Planning v. spontaneity

Spontaneity can be overrated. Worship is sometimes diminished by the erroneous belief that to be led by the Spirit is to be entirely spontaneous. This often leads to rambling, unimaginative, over-long services, lacking in content and true beauty. I would no more lead unplanned worship than I would go to church in my Pyjamas - a little preparation of the self is required both of body and soul.

But too much preparation can also be a bad thing (just as too much blow-drying and make-up can). I read somewhere that early liturgies were never recited word-for-word, but were agreed formularies that were recited more-or-less the same. Not read off the sheet, but said with a mix of pre-planning and learning, and of-the-moment personal interpretation. I recite the Eucharistic prayer in just this way - it's almost word-for-word (because I've said it so many times I can remember it near enough, apart from the seasonal add-ons) but if ever I lose a word or two I just say something that means the same thing - because I also know what's meant to come next  in terms of the SENSE of the thing.  (Of course, very occasionally this leads to a comedy moment, but neither I nor my congregation seem to mind this particularly.)

Plans for worship, including liturgies, shouldn't be tight boundaries within which things must happen, they should be a skeleton into which life can be breathed. Enough planning and preparation for true beauty to emerge. Enough freedom to make it fit the moment, stretch to the local setting. Filling souls, not ticking boxes.

Comments

[Jay]

Well put.

[Drew]

Early in my dad's pastoral ministry, his boss, what would be the bishop or the district superintendent for many, depending on your denomination came to worship on a Sunday. Following the service, holding the program from the meeting in his hand, he asked my dad, "Do you print one of these every week?" Proudly, the 20-something, first-time-congregation pastor said "EVERY WEEK." To which his boss responded, "You know some week you ought to toss it aside and let the Spirit lead."

[ConradGempf]

In one of our recent London School of Theology magazines, Dr Anna Robbins wrote an article about this. She used the analogy of the Mr Potato-Head toy... there are holes for where the eyes and the ears etc go, but you want to use a variety of eyes for particular situations... you can read the whole thing in PDF at the College website... I can't seem to past URLs in here... go to -- www.lst.ac.uk/inprint/ -- and click on the spring "Worship" issue.

[Lorna]

Drew your comment was great. Maggi I loved what you wrote. it's the meaning of the liturgy that matters and often that's lost in the rote reciting.

Even though I don't go to a liturgical church, I have a real love for the liturgy, but a pet hate for the priest or pastor rushing through it. And the 100 yard dash recitation of the Lords prayer is awful.

Slow down. Savour the meaning. Pray as if you meant it. But it's hard to teach us old dogs new tricks. sigh!

[Serena]

Lorna - I agree! I completely see what you mean about the Lord's Prayer - a homily a guy did at our church where we just talked through every line slowly, savouring it and feeling what it meant, was one of the most helpful things I've ever done in my life!

[maggi]

great story, Drew!

serena - one of the things I keep meaning to slot in somewhere is some kind of meditative approach to the Eucharistic service - a kind of walk-through all the bits in the right order to see how it fits together and why all the parts are there. It's so much richer if you know why it's done the way it is. But somehow we haven't got round to it yet...

[Hugh A]

Drew - your story worried me a bit; did the bishop (or whatever) think the Holy Spirit was absent when your father prepared the service? The temptation is to limit the Holy Spirit's work to Sunday's within the four wall of the church (or chapel) when He/She is just as active in guiding the preparation.
My love of liturgy partly stems from 6 months worshiping in an Anglican church in 1973 when Series 2 came out and it was new and exciting to everyone - not just the Baptist interloper. Back in Beckenham at that time our minister was very keen on liturgy and it was this that freed us from the hymn/prayer sandwich to experiment with various forms of worship.

[Serena]

Mmmm, nothing like a good old hymn/prayer sandwich, eh maggi? ;)

[dave paisley]

Well said everyone. I think it's best summed up as:

Be prepared, but be prepared to be flexible...

[Dave]

Coming from Methodism, which ostensibly holds together both those of a 'written liturgy' approach and those who claim to be non-liturgical, and being someone who finds strength in both approaches, I am often reminded of the early twentieth century Congregationalist leader who said that extempore prayer is 'preaching with eyes closed'. Or I recall visiting friends who in the 1980s were students at Moorlands Bible College. They were on placement with a Brethren Assembly. My friends were Anglican and FIEC by their roots. They were both cynical about the issue of when in the morning service one of the men (and yes, sorry, it was men) would feel led to move into the breaking of the bread. "You watch," they said, "the Spirit always moves at 11:45." Sure enough ...

[Kathryn]

Coming from a context where liturgy is often a sight too rigid for anyone's good, a chill eveloped my heart at maggi's analogy of going to church in pyjamas. It's my recurring nightmare. There I am on the chancel steps, about to greet the people, when I look down and see that I am clad in my son's (long since outgrown) brushed cotton tartan pjs. The blood runs cold, just thinking about it.
Of course, it might be specially vivid right now in that I am writing 3 last minute things at once...will be glad to get to Monday alive!

[Caroline Ramsey]

I wonder if the improv Jazz musicians could teach us something here? They will have riffs, songs etc. stored up but will always seek to play any song slightly differently.

They also have a distributed leadership, so as a musician 'hears' a new way to go with a song they'll 'interrupt' with the new theme. (I'm sure Maggi would be more up on this). In the context of worship this could lead to tensions and contradictions, but given shared, prayerful preparation could this not work creatively, disciplined -ly and flexibly?

[hopefulamphibian]

Maggi, I really liked your inclusion and acknowledgment of those comedy moments: thank God for them. My fear is that searching for beauty in worship, we can end up marginalising or excluding so many from leading and participating - those who stumble when they read, those who find it hard to walk in patterns, those who struggle to sing in tune - Mike Yaconelli, of course, has some great stories to tell around this whole issue in Messy Spirituality.

[Mark Anderson]

Maggi:

I can't figure out how to email you, other than a message through your blog. I'm sure you've been asked before, but have you ever read Marva Dawn's book "Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down" (Eerdmans, 1995)?

http://www.amazon.com/Reaching-Without-Dumbing-Turn-Century/dp/0802841023

Mark