Len worked with one church that had a tendency to drift toward discussions of problems with sound during this period of the meeting. Every week ended up as a “gripe session” over such topics as dropped wireless microphones or missed cues, in spite of the fact that the team agreed such discussions weren’t very helpful. The team finally solved their “sound problem” by buying an egg timer. Each week in the meeting, when the debrief stage began, a team member would pull out the egg timer and set it to 10 minutes. When the buzzer sounded, all debriefing, including the weekly sound discussion, was done.

3. Word (10-20 minutes)

With debriefing done, the preacher lays out the basis for the upcoming worship experience.

A warning: This is a difficult art to master. We have seen many preachers, used to operating as a lone ranger, develop too much while getting used to the team process. Let’s create a sample preacher called Rev. Dunn, who comes to the meeting with core and supplemental scripture texts, main points, and illustrations already noted. Pastor Dunn has the notes pre-written and has already passed them out as a Word document outline via email, supposedly to foster creative thinking. Or even worse, the team receives the notes orally in detailed fashion, in a way that doesn’t foster openness and discussion.

Occasionally, “too much” works. When creative people look over the pastors notes and come prepared with notes about themes, titles, metaphors and creative elements, it can jumpstart an open discussion. In our experience, however, this is rare. More often, the result is squelched creativity. People often treat the notes as a final copy rather than a draft and are unable or unwilling to offer or accept changes or modifications. There is still much power in the printed word to create a sense of finality.

Rev. Dunn’s model is only likely to work on a veteran team operating with a high degree of mutual experience and trust. Even then it can undermine creative potential.

Others, wanting to utilize the creativity of the team, bring too little. In this scenario, the preacher (let’s call this one Rev. Dunno) comes to the meeting with, well, nothing, save a general hunch about a direction and maybe some potential texts that match the season, series or Christian calendar. Rev. Dunno understands the power of the creative team, but he provides insufficient direction on which the team can brainstorm. The result is often brainstorms that are only “brain mists,” or even “brainsunshinydays.” There is little creative traction, and the team suffers through long periods of awkward silence.

Both Dunn and Dunno miss the potential of the team. Good team worship design happens under the thoughtful direction of a preacher who is capable of providing a core scripture, general reflections, and even a personal illustration or two. This preacher, though, knows how and when to open up discussion, talking a little but not too much, and then asking questions to elicit helpful feedback.

4. Brainstorm (30-60 minutes)

The previous stage, Word, and this stage blend together on good teams. For example, as the preacher shares reflections on a scripture or a story, someone in the room makes a mental jump ?Äî”oh, that reminds me of a movie I saw recently!”

Pastoral, theological, cultural, visual, artistic and technological discussions intermingle during this time, which is the most exciting part of the process and the reason most people sign on.

This time may last up to an hour or more. There might be periods of silence and periods in which everyone has something to share and is equally passionate. Creativity can be both quiet and fierce. Do not fear this process. Embrace it, and let it run free. The more openly the team allows itself to think, the better worship will be.

The brainstorm process is so vital, we will focus on it more in an upcoming article.

5. Decision (10-20 minutes)

Brainstorming eventually reaches a point of diminishing returns. This point is usually obvious; it is when a series of good ideas begins to be followed by much worse ideas.

When this happens, it’s time to look for consensus on the main idea of the service and its theme, metaphor and goals.

On the main idea, consensus is vital. Does everyone in the room agree on what the upcoming worship service is about? Can the theme be articulated in a sentence or two?

What is the primary means to communicate the theme? What is the primary visual metaphor? The title? Is there a collective goal for the service, such as an offer of salvation or a call to action on a specific mission project? The more the team can agree on these details, the clearer the service will be. A tiny degree of confusion at this point can blossom into full chaos later, so be careful.

The decision stage may or may not include a specific order of worship (see Frequency, above). Teams that cannot make time for decisions within the meeting time can charge a member with this task for later distribution via email.

6. Rinse, Lather, Repeat (optional)

Some teams have the set goal of designing multiple services in one meeting. For these teams, the next step is to start over at #3 with a different text, hopefully following a break.

7. Administrative (10 min)

Place all housekeeping tasks at the end of the meeting when everyone is ready to go. This ensures that they don’t take over valuable planning time.

Being intentional about how often you meet and how you meet can make all of the difference in how your team’s “season” ends. If you want you’re your team to experience more wins than losses, take the time to figure out when and how you should prepare for the big game. Remember, team development is a process, and the most important thing is how those in worship see Jesus through our performance during the big event.

 Email This |  Print This |