Passion For Jesus Ministries

First, the variety of responses was surprising. Almost every person expressed something different. One person wanted relief from stress at work, another was hoping to see God answer a prayer for a friend, and so on. In other words, each person's expectation as to what would happen during the service was born out of personal need and desire. They saw "going to church" that night as a resource to help them cope with their current concerns. We learned that, in spite of our efforts to give worship a particular meaning, people bring their own meanings to the service.

Now an expectation of this magnitude is terrifying for a worship leader. We can provide social activities, music, and a message, but how can we guarantee that people will encounter God? God's presence is not something we control, and though we hope people can find Him in our services--well, sometimes our best efforts "flop," and the meeting bombs rather than blesses.

But what about those people whose "heart(s) and flesh cry out for the living God"? Doesn't Psalm 84 indicate--if not promise--that they will encounter God if they continue on their worship pilgrimage? In fact, "They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion" (Psalm 84:7, NIV). They cry out for God, they make their way to His temple, and they appear before Him. Worship gave the psalmists the God-encounter they craved (see also Psalm 63: 1, 2).

A friend in my church wrote me recently about people who say they "got blessed" or "didn't get blessed" in church. She said what they really mean is they did or didn't have an encounter with God. Her letter goes on to say:

 

If this is so, it should give worship leaders both relief and a challenge. We are relieved to know God-encounters cannot be manufactured. The challenge for worship leaders is this: Can we help to "open up" that part of a person's heart or mind or longing so God can "come in"? In other words, what can worship leaders do to promote a God-encounter?

I offer the following suggestions based on biblical studies, theological research, and interviews among the people of our church. If God is present in our worship--and certainly that is our hope and assumption--these steps will help people to open up to Him, or become more conscious of His presence.

GIVE WORSHIP LOTS OF PRAYER
Shouldn't worship leaders try to spend at least as much time preparing the worship as ministers spend preparing the sermon? Worship is too important to attempt without prayer and planning. And if we're going to pray, then we're also going to have to trust God to answer our prayers and work within people as we attempt to lead them. We can't conjure up God, but we can take Him at His word. If He promised to be with those who come together in His name, then we can begin our work knowing God's Spirit is already at work in the hearts of worshipers. Worship leaders of biblical times had to properly prepare themselves for worship, which included purification (Nehemiah 12:30) and consecration (2 Chronicles 29:34; 30:15).

CREATE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT
People need to be at ease to truly worship. Tension, anxiety, or nervousness inhibit personal involvement and distract us from God. People need to know they are accepted and will not be embarrassed or put on the spot. They also need to know their freedom of choice will not be violated. In Philippians 4:6 (NIV), Paul says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Through prayer, we can help people overcome their anxieties and prepare themselves for worship.

CREATE A SPIRITUAL ENVIRONMENT
Worship should help us deal with our sins and feelings of inadequacy. As one theologian put it, "Worship sanctifies."[1] In our services, we need to balance the joy of celebration with the fear (mysterium tremendum) of God. The environment of worship should promote a sense of wonder and help us to concentrate on God.

STRIVE FOR SIMPLICITY
Speaking as a worshiper who loves to worship but lacks musical talent, keep your worship fairly simple--with the exception of special performances. When worship music is too complex--or too professional--you take it away from the "people." Sometimes a single instrument, like piano or guitar, is more effective in creating a refreshing moment of praise for the worshipers than an orchestra in full force. David could worship on a hillside with only his harp as well as before the ark with all kinds of instruments.

WORSHIP SHOULD FLOW SMOOTHLY
A.W. Tozer mourned the "little sense of divine presence" in evangelical meetings:
 

My teen-age children use the phrase "get in their face" to describe people who are pushy. There are some worship leaders who "get in our face" all through the service. Instead of helping us encounter God, they interrupt the flow of worship by coaxing the worshipers too much. Just as worshipers are beginning to experience God, the song ends--with a flair--or the worship leader is intruding into that quiet space with irrelevant talk. Once worship begins, allow it to move forward purposely and evenly.

DEFINE THE WORSHIP EVENT
Worshipers need to be reminded of why they have come to church. Our job is to help them remember, and to build a sense of community through establishing a collective understanding and a collective goal. If your morning's worship has a theme, take 60 seconds to explain it to everyone.

PERSUADE PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE
Physical involvement is sometimes lost in non-liturgical churches, which tend to stress the inwardness of worship. But there is something useful in outward expressions, too.

Lifting our hands, kneeling, and even standing at times can increase personal involvement. In Worship: Its Theology and Practice, J.-J. von Allmen said physical gestures are "not merely a form, but a very personal action which reacts upon the one who performs it. It does not merely express an encounter, but brings it about."[3] In The Integrity of Worship, Paul Waitman Hoon claims that "it is easier to act one's way into a new way of feeling than to feel one's way into a new way of acting....[4] It is interesting how this principle was anticipated many years ago in the oft-quoted words of Friedrich von Hugel in illustrating the action with which man liturgically offers his love to God: 'I kiss my child not only because I love it; I kiss it also in order to love it.' "Actions such as kneeling, bowing of the head, repeating words or songs familiar from the past, can induct attitudes not initially present. Feelings are seldom under the control of the will, but actions are."

The more people participate, the more likely a part of them will open up to God.

FOCUS ATTENTION ON GOD
Though this is obvious, it is not easy. It seems to me that even worship leaders who know they should be concentrating on God, are instead preoccupied with chord charts, key changes, and what the other musicians are doing. Therefore, it's easy to forget our real ministry, which should be God-ward, and become, instead, enslaved to the mechanical part of our work.

Still, it's only when people focus their concentration on God that part of their lives open up to Him. As much as possible, worship God with abandon, and turn your thoughts toward Him alone. In our church, we like to say that the whole congregation is the choir, and God is the audience.

YOU MUST TRULY WORSHIP
One of the important words for the '90s is "authentic." Your worship-leading can't be authentic unless you are engaged in worship. Don't expect to stand at the door and usher us in--we want you to enter first and then invite us to join you.

GIVE PEOPLE PERMISSION TO WORSHIP
Oddly enough, worshipers need to be reassured that it's all right for them to sing, pray, read, and respond to God throughout the service. When people have permission to participate, then they're more likely to sing out as if they were the choir.

To meet the need and expectation of every worshiper, a lot of business must be going on between people and God that we don't produce or control. We are responsible to create the worship environment, and beyond that to give people permission to interact with God according to His work in their own hearts. In this context, all kinds of exchanges can be going on between God and His people. In Doxology, Geoffrey Wainwright says:
 

No doubt you could add other words of advice to this list, but my main concern here has been to remind you of the real purpose of your work and to give you enough ideas to get excited about the next opportunity you have to lead God's people in worship. Remember, your congregation is sitting there sending you non-verbal messages, telling you what they hope will happen during worship. You can't fulfill their expectations, but you can lead them to a God who will meet their needs and satisfy their longings. You can help them open up a part of their lives and let Him in.

Footnotes:
 
 1. Rudolf Otto, "The Idea of the Holy" (New York: Oxford University Press, 1982).
 2. A.W. Tozer, "God Tells the Man Who Cares" (Harrisburg: Christian Publications, 1970), p. 12.
 3. J.J. von Allmen, "Worship: Its Theology and Practice" (New York: Oxford University Press, 1965), p. 95.
 4. Paul Waitman Hoon, "The Integrity of Worship" (Nashville: Abingdon, 1978), pp. 318-19.
 5. Geoffrey Wainwright, "Doxology: The Praise of God in Worship, Doctrine, and Life" (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980), p. 443.
 Text

Chuck Smith, Jr., is senior pastor of Calvary Chapel-Capo Beach in Capistrano Beach, Calif. This article was originally published in Worship Leader magazine. Copyright 1992 by CCM Communications, Nashville, Tenn., U.S.A. All rights reserved.