The reason I harp so much on PREPARING for worship in all details, from attire to warming up the voice to working with the mic to thinking through transitions before you have to make them, to reviewing the words of the offering, to learning the hymns to considering not just when but HOW to light the Advent candle, to painstakingly and carefully preparing your words (whether by memory, or by prayer, or by written manuscript) is that there are so many mistakes we make in ministry, we should at least work very hard to assure that we don’t make mistakes where they can be avoided.
In dealing with the most intense, deepest and most tender of the human experience, having constant pressure on us to be present and emotionally available and sensitive to everyone, needing to be strong and courageous leaders, supervising staff, teaching classes, responding immediately and professionally to crisis, we are going to screw some of it up. That’s inevitable.
So what I’m saying, kittens, is that if we make it our goal to be absolutely and beautifully prepared and excellent at worship, the sense of centeredness, groundedness, goodness and confidence that comes with that can help us survive all the other messy bits that comes with the work. Maybe that’s why God wants us to worship. Maybe it’s an antidote to all the chaos that characterizes so much of our lives. If God wants to bring us out of chaos and into shalom, wholeness, then worship is the key way we can respond as communities to that desire.
And no one but you is in charge of making that happen.
You must not fail to put your utmost effort into it.
Amen.
The whole idea is that one should put a LOT of effort into making it look effortless. This is what we are constantly trying to impress upon our lay Worship Associates. Some of them actually get it. And one of the benefits of a long-standing Worship Associates program is that after a few years you have a lot of former Worship Associates in your congregation who really understand what you are trying to do. It helps as a way to create a worshiping congregation.
I know this isn’t what you were originally writing about but this is where I went with it.
I don’t disagree with your sentiment, but I would say let’s not forget that God is gracious and oftentimes that grace transcends our efforts. It’s never just about us and what we do or how we prepare.
My motto is, “The Holy Spirit never fails to show up, but She really likes it when you’ve done your homework first.”
I second the Amen.
And will add that when I’ve thought through the “choreography” first, I have a much easier time worshiping myself, rather than having to stress about whatever is next. Granted, there are times when thinking through things in detail doesn’t happen, but I believe that taking time to think about details when I can helps me those times when I can’t.