mcintyre re: worship

For: The Institute of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

Robert Webber has been referenced a number of times in our Essentials Blue Course.  I met the late theologian and attended some sessions of his in the mid 1990’s.  Until that point, I had not encountered any foundational perspective on worship as helpful as Dr. Webber’s.  Besides an amazing grasp of worship history, he also made great sense when teaching on contemporary worship.  I had been about 8 years into leading contemporary styles, and even presenting workshops myself.  But my articulations of the “why” and “from what” were very weak.  Dr. Webber’s instruction changed that.  Even with my own pastoral staff, I was now able to share a foundation for worship that resonated with them, too. 

Dr. Webber taught on the flow of worship, as experienced by the Church over the centuries.  We start with the Gathering (the believers in community), the Word (the story told), Table (empowering of the Church for mission through the body and the blood), and Dismissal (being sent for mission).  I had always experienced that flow in my mainline church upbringing, but it was never outlined so clearly.  With this understanding, I began to see what might be beneficial for contemporary worship and why traditional worshipers were frustrated with the contemporary experience.

Traditional worshipers are accustomed to this 4-part flow or story, although most of them aren’t consciously aware of the format.  They just know that each time they gather, they are taken on a journey, which usually includes confession of how they have fallen short of God’s glory, the good news of redemption, and a commission to be part of the good news by sharing it with the world.  I observe in some examples, that when a traditional worshiper “visits” a contemporary service, they exit feeling dissatisfied.  And it’s not always about music.  After my introduction to Dr. Webber’s material, I began to notice that if a contemporary service had a flow… even loosely adhered to the 4-part historical format, a traditional worshiper was fairly warm to the experience.  It is because he or she had been taken on a journey.  As long as confession had been made, the Word was shared, and the people felt sent out, the music style seemed to matter less.

Although I don’t apply Robert Webber’s teaching in my contemporary worship planning in a strict sense, it has been a guide for me.  In some of my worship flows, you can vaguely see the Gathering, Word, Table and Dismissal components.  Frequently, I don’t even attempt it, if a particular theme of the day takes us in a different direction.  But I still believe in the power of the shared story.  Both the traditional and contemporary worshiper respond to being taken on a journey.  I try to help them make the trip.