 Bill
Easum
Beeson Institute for Advanced Church Leadership Feb. 28, 2002
Indigenous Worship
At the dawn of the new
Millennium we are experiencing another shift (in worship). The issue today is
not whether it is liberal or conservative, orderly or not, but whether or not it
celebrates the incarnational act of God in Jesus Christ in such a way that
people are transformed.
Indigenous worship is:
1. In the everyday
language of the people (digital/image)
2. The culture of the primary group you are trying to reach
3. Technology of the day that is used by the people you are trying to reach
4. It is a safe place to have a life altering experience with God.
Seven essentials for indigenous worship:
1. Acceptance and Hope
2. Visualization
3. Surround Sound
4. Technology supported
5. Musical
6. Participatory
Sensory worship seeks to
involve all the senses to appreciate and celebrate the grace which transforms
life. Sensory worship enables people born after 1965 to become part of the
Gospel experience. The sensory track is described as an experience, not an
education or celebration. This experience is encouraged by sights and sounds
that permeate the room, video and the use of visuals replace much of the printed
or verbal parts of worship. The extra loud, plugged in and turned up music is
supported by visuals. The music is often secular because this generation does
not distinguish secular from religious. The primary concern of this group is
hope. The visual track takes five to ten hours of preparation for every one hour
of preparation for the traditional service. The service is usually led by a team
of young, non-professionals who are more concerned about communicating the
authenticity of their lives and message, than the style of dress, song, or
sermon.
The further we go into the 21st century the…
1. Less traditional and
praise worship will reach the majority of the people (although for the next
10-15 years, Praise will be the bread and butter form of worship.
2. More Sensory worship will reach the majority of the people. Sometime over
the next twenty years, sensory will become the primary form of worship.
3. The more mixture there will be among all three of the above.
Communicating the Message:
1. The day is gone when
all a person has to do is preach. Now we must communicate in forms that
involve more than just speaking.
2. If you say it all with words, you won’t be able to communicate in today’s
environment.
3. The service is the message today. The message is the convergence of the
oral story, the beat of the sound, and the visualization of the metaphor. It
no longer makes sense to speak of the sermon as the message.
4. Great communicators tell stories that go beyond just imparting knowledge.
The stories explore the secrets to life that have impacted the speaker along
the way. The stories assist people in experiencing the reality behind the
information.
5. “Edutainment”
instead of cognitive information is the goal. The story must entertain while
connecting the listener with their life, the lives around them, and the life
of the Holy.
6. Communicators embrace the following: the paradox of both/and, the mystery
of metaphor, the mysticism of symbol, the open ended nature of visuals, the
complexity of multi-layered, and the pace of a race.
Distinguishing marks of a healthy church
1. Ecstasy vs.
contentment
2. Prayer vs. announcements
3. Majority leave hopeful and excited
4. Worship moves rapidly and is seldom broken by unintentional places where
nothing happens for more than five seconds
5. Service is filled with the mystery of the east and the technology of the
west
6. Prime worship hour is best suited to connect with outsiders
7. Music leaders use music to transform people
8. We compliment the service with visuals
9. We’re willing to start a new service even if we have enough room already
10. Focus on transformation vs. information
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