A Matter of Trust

what happens when we let worship flow

When I started this Substack, I anticipated talking a fair bit about worship – after all, worship is the center of my ministry. (I’m not called the Worship Whisperer for nothing.) But things keep happening, and people keep sharing stories and experiences that need to be talked about. So the worship topics get pushed aside, because they don’t seem as crucial, as topical, as present.

But there are things to say about worship, and I am of a mind to speak about this one that’s been festering for far too long.

Simply put: Worship services are not talk shows or variety shows.

“Well of course,” I hear you say. “Why is this news?”

Here’s where I’m going with this: you know how on a talk show or variety show, every guest is introduced, and often with what they are going to do? “And now, to sing their new hit “Another Marvin Gaye Ripoff” is the Rooty Tooty Band!” or… “now welcome to our next guest, star of the new film Blockbuster 49: We Can’t Stop Doing Sequels, it’s Aging Action Star!”

Worship services do not require that every single element and speaker have an introduction.

Just …no.

Those who craft worship work very hard to put together elements that flow into one another.

Yes, some things need some introduction, like how we’ll do a ritual (and deal with traffic around the sanctuary if it’s a ritual where folks come up to the front). I’m not talking about those kinds of introductions.

And I’m not even talking about the kinds of introductions to elements that tell you something about them, like “we light our chalice with these words from Rev. Fabulous Poet” or “as we consider our work in the world, let us sing together hymn number 64000, This Is How We Do It.”

What I’m talking about is this: “Now Jane Doe will introduce the offering” and as soon as that’s done, “now Lefty Strummer will sing our offertory” and then “now Rev. Needsno Introduction will deliver their sermon, called “It’s Got a Clever Title.”

Every time you introduce someone during the worship service, it interrupts the flow. And because they were introduced, everyone has to do some sort of beginning, which leads to an avalanche of “good morning.” (I have opinions about too many starts too, which I’ll save for another day.)

Here’s the thing:

Yes, it’s nice to know who’s speaking. That’s what the order of service, and a sentence in the welcome about the participants for the day’s service, are for.

Some people appreciate knowing the titles of works, or prep their hymnals with bookmarks fashioned from the OOS inserts, or find that understanding the basic flow of a service helps them maintain attention.

However: the person doing the thing (the reading, the hymn leading, the sermon, the offering) is going to be pretty clear about what element they’re doing when they appear to do it. And I know that orders of service are useful in that way.

HOWEVER: you rarely go to a play or musical and have your hand held in this manner. And still, you wind up being oriented (as long as the play isn’t absurdist or badly staged), and you follow along just fine, and at the end you hopefully leave with the feelings/thoughts that the playwright and the director want you to leave with.

You trust the actors (and musicians) to get you from start to finish.

You trust them to take you on an emotional, mental, and yes, sometimes spiritual journey.

You don’t need to be hand held through a play, so why do you need to be hand-held through a worship service?

What happens when you trust that folks will understand that when Jane goes up to the mic and asks for your contributions to the work of the congregation, she’s doing the offering? What happens when you trust that Lefty will play the song he’s supposed to for the offertory, and that folks can look at their OOS (or ask afterwards) for information about the song? What happens when the minister is allowed to make a seamless transition from a reading or hymn directly into their sermon, as though they wrote it to do that (and they probably did)? What happens when we say one good morning, have one start, and get into the flow of the service?

What happens when we actually experience the service as a whole, and not a series of 2-15 minute segments?

I should note that trust does have to be earned; if you are a worship leader and aren’t prepared to hold the space, people won’t trust you to do so. This is why we review the elements, talk through the order and the transitions, read the words we are going to say a few times beforehand. That preparation allows us to bring a calm, confident, loving presence – which folks will trust.

But we all have to trust.

Trust that the leaders know what is happening next.

Trust that the crafters of worship have created a service that flows and builds and tells the story of whatever it is that we’re offering in that hour.

Trust that the people in the pews can follow along without every single segment being introduced.

Yes.

It’s about trust.