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Over the past year I have been visiting, and talking, with many different churches for many different reasons; some as a consultant to help them reach out to a changing and emerging world and others because they want me to be their Pastor. As of late, every time I go to a church, I feel like a cute little blonde kid looking at Bruce and saying, “I see dead people.” I am amazed at the bland, lifeless worship that is filling churches today. Too many Pastors place an over importance on the power point, the band, cute sermon titles connected to outdated series and not enough on the rest. They are asking the same old questions and giving the same old answers; then they wonder why people are not flocking in to “hear the truth” as they define it. They, for whatever reason they have, are limiting the power of worship and placing it into a “what you see and hear” style – the old modern model of worship. The kick they feel, but have no idea where it is coming from, is from those on the outside saying “if your worship is boring and lackluster then your god must be also.” After all, we need to remember that people connect the way we are with the way God is – whether we like it or not, that is the way it is.
Yet, as we enter this new and exciting time for the church, called the 21st century church, we have great opportunity to truly bring to life worship. This is the time. People are looking for spiritual answers and if we show we have noting to offer, they will look elsewhere. The question is, “is God exciting to you?” I think something the modern church has forgotten is that we have five senses, and at most, church worship uses two, three, tops – sight, sound, and smell. But we have five and we need to strive to use all five in worship to have a meaningful worship experience.
Sight:
Sure, we all know that power point, videos, and drama all play a part in worship; they have for the past 15 years. Sight is a central sense we use for life. A great deal of what we remember is based on visual relays. If the “sight” is off, the worship is off. But we need to go deeper then simply flashy presentations and cool graphics. We need to develop “continuity” in image and words. Think of it this way, “What we see is what we get.” If I am hearing words that say one thing, but “see” another thing, sight takes over and my trust level drops.
I remember once speaking in a church that has signs all over the place that said “the fellowship of excitement.” But nothing could have been further from the truth. The church may have used the words (sight words) that said “excitement” – but the music, the people and the general atmosphere said “a fellowship of boredom.” Sight needs to match words.
Candles, robes, lighting and symbols are all visual – do you use backdrops for different lessons? Not power point, but painted sheets, backdrops, do you? – Are you sure all is matching up? – While some may not work in all congregations, most will. For example, during the prayer time is the light so bright they blind you? Do you use candles in a worship service? Not one or two, but fifty? Do the Pastors and other wear robes? Do you stand in the center showing power, or do you stand to the side showing service? Does the church “look right” when others walk in and see it? Keep in mind that it is imagery, not image that moves people in sight.
Sound:
This one is easy. Right? I can here it now as you read this, “We have a great praise band.” Having a great praise band is wonderful, but if you see sound as simply a good praise band read on. While music is an important part of sound, other “sounds” also work. Bells work wonders and can draw attention to an idea or an area. Believe it or not, a child crying is not a “bad” sound – it shows life and life is good. I have been known to even have music playing softly in the background when I speak; it helps with the “quiet time. But then again, but quiet times can be great and helpful – quiet time can be seen as “sound” also. Sound, and no sound, can be powerful tools in a worship service. An acoustic guitar playing softly during prayer is powerful; bells ringing softly during a time of mediation can bring about a wonderful experience of peace.
Touch:
One pastor I know keeps telling me that he has a time in his service where touch is central; it’s where everyone shakes hands and welcomes those around them. Now, I will not say that that is not touch, but it sure is limiting the idea of touch to simply shaking hands. I remember once giving out balloons (filled with helium) to one side of the congregation and blocks to the other side, then I asked them to build a “wall” to separate the two sides – the block side did it and the balloon side did not. Then idea was that with humanity (blocks) we could build walls that separate; but with God (helium balloons) wall building would be impossible. Hands on experience allowed people to get a closer look at the message.
Another time I had “the known and the unknown.” A set of boxes where people in the congregation would come up and stick their hands inside the box and tell everyone what it was – some they could see (the known), they got that right 100% and some they could not see (the unknown) and they got that wrong 99% of the time. I used the “touch” lesson to show that when we look into our own hearts (the known box) we know the problems in our lives, but when we look into the hearts of others (the unknown box) we get it wrong more times then we get it right. It allowed me to speak on the fact that we cannot see inside the hearts of others so we should not confess their sins, but our own.
Smell:
Incenses are great for smell. What a powerful way of connecting the ancient and the future. But think beyond incense; don’t get caught in the incense trap. I once used a bag or garbage to illustrate the garbage we have in our lives. Sure, words could have done the job but people remember the bag of garbage and how it smelled. I remember splashing my body with after-shave to make a point of “hiding odors with odors.”
I remember when I was the pastor of a small United Methodist Church we were planning a service on “the bread of life.” The best part of the church was that the kitchen was downstairs. So, right before the service started I popped five loaves of bread in the oven – then the service started. As I started my lesson, the smell of bread was filling the air – and people took notice. One man, on his way out, told me that my lesson was so powerful he could smell the bread cooking.
Smells invoke memory. The smell of cookies baking, the smell of bread baking, the smell of a pie, the smell of a cigar, the smell of a pipe, the smell of a cologne, the smell of a wet dog, the smell of rain, the smell of spring, the smell of life – all smells bring a memory. When I smell a certain smell I think of my father, my grandfather, friends and different times in my life – some good and some bad – but all memories.
Taste:
I love this one, and people seldom think about it for worship. I remember doing a lesson on sharing when I had a cheese pizza delivered. It was great – it was a mix of the senses, smell, taste and touch. As the pizza came to the front you could see people in the congregation sit-up in their seats (they could have been doing that because they wanted to see what their crazy pastor was doing now) as the pizza came to me – and I opened it. I started to eat and talk about how rotten it would be for me to not share this pizza – as it might be seen that we don’t share Christ with others. As I had the pizza cut into smaller pieces to help the people connect the sharing of food with the sharing of the message of Christ. As one person put it, “Christ is the pizza of life – no one turns down a good pizza, and it’s always fun to share.”
We use “taste” in one of the most important sacraments of the church, community – we “taste” the bread and the wine – they invoke a reality for us, and how we relate to Christ. Here’s a test to show how important taste can be in a worship service – replace the bread you use and the wine you use – if you use grape juice, use real wine – it you use real wine, use grape juice – the reaction of the people will not be on a “theological” issue, but on a taste issue – they will tell you that “it did not taste the same.”
“Sensation:”
All our senses can stir-up powerful memories and images, some good and some bad. When they work together they can bring us to a new level of worship. I believe in the idea of a "sixth sense.” I see it as a connection with God. By bringing all the elements together and building on the five senses our “God sense” gets a deeper touch and a deep know. We connect better with God when all we do connects and is seen as united. Now, let me say this. You do not need to have all the senses working during all worship services, but strive for at least four of them to be used each service.
Keep in mind that not all the suggestions here will wok for every congregation. They should be seen only as an “idea base” that can be built upon. Creativity should be the rule, not tradition. Just because no one had done it does not mean you should not. Some of the most memorable moments in worship happened when all the senses came together. Don’t say you can’t do something even before you try. Remember that the goal of worship is to bring us closer to knowing and walking with God.
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John O’Keefe is the founder of ginkworld.net. John sees a desperate need for the church as a whole to change and reach a new people for Christ. He is straightforward, honest and calls it the way it he sees it. John is a graduate of Drew and has been a Senior Pastor and Church Planter. Currently, John is seeking a community of faith to serve as Senior Pastor
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