Book #8- A Guide to Preaching and Leading Worship

Willimon, William H. A Guide to Preaching and Leading Worship. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008, 103 pages.

I have to admit, Willimon has me almost convinced to start wearing vestments. His point about the usefulness of vestments is that it distinguishes who is leading the liturgy. Since I'm the youngest male member of my church, and we all dress fairly casually, it's kind of hard for our first-time guests to figure out who's in charge until the service actually starts, and wearing an alb would take care of much of that.

Now, moving on from that rabbit trail, this is a great little book. If you know someone that is going into worship leading or pastoring for the first time, buy them this book. If you are a pastor who wants to be a more effective worship leader, I would recommend this book. Willimon believes, as I do, that the senior pastor is the primary worship leader of the local church, yet many of us who have gone through the education training for ordination have not been taught much when it comes to the practical side of worship leadership, especially if one happens not to be very musical. For any of these instances, this book is a true gem. It is a short, easy read, but the practical suggestions are priceless.

Willimon's main premise, from which all of the book precedes, is that churches do not grow without vibrant Sunday morning worship. Now, this isn't really all that groundbreaking. You probably already knew it. Almost all of us who serve in the local church have realized that denominational affiliation isn't what it used to be. What I mean is, no matter where my parents or grandparents moved, if there was a Church of the Nazarene there, they would've attended. It could be a terrible church, but as long as it was Nazarene, they would attend. That just isn't the case anymore. Someone my age who has been raised in the Church of the Nazarene all their life, like I have, who moves to a place will attend the church they most enjoy going to. It's hard at this point to acknowledge the consumerist mentalities of many church attenders without condoning it, but I think part of my job as a pastor is to recognize the culture in which we are in and do what I can to reach that culture, so in order to reach a consumerist culture, our worship services need to be done at the best of our ability.

Now, in most of our churches, this is going to involve change. One of my favorite lines I've been using a few times in the past few months at my local church is this, "The biggest group of people in this community who need to be reached for the gospel are between the ages of 30 and 50, and our church is uniquely positioned to reach people that were in that age group 15-20 years ago." I don't know if everyone at the church has realized that what I mean is there are things we need to change, but where Willimon is helpful at this point is that he gives "Guidelines for Innovations," or what I would call "Ways to Change Your Service and Keep Your Job":

1. 
   
   Do not change a congregation's accustomed worship pattern until you have some clear understanding of the function of the accustomed patterns and unless you feel that the change is essential to preserving the vitality and fidelity of the congregation as people of God.


2. 
   
   Never make liturgical changes solely at the pastor's discretion.


3. 
   
   Be honest with yourself.


4. 
   
   Use every means to explain the proposed change to the people.


5. 
   
   Welcome comments on the changes.


6. 
   
   Introduce some innovation at a "special" service at a time other than Sunday morning.


7. 
   
   Utilize the new worship resources of your own denomination in reforming your congregation's worship.


8. 
   
   If your proposed liturgical changes are steadfastly resisted--even after your best attempts to involve the laity in the planning, execution, and evaluation of this changes, even after your most skillful efforts to teach about those changes--be willing to consider trying something else or backing off.

Heed the last in particular. Too often, it's easy to come into a church and have this mindset that you are going to fix what is broken about the church's worship service. My advice is to go slow and make sure you take the leadership with you. (I'm rolling out my ideas of how I think our worship needs to change in my pastor's report on July 10, so I guess you should check back to see if I still have a job on July 17th.) Of course, this doesn't mean you shouldn't have opinions on worship. Willimon makes many definite statements, like including children in your worship as soon as possible. He also says that the primary structure of Christian worship should be Word and Table, and I agree with that, but we haven't celebrated communion as much as I would want this year at my church. The total will end up being about 8 times, which isn't very different from last year, when I wasn't the pastor of this church, but in Advent, we celebrated communion every week, which did freak some people out, and I had to explain why we were doing it each week, and about half the time, we received the elements by intinction, which really freaked out my germaphobes. "What if someone sticks their fingers in the cup?!?!?!" So I got to explain how communion is a communal, familial, ecclesial act, not an individualized, privatized act of personal piety, and that's why I like using the common cup. So my goal is to raise the number of times we celebrate communion a great deal this year, and again, you should probably check back with me to see how it goes. Willimon writes that the best way to reeducatie about the sacraments is through well-planned, enthusiastically led, frequent celebrations, and that is exactly what we are going to try this year at our church.

Part of why I think this will work is my agreement with Willimon that it is the pastor who sets the tone for the liturgical assembly, so if the pastor leads the celebration of communion in a vibrant fashion, not just going through the motions, the rest of the assembly will follow. Willimon calls the pastor the "Gracious Host" (18) of the worship service, and he provides several helpful suggestions of how to go about worship leadership as the senior pastor.

One suggestion that struck me that I never would have thought of is to have a full-length mirror in your office. Willimon makes this point mostly so that you can make sure your vestments are in order, but I think it would be important no matter how formally or casually you are usually dressed for your Sunday service. If you are wearing a shirt and tie, make sure the knot is straight; if your shirt is tucked in, make sure it is tucked in properly; if you've used the restroom since getting dressed, make sure the zipper of the fly of your pants is closed. This isn't vanity. It is as important to look as prepared in your appearance as you are for the words you will see as worship leader and preacher.

Willimon advocates practicing your movements as a worship leader, so that you can use confident, flowing gestures that look natural, rather than short, chopped movements that will be hard to understand. Part of his point is that most effective liturgical leadership is by sight rather than by sound--ie. raising your arms in a fluid motion rather than saying, "Please stand as we sing." Also, Willimon considers your eyes the principle means of exercising liturgical leadership. For example, if you have a choir and they are singing an anthem, look at them rather than flipping around in your Bible or going through your sermon notes. Remember that throughout the service, even when you are not the one leading the assembly at a given particular moment, you are still setting the tone for everyone else in the congregation.

As he draws the book to a close, Willimon cites nine characteristics of churches with vibrant worship from Thomas Long's Beyond the Worship Wars: Building Vital and Faithful Worship (The Alban Institute, 2001). "These churches:

1. 
   
   Make room, somewhere in worship for the experience of mystery.


2. 
   
   Are very intentional about showing hospitality to the stranger.


3. 
   
   Have recovered and made visible the sense of drama inherent in Christian worship.


4. 
   
   Emphasize congregational music that is both excellent and eclectic in style and genre.


5. 
   
   Creatively adapt the space and environment of worship.


6. 
   
   Have a strong connection between worship and local mission, a connection that is expressed in every aspect of the worship service.


7. 
   
   Have a relatively stable order of service and a significant repertoire of worship elements and responses that the congregation knows by heart.


8. 
   
   Move to a joyous festival experience toward the end of the worship service.


9. 
   
   Have strong, charismatic pastors and worship leaders. (100)

My favorite quote is on page 97: "The future of Christian worship is not so much 'traditional' or 'contemporary' but rather eclectic." May God help us to be faithful worship leaders, and may we lead our churches boldly into that eclectic future!