Worship is supposed to be a dynamic experience of encounter between God and people.  Unfortunately too many do not pay attention to the quality of the experience or take time to create the dynamic environment for the Soul and Spirit to connect. It is not that worship providers prepare a “show”. The worship experience is a mutual participation exercise and those who lead have a huge and holy responsibility to create the best experience possible for all.

One way to help build the experience is to plan for the ebb and flow of energy. In every worship experience there are “high” and “low” moments. There is time to be active and time to be passive, time to speak or sing and time to listen and time to quietly reflect. There is a time to be social and a time for solitude and all of it should flow evenly and smoothly from one to another creating a whole experience that is memorable and builds anticipation for the next.

A trap of “form based” worship is to just plug elements in without careful planning to ebb and flow. A trap of “theme based” worship is to focus on parts or providers rather than integration of all parts and providers with people.

Worship experiences should not be “cookie cutter” patterns or static which drains interest and enthusiasm. Some experiences start low and build to a high. Others start in the middle and ride up and down. Some start high and end low. Creativity is key to helping people worship and fully participate in the full worship experience.

So mind and heart, energy and pace, activity and stillness all together work to create a worship experience that makes a difference and because of it not only helps folks encounter God in a real and personal way, it helps them to remember the message and the difference, share it with others, and live better because of it.

Perhaps it helps to remember that every part of every worship service and every person in it are on Holy Ground in a Holy time to represent and present themselves honestly and to honor God and our relationship with God.

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Now, did you ever forget to address an email, introduce a friend, just to take that extra step of kindness? You didn’t mean to it just slipped your mind. Or maybe too much was on your mind, or you were distracted, or maybe our consciousness just took a short vacancy break. Maybe we should give a break to those who are a little less than outgoing.

But even if they are cold and unwelcoming, now that we are there do we want it to be a bad experience? Why do we wait for them to come to us? It is like telling a friend if they need anything “just call” when we know the last thing in the world they would do when in need is to reach out. Our whole experience can be determined by our frustration and isolation. We could miss the grace of God, distracted by disappointment.

So the Way Stations advice is don’t wait for them to change their ways or to change in the space of a few minutes. Don’t wait at all. Take the initiative. Introduce yourself, ask them for the help you need, make friends. Show your enthusiasm, compliment your hosts. Create the positive spirit yourself. You may be surprised at how quickly and how well they will respond to your kindness.

I went to a conference once and everyone stayed in little familiar groups. Interaction was absent and social was anything but. It was awful. But then I noticed there were a few who did not sit around waiting for someone to come to them, they presented themselves, made friends, and gave that which they had hoped to receive and all enjoyed it just as much.

If we want to worship, we need to worship. We don’t want to watch others worship we want to participate and if we do we will have a much better time. So don’t just wait there, do something!

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Most worship services have all the elements folks are looking for but they lack the things that tend toward a dynamic experience. There is little sense of mystery, little anticipation and little surprise. Sometimes there is humor but often the content that stimulates, inspires, excites or even interests is missing. As a result, those who come in a genuine quest to find God too many are disappointed and few return. The good news is this type of problem can be changed and not all steps are that difficult to put in place.

One step that can build interest in the worship that is relatively easy to do is eliminate the empty spaces.

The empty spaces in worship experiences are the moments between, the time everyone waits between the end of one worship element and the start of the next. Examples of empty waiting include: watching a leader(s) move from one place to another; pauses between songs; changing gears from one type of element to another like from song to prayer etc.

Admittedly there are times for silence in worship but they need to be by design not accident and incorporated into the context of a specific element. An example here would be to introduce prayer, set the mood, and create the moment for silence. A still moment well designed becomes full of spiritual power, whereas a pause of waiting steals the energy from the service and the participants alike.

What we are talking about is planning and pacing. To add interest in your worship practice designing the energy and flow of worship elements to be very smooth, and swift, eliminating the waiting between. When there is a swift and smooth transition it builds interest and attention to each part of the worship. Instead of starting and stopping which gets tiring, the experience becomes like climbing a mountain of inspiration culminating in connection between all in worship and God. In that moment of connection people aren’t looking at their watches. In fact they don’t want the moment to end.

Way Stations consulting services for multimedia design, worship planning, and implementation are available. For information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The ministry of the usher is to enable persons to navigate their way around the grounds, find their way to essential rooms and resources, and to worship effectively. What is required in the usher is a heart for people and a desire, drive, and thoughtfulness to help people have the best experience possible when they come to the worship or program experience. Think of people first. For example Ushers do not “take the offering”. Instead they provide each person in the congregation the opportunity to respond to God’s grace in their lives in the experience of the offering and sharing together, the sacraments, and the reassurance that any situation can and will be effectively and professionally handled.

Tasks for the Usher team include: Traffic Control, Parking Guidance, Facility and Worship Space Preparation, Information and Assistance to persons without and within the facility, emergency management and response, Security, and of course the receipt and storage of worship offerings.

But the key is people working with people. Service Personnel taking pride in providing the best service to insure the best experience for the most wonderful people in the world, those who come to worship with you.

Would you like to know more?

Way Stations consulting services for multimedia design, worship planning, and implementation are available. For information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.