Ancient-Future
Talk - November 2006
In the current culture war, one of the battlefronts is the field of communication. How do you get your people involved in worship? This is the nagging question all worship leaders and ministers of music continually ask.
Do you remember the battle over information vs. entertainment (this word “entertainment” gets misused! The word itself means “engagement.” We want people to be engaged, but engaged by the message, not the release of balloons or some other silly gimmick).
Information fits the more 50’s crowd. Give me truth. Any old way. And its usually charts, graphs, printout, long complicated sermons.
Entertainment understood properly often means how truth is packaged. Unfortunately truth gets reduced to sayings – true as they may be – they are often glittering bytes without depth.
We need both. But I suggest first of all changing the language. A change in language often signals a change in direction.
Let’s change information to narrative. The worship of God is not based on information as in a statement of fact (God created), but on narrative (the God who created is busy re-creating His world). Note the shift to how the past speaks to the present and the future. It is dynamic, ongoing, and includes my life then and now, as well as in the future.
Let’s change entertainment to immersion. To be immersed is to be caught up in the present moment. It means more than listening and watching. It means to be moved by the content of what is being sung, said, or enacted. It means to be caught up in the truth.
I’m convinced that narrative and immersion can happen in any church. I planned and produced the “30 Days of Worship Discovery with Robert Webber” out of this conviction. I lead the congregation toward an understanding of God’s truth as the narrative of world. And, I provide directions on how to immerse the whole congregation or a segment of the congregation into heart-felt total involvement.
Check it out!
On a personal note – a health update: I am still struggling with pancreatic cancer. I am now doing daily radiation and chemo. The best result would be a shrinkage of the tumor so the doctors can get in there and operate. Please pray to that end. Thank you!
God Bless,
Bob Webber
Myers Professor of Ministry
Director of M.A. in Worship and Spirituality
Northern Seminary—www.seminary.edu
(See Northern's M.A. in Worship and Spirituality and D.Min. in Worship by clicking on the website.)
