Planning Worship With The Laity

Because worship is a drama involving all the people, planning should involve not only the ministers, but also (and perhaps especially) the laity. Worship, in the Christian tradition, is commonly understood as "the work of the people. " This is, in fact, a literal meaning of the word "liturgy. " By this is meant that worship is not intended to be a "spectator sport" but an activity involving everyone. A timeworn but useful analogy by Sren Kierkegaard invites us to compare what happens in corporate worship with a drama. The problem comes when we see the congregation as the audience, the clergy and musicians as performers, and the Holy Spirit as the prompter. If this is the model, then our worship will involve the congregation passively at best. Kierkegaard suggested we should change the roles. Worship for Christians is indeed like drama. Only it is God who is the audience, the clergy and musicians who are the prompters, and the members of the congregation who are the actors. Worshi…