Here is a thought I’d like us to ponder about worship in general. I’ve been reading “The Art of Curating Worship” by Mark Pierson. I’m not all the way through yet, but this idea in particular grabbed me. In this section, Pierson talks about “slow worship” not in the sense of its tempo but in correlation to the slow food movement. Its hallmarks are integrity, authenticity, and originality. It is a shift from the fast-food, one-size-fits-all kind of worship most of us have endured.
Pete Ward first drew my attention to this in his provocative and book, Liquid Church. He writes, "The church must change its emphasis from meeting people's spiritual needs to stimulating their desires.” Slow worship assumes that people-inside and outside the church-are looking for an encounter with God. They might not give that phrase the same content as we would, but that's their desire-to encounter God. Desire is much deeper, less predictable and manageable, and more controversial than need. It can sound-but isn't necessarily so-much more consumer driven, as if needs have greater spiritual integrity and legitimacy than desires. But they don't. Our culture has made a religion out of meeting needs. Slow worship works on the assumption that everyone has some level of spiritual desire and that worship can and should be designed to engage with that desire. (emphasis mine)
Mark Pierson. The Art of Curating Worship: Reshaping the Role of Worship Leader (pp. 72-73). Kindle Edition.
So, what do you think about worship’s job to be awakening desire for the Divine? Not necessarily answering questions, not solving problems, but being the appetizer for the feast that is spirituality. Let us talk amongst ourselves!
It does seem that a lot of churches spend tons of time studying demographics trying to figure out who their target audience is so they can structure worship to their needs. On of my buddies has compared this trend to a trip to the mall. If you don't find something appealing in one store just stroll to the next. Good luck with that slow worship.
ReplyDeleteI came across a blog “Notes From A Songwriter:An Exploration Of Art & Creativity” and found an entry on 4/25/09 titled “Creative Discipline - Clearing the path of your songwriting pursuit.” I was particularly struck by the blogger’s description of “desire” in relation to “Creative Discipline”.
ReplyDeleteI the replaced creative=god and discipline= christ. The words “Creative Discipline” is powerful but I see the words “God Christ” describing the desire needed to be engaged in worship.
"…what if there is something deep inside of you that badly wants, even ‘needs’ to [be expressed]. To ‘get out’ what is tumbling around inside like a full bowl that needs to be poured out. To add to the dilemma, what if you find yourself blocked or ‘[god] frigid’, as though there were a disconnect between your inherent desire and your freedom to let yourself engage with that desire?
This is a dilemma indeed, for to be in this position is to be at add odds with one’s self. At odds with a very central and core part of one’s self. And that is not a rift that can be maintained for very long without cracks appearing somewhere. The most common course of action here is to take none. To avoid the deep knowing that something within you is wanting to make itself available to Inspiration, by avoiding the god process altogether. This is the attempt to avoid the pain of the disconnect between desire and reality by dulling down the desire. At great cost to one’s own heart, and great loss to the world within it’s reach.
It at this point that [Christ] appears as an unlikely hero, offering to clear the path extended from your deepest desires and to rid it of it’s blockages. This is not [a christ] that will methodically schedule space in your [heart], nor [a christ] that will set a five-year plan and stick [it to you]. This is the [christ] of the soul that will avoid avoiding, and will sit down in your [god] space and allow the inner fears, questions and anxieties that block your [god] path to be felt, seen, acknowledged and faced. It is the [Christ] that will ask “Why am I afraid of tapping [into my god] space?”, “What is stopping me from living from this desire”, “Why do I think I’m not allowed?” It is the [Christ] that leads a heart to repentance. It is the [Christ] that will hold something broken out to the Healer instead of hiding it away.
This kind of [Christ] may be a confronting ally in your [god] pursuit, yet it seems that once truth is acknowledged and faced, Grace appears to soothe what is frayed and to fix what is broken. [It is] this process that the way is cleared to connect with True Inspiration once again.
You can read the original version at
http://notesfromafellowsongwriter.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html