Architect of Worship
by Howard Stevenson
January 1, 1996
When I was on the faculty of Westmont College, I frequently drove to the campus on my Honda Gold Wing touring motorcycle along a beautiful, seven-mile stretch of the California coast. Dramatic cliffs and rocks lined the beaches; palm trees arched their spindly trunks in the sand; sailboats bobbed in the gentle blue-and-green swells.
I reminded myself not to take this magnificent part of the world for granted. Each day I tried to see things I had not noticed before or to see things in a new way. For seventeen years I continued to marvel at God's handiwork. Leading corporate worship is like taking someone along on that beautiful commute and pointing their attention to God and the creation of God. "Worship is the adoration and praise of that which delights us," writes John Piper. "We praise what we enjoy, because praise completes the enjoyment. We worship God for the pleasure to be had in him."
How can we plan and lead worship so it does not fall into dullness and routine? How can we do justice to this exalted calling when it falls to us to plan and lead it week after week, year after year? For worship leaders, Sunday seems to come every three days. Trying to create a service of structure, openness, and beauty constantly challenges us.
Here are six practices I have found helpful as I plan and lead worship.
FIND THE FOCAL POINT
I prefer to center worship on a theme. Sometimes the theme is supplied by the season: Advent or Lent or Easter or Thanksgiving. Other times a special emphasis like Missions Month or Family Sunday suggests a worship theme.
The sermon topic is a natural focal point. If the topic happens to be God's faithfulness, or the love of God, or God's sovereignty, it is not difficult to blend the hymns, anthem, and spoken ...
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