Ancient-Future
Talk - January 2007
The past two Ancient-Future Talks have concentrated on how to teach the congregation to worship. My suggestions are based on using “The 30 Days of Worship Discovery.”
In this brief article I want to suggest that the best time to teach about worship is right before worship begins. This may not work for everyone, but it has been helpful to many.
Let’s say your worship begins at 10 am. About 10 minutes before 10am introduce a “teaching moment.” It doesn’t matter if only half the congregation has assembled. Those who are there will benefit and others will catch on. If this is done every Sunday it will become part of the larger gathering. In most churches it is received very well. A good time to start the practice is to coordinate it with the 30 Days.
Simply state something like this: “Today we are going to draw from historic worship and include a confession.” Then explain why confessions are used, what benefit it brings to worship, and read the confession so people are familiar with it. Then, of course, use it in worship. The same principle applies to teaching a hymn, a chorus, the passing of the peace or anything else that you are learning from the 30 Days.
By the way, I would like to hear from you if you have used the 30 Days in your church. What was the response?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.)
