches, especially those in the emergent movement, are favoring images that are more abstract and less easily recognizable as classic Christian icons. Churches can acquire these kinds of images from sources such as iStockPhoto.com or AwakeImages.com.

Other churches are taking the "do-it-yourself" route. Adams explains how one church sent out a group of photo hobbyists in the congregation with a list of words, such as redemption and absolution, and told them to find suitable photos. They came back with "gorgeous, non-intuitive ideas" that the church used as worship backdrops—images such as an out-of-focus picture of a homeless man's feet. "It's a way to bring things into worship that are fantastically redemptive but not expected," she says.

next page... |  1 of 5

share this page