You might remember my challenge to worship leaders that I posted a week ago. Go to most any church and a perception can become that worship=singing and clearly singing is not the only way to worship God. Worship pastors spend a lot of time speaking about worship being a lifestyle and then go on to sing 5 songs and call it a worship set. I think we need to move beyond this somewhat narrow way of approaching worship.
As I’ve thought more about this, I’ve thought of 4 practical ways that churches can practice holistic worship within the context of a weekend gathering.
**How a church worships God is always a reflection of the culture around them and the community within. So none of these ideas are uniform, and singing is certainly an appropriate reflection of our musical culture for worshiping God.**
- Liturgy/Responsive Reading: We can worship God through the spoken word just as much as we can by singing. It also provides a way to value church tradition and provides a means to engage with Sacred texts. Dan Kimball has some good thoughts on this.
- Silence: Let’s be honest, a typical weekend gathering is filled with a lot of talking and a lot of noise. Go to most evangelical churches and the gathering is filled with just as much noise. God can be greatly honored with a quiet heart centered on Him.
- Prayer Stations: It pushes people past their passiveness in worship and encourages them to get out of their seat and be involved in the gathering by connecting with God through a hands-on experience. Prayer stations also allow for personal prayer rather than corporate prayer to be a part of the worship gathering.
- Writing/Drawing: Very few things within most churches allow for personal interaction with God outside of prayer. We sing songs with or to people, we speak at people. The purpose of writing or drawing is to allow reflection and response from what God is saying to that person.
