Transcript Facilitating Genuine Worship

Facilitating Genuine
Worship
Source: George Barna, Inward,
Outward, Upward: Ministry that
Transforms Lives
[email protected]
Survey of 1800 Christians

When asked to define what
worship means, two out of
three had no idea or offered
bogus responses:
•
•
•
“attending church”
“being a member”
“believing God exists”
Survey of 1800 Christians
•Asked households who are regular (more
than twice per month) attenders of
Christian worship:
•“When did you last experience the
presence of God in worship?”
Experiencing God’s Presence
(Among regular attenders of Christian churches)
never have
32%
not in past
year
16%
within last
month
41%
1-12 months
ago
11%
Conclusions
•32% who regularly attend have never experienced
God’s presence in church;
•48% have not in the last year
•Note: the younger the person, the less likely
•Millions regularly attend worship events …
• … but relatively few worship
Conclusions
•Many worship poorly in evangelical
American churches!
•We are not leading people in worship to
connect with and experience the presence
of God
Conditions That Prevent People
from True Worship
•Cultural conditions
•“Burger King” spirituality
•“Have it Your Way”
•only my needs matter
•Personal conditions
•thinking worship is something that God
does for us
Conditions That Prevent People
from True Worship
•Church conditions
•trying to please people, not God
•learning about God rather than
interacting with God
•wrong criteria:
•attendance, enthusiasm, or professionalism
•instead of humility, awe, intimacy
What We Can Do About It
•Provide people a corporate worship
experience that facilitates connection
with God
•Two main means:
•Preaching
•Music
Worshipful Preaching
3 points of preaching guidance
•1. Prepare people to grow spiritually.
•Most people don’t believe the Bible can be
taken at face value
•believe Christian faith is multiple-choice,
cafeteria-style
•Help them take the Bible seriously for
everyday life
•For example: MP3
Worshipful Preaching
•2. Provide perceived value.
•People remember twice as much about the
way you preach as they do the content of
what you preach
•Tone: Fiery mad/glad?
•Schaller: “offer a note of hope”
•Focus on how Scripture might change the
way you face something this week
Worshipful Preaching
•3. Recognize human and cultural
limitations.
•Average boomer/buster attention span to a great solo
presentation: 6-10 minutes.
•Average US evangelical sermon: 32 minutes
•Average sermon preached at 12th grade level
•Average congregant hears at 7th grade level
•We’re still preaching way over their heads
Worshipful Music
•Music
•enables people to focus on God
rather than ourselves
•can soften hard hearts
•establishes deeper levels of
intimacy with God
•stirs us beyond superficiality to the
Worshipful Music
•Music quantity
•Barna: Minimum of 20 minutes of
uninterrupted music needed
•don’t yo-yo people with the order of
worship!
Worshipful Music
•Musical style
•has to be primarily participatory
rather than presentational
•people don’t connect with God by
mostly watching others play and sing
Worshipful Music
•Musical style
•has to be accessible to people
•notes on notes, stanzas, organ
•people have to feel that it expresses
their sentiments: “from us to God”
Conclusions

Definition of “insanity”
•
“doing the same
things over and
over, expecting
different results”
Conclusions
•We must make significant changes in
our worship and music if we are going to
help the 48% of Christians who do not
connect with God in worship ...
•… to say nothing of seekers.
Facilitating Genuine
Worship
Dr. John P. Chandler
www.rasnet.org
Copyright John P. Chandler, 2003