How do we all engage?

 I lead the music part of worship every week at my church. Music is an important element of worshiping God, and always has been in different ways. Something my wife told me shortly after we got married was that she misses older songs, especially those found in hymnals because they helped teach people to sing, the melody and the harmony. The simpler instrumentation really brought the voices to the forefront, and there would be a robust sense of everyone singing together. At first I shrugged it off. But now, I see her point, and am wondering how do we get it back?

I love a lot of the contemporary worship that is out there. Especially the new stuff from the Getty's, CityAlight, Phil Wickham and several others in particular. But with the general trends of Christian worship in the last 30 years, elements of the concert vibe really have been impacting how we worship together on a Sunday morning. This doesn't mean we don't use the latest and greatest tech when it makes sense. Our worship team uses in-ear monitors, backing tracks w/ click tracks to help fill in some sounds, and keep us all in timing.

But, how do we also work towards reengaging the entire congregation so they don't feel like they are just attending a concert with Christian music, and then a message?

The most poignant and impactful tool that I have found for this is spoken liturgy. 

Liturgy is defined as "the work of the people". It is something that everyone participates in as part of worship. No one is left out, because all can join in the prayers, and the call and responses of each part of the service. More than that, the liturgy that the Church has used in the Orthodox, Roman & Protestant traditions are steeped in Scripture. You can hardly go from one word to another without stumbling upon a list of Scriptures that are being referenced to. So in this case, not only is everyone participating, but people are also taking in Scripture.

In my context the usage of liturgy has taken the form of regularly reciting The Apostle's Creed, and the Lord's Prayer. These two pieces provide a framework and foundation of Christian understanding that all can participate in, and remind them of the truth of the Gospel every time we repeat it.

At the end of the day, the liturgy is only as dead as the person participating in it. While we have more of a neo-liturgical experience (a blend of both contemporary and traditional service elements), it helps keep us grounded in the truth and wisdom of those who have gone before, while also allowing us to tap into the fresh expressions of Christian worship music. 

Both of these takes on worship can be problematic if seen as the ends, rather than the means. The focus is always to be on Christ, and the proclamation of the Gospel message. 

So how do we get everyone involved? Find various ways that integrate the outward involvement of everyone in the Church during worship. The collective action of praying and speaking the same things is a strong builder of commonality as we worship our great God!