Re-imagining Worship Music Time

Trick #1: Reimagine the room’s physical structure as a musical theater.

I heard of this concept decades ago, but never seriously tried it until recently. One of our worship team members (Lewis Wall) heard it from our keyboard player (Tammy Rainey) and passed it along to me. I decided to give it a try, and I’m finding that it significantly enhances my worship experience. 

Above is a photo of our worship center, taken a few minutes before a Sunday worship began. Now, visualize the following:

1. A congregation of 55 people (the average in today's American churches) faces the platform, lyric screen, and empty cross. 

2. Now, imagine sinking the platform down and out of sight, as if it were the orchestra pit in a facility built for musical dramas. The congregation can no longer see the worship team; they’re looking straight at the cross and lyric screen.

3. Next, fix your eyes on the cross, just the cross, perhaps imagining Jesus hanging on it. 

4. Finally, join in singing the songs to Jesus, referring to the screen only as necessary.

Notice that Jesus is now an “Audience of One” to whom you, along with the rest of the congregation, sing praise with the aid of the invisible worship team. 

Trick # 2: Change the pronouns on the fly 

First, consider impersonal pronouns for God, such as the line, "O how He loves us..." If we're envisioning singing Jesus still alive on the cross, it makes more sense to sing "O how You love us..." It makes the song more personal, and that's a good thing. You can make the change on the fly. Most likely, nobody near you will notice. If they do, so what? Maybe they'll join you. 

Second, consider lyrics with singular pronouns that refer to the singer, such as "Open the eyes of my heart, Lord…". The pronoun "my"  refers to each individual singer. Churches want to foster community above individualism, even among the devout. So there's theological value behind the change, too. Also, singing such lines, as written, feels hypocritical to the marginal Christian or investigator, which is probably why they often don't sing along. It's easier for them to sing if we give them permission to change the pronouns. 

As lead pastor, I noticed these pronoun problems and brought them up with our worship leader. She and I looked for more songs with plural pronouns. So we tried to minimize the use of songs with the pronoun issue in them. But I've found substituting pronouns helps me more deeply embrace a song’s message and deepens my sense of community with others in the room. 

Caution: It may infringe copyright law for a church to change the lyrics projected on the screen. But worship leaders can invite people in the congregation to do the replacements, and one of the worship team members can model it for the congregation. 

So, give it a try; I’ll bet it enhances your worship as it does mine.