Sermon Text: John 4:19-24
Sermon Excerpt
The Bishop who inspired our sermon series that concludes today claims that “without passion, worship becomes dry, routine, boring, and predictable, keeping the form while lacking the spirit.”
Several of the good folks within our community of faith have already shared some of their concerns with me about the idea that passionate worship is normative in healthy, growing congregations.
- One of you told me, “I don’t get why in some churches people raise both hands and move around during worship.”
- Another person shared with me that she is uncomfortable in our worship services when people clap when something moves them as it makes it feel like they are applauding a performance.
- Someone else mentioned that in our tradition good worship isn’t designed to produce passion with supporting feelings that others can see.
On the other hand, some of you think passion is needed. One of you even went so far as to say that his first visits to this church led him to look for another congregation because the worship here at that time didn’t seem passionate.
We are a diverse group. Clearly we are passionate about our respective views on passionate worship.
Whatever passionate worship may be, it isn’t a one-size-fits-all experience. Returning to our source book – Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations we understand passionate worship to be “alive, authentic, fresh, and engaging.” Additionally,
In churches marked by Passionate Worship, people don’t merely show up and sit passively in their pews; they are actively engaged, genuinely connected, personally addressed, and deeply challenged. The messages touch them, the music moves them, and the services change them.
This sort of passionate worship sounds like a nice ideal, but what does it look like? Those who . . . (read manuscript or watch video)
So What?
We are called to worship in spirit and truth. Our worship should be passionate. According to the latest research, congregations should strive to offer multiple worship services that create an experience participants see as joyful, innovative, and inspirational. Faith communities of all sizes and from all denominations/traditions must commit to honest evaluations of their worship services as a regular part of their ongoing planning work.
- Which of these words do you feel is an appropriate description of most worship services in your local congregation: joyful, innovative, inspirational?
- What percentage of those worshiping at your church today do you think were passionate about the experience?
- How does your congregation gather input about the worship experience? Do you believe such input is taken seriously in the ongoing planning process?