1. Planning for Passionate Worship Taylor Burton-Edwards

2. A Major Shift in Focus at GBOD From supporting a pastor, musician and maybe a Worship Committee: “ siloed planning ” to equipping a Worship Planning Team Planning for Passionate Worship

3. Why This Shift? The bad news…. “Siloed planning” results in… o Disjointed worship experiences each week and week to week o Less involvement by fewer people o Burned out worship leadership o A culture of worship as the work of the experts FOR the people o Dispassionate worship … Planning for Passionate Worship 87% of UM congregations plan this way!* *Source: GBOD Worship Planning Helps Survey, 2009

4. Why This Shift? The Good News… Team planning results in… o Worship with greater flow and power each week and week to week o Worship as a creative, engaging experience o Worship leaders who are energized o Worship as the celebration of the congregation and community o Passionate worship ! Planning for Passionate Worship Of the 13% of UM congregations who plan this way, most have multiple services and report they are growing* *Source: 2007 GBOD/UMPH Music and Worship Study

5. What Is a Worship Planning Team? A gathering of folks from your congregation and community who are committed to: o Christ o each other o mission in the larger community and world o passionate worship with deep biblical, theological and creative integrity o Doing what it takes to finding, train, and deploying the many and varied gifts of your congregation and community o Being the hub for communications for worship Planning for Passionate Worship

6. Who’s on a Worship Planning Team? o Artists– visual, graphic, paint, sculpture, fabric, whatever o Ritual Space designers o Musicians o Pastor(s) o Writers o Choreographers/Dramatists o Helpers– acolyte, communion steward, etc. o Technology– Web, Projection, Sound, Soundscapes o Wise Ones– folks who are in deep touch with various groups in the life of the church, know their passion and capacity, and can offer words of encouragement AND restraint to others o Action/response to rest of the life of the church Planning for Passionate Worship

7. Before You Start a Worship Planning Team… Spend the time it takes to develop… o A Common Platform of understanding what worship IS and IS NOT in our church and your congregation– so some training and study time together will be essential– Basic Pattern, etc. o Groundrules or Covenant for your team that include respect the gifts and roles of each member o A Working Plan – Including who will do what, when you’ll meet, and how you’ll support/hold each other accountable, and evaluate your work Planning for Passionate Worship Photo Lewis Worthington. Artwork by Ted Lyddon Hatten

8. What Happens in the Meetings? Evening Prayer Touching Base Longer Range Exploring texts together Developing plan Check ins: Previous,upcoming Evaluation Sending Planning for Passionate Worship

9. “Ideal” Timelines and Benchmarks… o Start planning at least 6-12 weeks out o Recheck all plans at 3-4 weeks out o Remind congregation of changes/new things 1 week out o Rehearse significant new congregational patterns–at least two or three times prior to the actual service Planning for Passionate Worship A rehearsal for worship at General Conference 2008, Photo courtesy Marcia McFee.

10. A Worship Planning Team: The Results A committed cadre of folks growing in Christ and supporting each other in planning worship Growing networks that involve more people Ability to create and commission art, music, and drama more regularly Everything flows better– Vitality, integrity and passion flourish! Planning for Passionate Worship Photos courtesy Marcia McFee and Lewis Worthington.

11. A Resource for Worship Planning Teams Planning for Passionate Worship Strong commitment to passionate worship Richer description of our basic pattern of worship adaptable for any culture or style Step by Step descriptions of how to start and sustain a worship planning team where you are

12. Copyright “Planning Passionate Worship” Copyright © 2009 The General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church, PO Box 340003, Nashville TN 37203-0003. Website: http://www.GBOD.org. This presentation may be reprinted and used for nonprofit local church and educational purposes with the inclusion of the complete copyright citation plus the words "Used by permission." All pictures and images in this presentation are in the public domain or covered under Creative Commons attribution licenses that allow for their republication for non-commercial use. For any other uses, including placing this resource on any website, obtain written permission by contacting worship@gbod.org.worship@gbod.org