worship Archives | Reformation 4.0

March 18, 2020March 20, 2020

Making Corporate Confession Count

Unless you live under a rock, your Lent is probably turning out somewhat . . . differently than imagined.

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are sheltering-in-place. Last night, I took a walk downtown (we’re still allowed out for exercise). For all the traffic and pedestrians out, it might as well have been 2am.

I am acutely aware that COVID-19 is also throwing churches into turmoil. Last week, I wrote an article on digital ministry. And I’ll continue to write articles on apocalypse-related topics.

Livestreaming on phone — Photo by Caspar Camille Rubin on Unsplash

But I’m also keeping up with the confession series. Corporate confession might have a negative connotation for you, especially if you’ve experienced it surrounded by guilt and shame. Even if it doesn’t hold those associations for you, it probably does for some of your congregation.

Yet confession, done well, takes away the guilt and shame we carry. It represents a central tenet of the Christian faith–that our mistakes are wiped away by Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, leaving us with a clean slate.

Done well, confession doesn’t shame us for being human. It brings light to our darkest places and reminds us that we are forgiven. For my generation, struggling with the pressures of social media and mental health, this process is especially important.

Now, let’s get down to some practicals.

There are two main forms confession takes, depending on your theology/denomination: corporate or individual. This week, I’ll focus on the more common form among mainline Protestants: corporate.

Here are six key pieces that can help your corporate confession meet the spiritual needs of our time and place.

1. Change your attitude around corporate confession.

How do you feel about corporate confession? If it’s just in the service for tradition’s sake, and/or if you’re not very enthusiastic about it, it will show.

Your congregation is looking to you to set the tone. They won’t take confession seriously unless you approach it reverently and enthusiastically.

This change in attitude might have some practical implications. Maybe you have confession more frequently. Perhaps you move it to a more crucial point in the service. Maybe you preach a sermon on its importance.

Either way, hopefully, you are feeling convicted about the transformative potential confession can hold. Let your congregation know.

Pastor preaching about corporate confession — Photo by Richie Lugo on Unsplash

2. Make the language work for you.

What’s your theology around confession? Maybe there are certain precepts your denomination holds. Perhaps your notion of salvation lies in Jesus’ birth. Or perhaps in his life and mission. Maybe your church focuses on his death and/or resurrection.

This is your chance to make the theological language exactly how you want it. If you or your congregants have been wounded by guilt-and-shame language, or “angry God” language, this is your chance to exorcise it completely.

Make the absolution really work for you, too. I might suggest leaning heavily on the forgiveness-and-mercy part of the equation and focusing on reassurance.

In the end, create a confession and absolution that you feel really good about. Create one that makes you feel unburdened, like you’ve breathed a sigh of relief after it’s over. Then, talk about your theological and liturgical choices with your congregation, so they can share that experience with you.

Person praying in nature — Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

3. Make it personal.

Have you ever rattled off a corporate confession, without really thinking about it? I have. Often, the confession seems way too vague, mentioning generic sins that often don’t feel like they apply.

That’s why it’s important that corporate confession be personal, especially important if you aren’t offering individual confessions. If your corporate confession talks about generic sins in a vague manner, it’s more likely that congregants won’t let it sink in.

Try thinking back to a confession that really touched you. When has confession unburdened you and inspired you to be a better follower of God in the coming week?

Perhaps there was some silence. Maybe you were asked to think about one or two things you were really sorry for during the last week.

Or, maybe it simply included language about specific groups of sins (eg. “thought, word, and deed”). Or invited you to reflect on specific groups of people that you might have sinned against.

Create a confession that touches people and stirs them to repentance in the context of their lives.

People holding hands in worship — Photo by Pedro Lima on Unsplash

4. Normalize confession.

If you’ve ever told someone an embarrassing secret or confessed a mistake to a loved one, you know that confessing is a deeply vulnerable thing. And we know that people usually won’t do vulnerable things. Unless, that is, it’s part of their communal culture.

That’s why it’s so important that you normalize sinning, confession, forgiveness, and grace.

So, at some point during the confession or absolution, try including language that reminds people that sinning is normal. Confession and absolution are deeply tied to the Church’s central story of crucifixion and resurrection.

Remind your congregation that they are not the first nor the last people to have messed up in the specific way that they did. Connect them to our Biblical heritage–basically one long story of individuals and communities sinning and then reconciling with God.

Emphasize that confession is both a crucial and a normal part of being in relationship with God, particularly in the Christian tradition. This will help to eradicate shame and encourage confession as a normal part of church life.

People sharing with each other in a small group — Photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash

5. Make the absolution count.

Maybe, in your tradition, the clergy actually forgives on God’s behalf. Maybe they simply reassure the congregation that forgiveness has happened. It doesn’t matter.

Word your absolution in such a way—and in such an enthusiastic tone—that they understand the enormity of what they have received. Again, think back to that time that confession really worked for you. Hopefully, it made you feel as though a weight was lifted off of your shoulders.

Give your congregation the gift of a similar experience every week.

Maybe this is expressed through a short joyful refrain. Maybe it’s all words. Maybe there are certain physical signs (eg. sign of the cross) that help reinforce this concept.

But use the absolution to help people breathe a sigh of relief—their sins are forgiven, they are a child of God, and they are called to go out and make a difference in the world.

Someone at a march — Photo by Zach Lucero on Unsplash

6. Let it be known that there is help.

This doesn’t need to be done during confession time (although it can be). But practical opportunities for growth are a necessary extension of true confession.

Publicize how to meet with the pastor. Put up posters for spiritual directors or therapists in the community. Have small groups for people with addiction, parenting, or simply ordinary groups for people trying to be good Christians.

Talk about all of these things as though they are a part of church culture, that this is something most people do on their walk with God. You could even ask church members and leaders to talk to the congregation about the time that they met with the pastor, saw a therapist, or went through a 12-step program.

Again, normalizing things takes away shame, encourages participation, and facilitates actual reform.

Signs saying "don't give up," "you are not alone," and "you matter." — Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash

A Case Study

As a final note, I wanted to offer a case study of a corporate confession that exemplifies everything above.

House for All Sinners and Saints uses a unique style of confession that is both corporate and extremely personal, while providing space for necessary anonymity. I want to share it with you in case it makes sense for your congregation or inspires you to create something similar.

Here’s how it works: after the sermon, there are ten minutes of quiet. During this time, congregants get up from their seats and wander around. There’s an iPad where they can donate money. There’s a healing prayer station. Sometimes, there’s a piece of artwork to reflect on. Or they can just stay in their seats.

Person writing in a journal — Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

There’s also a petition station. People can grab a pencil and paper, kneel down, and write their prayers.

Often, these prayers become a confession. The Sunday that I was there, someone prayed about their addiction, asking that they would make it through their first week sober. Others asked God for forgiveness after they spoke harshly to a partner or child.

The worship leaders then put these prayers in a basket and read the prayers allowed, anonymously. This method allowed for deeply personal things to be confessed in a corporate setting.

Community standing together in silhouette — Photo by Mario Purisic on Unsplash

It also allowed the pastor to direct people toward specific resources. At the end of the service, the priest stood up and asked everyone in the congregation who had overcome an addiction to raise their hand. His went up, also. He told whoever had written that prayer that they could talk to any of these people.

People at House for All Sinners and Saints confessed their sins in this method regularly. For them, it was normal to share these intimate concerns.

My interviews showed that it was working. People told me that this method of corporate confession truly removed shame and turned the focus to grace, encouraging them to truly reform their behavior.

House for All Sinners and Saints practices only one of many possible versions of healthy, effective corporate confession. What are you envisioning? Comment below and let me know!

December 11, 2019December 11, 2019

3 Important Rules for Using Technology in Church

Looking for a quick fix that’ll bring more Millennials into your church? Technology might seem like the best answer. It seems like everyone, not just young adults, is glued to their smartphones nowadays.

The problem is, technology in church can become a trap. If you google it, you’ll find blogs like this one, which lists a number of ways your congregation can become more tech-savvy.

This article lists many potentially good ideas for certain churches. But it suggests that these strategies can or should be applied indiscriminately. Most churches use technology like that, implementing the most popular technological trends as a way to conform to postmodern culture.

And when they do, that technology can become a liability, not a boon.

As a pastor, you’re working hard to meet the spiritual needs of the community you serve—to facilitate connection with God during worship, or to connect people to one another in fellowship, for example.

Used properly, technology in church should be just one tool in your toolkit to achieve those ends. It’s certainly not a tool you should ignore. But ultimately, it’s a means, not an end.

So here are three basic rules for seamlessly integrating technology into your worship service—while avoiding the pitfalls that can hinder connection with God and others.

Rule 1: Let technology in church serve you, not the other way around.

Whatever technology you use, it needs to be concretely meeting the spiritual needs of you and your congregation. In worship, this will probably mean facilitating focus on the service. For instance, if people in your congregation are distracted by bulletins, you may want to use screens instead.

Or perhaps, you may want to use technology in church to directly facilitate a connection with the Holy Spirit. Dimmed lights or electronic music are common examples.

But it’s important to think carefully before installing anything, because there’s a key difference between conforming to the culture and creatively responding to the culture’s spiritual needs. Obviously, we’re aiming for the latter.

Conforming to tech culture means creating glitchy or distracting technological experiences for the sake of technology itself. Ultimately, this approach draws attention away from the sermon, Eucharist, or overall connection with the Holy Spirit.

To use technology in church to meet the spiritual needs of your community, you need to get a sense of your goals. Not just goals for worship in general but for your worship, specifically.

What’s the reason you’re here every Sunday? Why do people come to your church instead of the one across town? A small, contemplative church will have very different answers to those questions than a megachurch, and for good reason.

Once you have your answers in mind, you can ask how technology will further that specific identity and your unique worship goals.

For instance, perhaps you are expanding pastoral care to the sick and homebound. Live-streaming your services could help you do that. Or, maybe you want people to be focusing on the altar rather than leafing through bulletins during Eucharist. Screens could help keep people’s attention at the front instead of down at the floor.

This article from Tithely and this article from Christianity Today lists a number of reasons why technology could be helpful for you.

There’s an important caveat: they assume that every church should be pursuing all of their technological ideas. As I said above, I don’t think that’s a thoughtful approach. But you can use the articles to get some ideas about what your specific goals are and then think about how technology can serve you.

Once you have thought through the purpose of technology in your church, you’re ready to think about the specific form it will take in the service.

Rule 2: Simplify

Simplification is a key difference between technology in the secular world and technology in church.

Technology in the secular world is created to make us more efficient. To help us do more things, faster. It usually ends up cluttering our brains and our calendars to the max. Which often draws us away from God.

As a result, we live in a society that is often distracted and distractable, two qualities which hinder a relationship with the Holy Spirit in our midst.

If you put up technology in church as a way of conforming to society, you might continuing that trend. You could put up screens with announcements that advertise church events before and after worship. Or maybe you could create images to go along with each part of your sermon so that no one gets bored.

Most of the time, these uses of technology in church will just continue damaging cultural trends.

Instead, make your technology simple. Minimize visual and audial busy-ness.

If you’re using slides during your sermon to emphasize a point, only use a few words or images at once. Make sure they don’t distract attention from your sermon, but rather draw attention back to your words. Create lots of white space on the slide. Rotate through slides very slowly.

If you’re projecting music, try not to cram a whole hymn onto the screen. Instead, you could consider putting up only the words to a familiar tune. Before and after the service, don’t put up announcements—instead, leave the screen blank or put up a calming image to help people settle in to worship.

And size is important too. Too big, and it will distract people from what you’re doing up front. Too small, and people will be squinting. Make it the Goldlilocks size for your sanctuary space.

And, most importantly, remember that technology in church is serving the purpose of worship, not the other way around.

Rule 3: Be good at it.

You know that sound of nails on a chalkboard? That’s how it feels to this Millennial, at least, when technology in church goes awry.

Recently, I sat through a service that involved a slideshow, with pictures accompanied by music. The idea of the slideshow was wonderful—it served the purposes of worship that day. And the effort was there, put in by the pastor and other dedicated lay volunteers.

But ultimately, the technology was glitchy and the presenters didn’t know how to create a high-quality presentation. In the end, the execution undercut the wonderful idea and effort that had been put in.

The slideshow kept reverting to the home screen of the PC. People kept having to jump up and adjust the audio, which fluctuated between too loud and too quiet. The music did not taper off at the end of the slideshow, but cut off abruptly in the middle, ruining the atmosphere.

I had to deep-breathe my way through the service.

The advancements in technology mean that newcomers to your church will expect smooth, professional quality. When the equipment is glitchy and old or the presenter is technologically inexperienced, the intention backfires.

Rather than focusing on worship, people are cringing

As you’re creating a tech presentation, use two basic rules of thumb, one for standard weekly performances and one for important services.

For weekly services, as you prepare any kind of technological presentation, ask yourself: if you were in an office and using this technology in an important presentation to your boss, would you be happy with the quality?

Before important services or if you’re rolling out a whole new kind of technology in your service, it’s time to kick it up a notch. Find someone in their twenties, preferably a professional, and have them sit through the presentation. If they’re cringing, it needs work.

Maybe you can’t afford technology that runs well. Or maybe you don’t have anyone in your church who can use it at a semi-professional (or at least Millennial) standard. That’s okay.

If that’s the case, you’re better off not using technology at all. If it’s impossible to create a technological experience that passes the rules of thumb above, then the consequences outweigh the benefits. It’s better to have a technology-free, smooth worship service than one full of technological glitches.

Once you create a presentation that lives up to the standards above, it’s imperative that you practice multiple times. This is especially important if you’re unfamiliar with any aspect of the tech usage that day. This way, you can work out the glitches and decide if it lives up to your quality standards.

In the end, technology in church can be like any other worship aide—it can help or hinder connection with God and the Body of Christ, depending on its design. Technology may have taken over everywhere else, but it shouldn’t get a free pass in your sanctuary. Rather, it needs to meet your needs, and those of the people you serve.

Have you recently used technology in your church? Comment below and tell me how it worked out—and if you’re doing anything differently next time!