This is a question I’ve been asked a bit in recent times with questions like: What do you think the future of worship is going to be like? Where do you see worship going in the next decade? What changes to worship can you see right now and into the future?
I’m not sure that anyone can answer those questions with any certainty or clarity, but there have been some trends in recent years that I’ve noticed, and the pandemic has certainly accelerated these trends with lock-downs and a big move to online church.
So forgive me if in this blog, I get a little reflective and maybe even a little philosophical. That doesn’t mean that it won’t be practical, but I hope to create some sort of context from which you make your own decisions about the nature of worship for your community. So let’s dive right in…
One of the trends I’ve noticed over the past couple of decades has been from worship being participatory to worship being immersive. In other words, is worship something we do with singing, praying, raising hands and more, or is worship something we experience through the music and visual arts? The conversation around this tends to try to push someone to one end of the spectrum – or at least that’s the feeling I’ve had.
So… is worship participatory or immersive. The answer is “Yes”. It’s both. Certainly, if your community has been in lockdown and you’ve had to pivot your worship services accordingly, it has been squeezed to one end of that spectrum – probably to immersive as it’s increasingly experiential. And that’s because participation isn’t as connected with what’s happening on the screen. I mean… how often do we sing when watching TV? (unless it’s The Sound of Music where everyone seems to sing!!) And when someone on a screen prays – do you watch them pray, or close your eyes? That’s not a critical statement, just a possible realisation that things have changed – life has changed – and so immersive worship appears to be the default flavour right now.
So… is worship participatory or immersive. The answer is “Yes”.
Even when we’ve been allowed to meet all masked up, we can’t sing anyway, so both live and online has been primarily immersive. Most people I’ve spoken to find this frustrating – I personally find it exasperating which is not a great mindset for worship!
So what can we do? How can we in the worship team with all the frustrations we endure, move people to truly experience and engage with their Heavenly Father who’s so aware of everything going on?
Firstly, we need to remember that worship has always been both participatory and immersive. Psalmists have been immersed in the beauty and wonder of creation and have found inspiration and connection through experiencing the sights and sounds of God’s handiwork.
Similarly, they have been excited to write for, and encourage participatory worship as they exhort people to come together to worship. (Psalm 95:1)
Secondly, we can think about how we can encourage people to connect in the context of a more immersive experience as we have had to lean into the season that we are currently in. Maybe we can consider the following aspects of worship.
- Prayer and Scripture may need to Include more visual experience, especially online.
- Worship music may include more songs that minister to others… ones that you listen to rather than participate in.
- The worship sound may include instruments and music that is more intimate, as well as sounds that are more ethereal like pad sounds that wash over the ears of the listener. I know… sounds a little obscure in nature, but many of the pad sounds that keyboards use, give a great ambient sound to video, as well as songs that people may sing.
- Prayers may be prayed with visuals that enhance prayer, rather than just a blank or black screen. We can pray with our eyes open, so maybe we need to consider what we do visually to help people focus on God.
- Bible readings may include video and music backing as well.
Online church has, in one sense, forced our hand that little bit more to be creative and bring what may have been missing visually, into that space. I believe (and hope) that participatory worship will always be with us, but during these times, we need to embrace what immersive worship might look like so that we can minister more effectively.
The future of worship looks like you… your church. Future worship practices then, are in your hands.
I also believe, that when it comes down to it, the future of worship is really in the hands of the local church – especially it’s creatives. We are in a season where we get to enlarge our creativity with the resources at hand in order to usher people into worship. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are potentially on the cusp of something new in order to declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9). That never changes!
Let me know what you are doing online in order to facilitate worship in your community.