...Spiritual Direction
When it comes to corporate worship, Spiritual Direction is the best terminology I know for an important factor in providing guidance for any congregation to meet God. So what is Spiritual Direction? It's a concept that really spoke to me while attending a Willow Creek Arts Conference some time ago. Let's look at two scenarios and then put them together with my personal spin on Spiritual Direction.
Church Attender scenario
If you are a church attender (pew sitter, not the upfront leader), have you ever gotten up on Sunday and...maybe you were rushed, maybe there were kids to feed and dress, maybe there was a "you're on my side" argument between the kids in the car, maybe it was hard to find a parking place once you arrived, maybe the teacher wasn't there yet to take the kids into the classroom, maybe people were hogging the end of the rows in the Worship Center...and once you get situated, you are distracted by the look of the weird hairdo of the person in front of you! So, are you ready to worship? And, if you happen to be on time after all of that and slump down in your seat, the band starts a stand and clap song or the organ has a big introduction to the opening hymn. Now, chances are that you were probably not on time and missed the first things in the service, but if you were there, I can pretty much guarantee that you were not ready to worship. You mumbled to yourself something about the worship leader not giving you a chance to catch your breath and now he/she expects me to worship?
Worship Leader scenario
If you are the worship leader (upfront leader, not the pew sitter), chances are that you arrived at church a couple of hours ahead of starting time. You have rehearsed with everyone during the week...the singers warm up their voices, the orchestra tunes and plays a few things, the band gets all plugged in and checks monitor levels once more, the projection computer is on and looks good, the organ transition between songs is comfortable...Everyone gathers in the back room to pray and you're ready to go!!! All the leaders step out on the platform, the organ blasts away into the first intro, or the band starts vamping, you ask the congregation to stand and clap along...and wonder why there are some blank faces and a sense of detachment. (See Church Attender scenario above)
There are many reasons for these kinds of disconnect, but in this discussion, let me propose the concept of Spiritual Direction to assist in connecting leaders with congregation, and both leaders and congregation connecting to God. Knowing that the congregation in some part is not as ready to worship as are the leaders should send up a flag for the leader to make an adjustment to guide the congregation...this is pastoring or shepherding the people. Spiritual Direction can be the opening comments, an analogy, a drama, a scripture reading, a time of silent meditation, prayer...be creative. In some way, let the people know where the worship experience is headed that day, gather their thoughts into a common purpose, quiet their distracted hearts. In short, recognize that these precious people have come from a scattered, harried life since they last gathered for worship...some even that morning. As the leader, do something to focus their attention on God and the "Spiritual Direction" that you have diligently prepared for them to follow.