Scripture: Acts 8:38
Last week, we took a quick trip to see family and friends in Kentucky, and Kimberly and I were able to spend the night at one of our favorite places in the state: Shakertown. Officially called Pleasant Hill at Shaker Village, Shakertown is a historic community that has been preserved through a living history program, and as often as we can, we try and visit when we are nearby.
If you are not aware of the history of the Shakers, it is a fascinating story. The Shakers were a Christian religious group in the 1800’s who chose to live very simply and frugally. They created villages, or really communes, where they practiced their Christian faith and way of life. The Shakers are probably most often known for a) their furniture—a simple, pragmatic design that is still used today, and b) the Shaker hymn tune, Simple Gifts. In both of these cases, one comes to understand how this unadorned, pragmatic way of living can be very attractive, especially in our often overcomplicated world.
One hallmark of Shaker simplicity is Shaker worship. Women and men would file into buildings with little adornment or décor, and take part in a service of worship that was literally unplanned. There was no order of worship, no prepared or practiced music, no sermon or devotional prepared, or even a minister or worship leader to pre-plan a service. Instead, all worship participants were worship leaders. They would often begin in silence, and as someone had a testimony or word to share, they would share it. If someone had a song to sing, they would sing it, and perhaps others might join in. Someone might recite or read a Scripture passage. Sometimes it would be quiet and reserved. Other times, there would be dancing and boisterous movements of the Spirit, which outsiders often observed as “shaking,” giving them their name.
I have often been fascinated by this style of worship, and its beauty and simplicity. Obviously, we here at First Baptist—and really all of the churches that I have worked at—have a different theology of worship, recognizing the engagement of the Spirit around things like worship preparation, and sermon preparation, and music preparation and choirs that practice, and bulletins that guide the worship with intentionality. But occasionally, I like to look at worship through the lens of the Shakers, asking what I can gain from this different perspective, and using that perspective to ask “what is worship anyway, at its most basic level?” Now, this isn’t an “either-or.” Thankfully, I have learned over the years not to get defensive of one kind of Christian worship over another, suggesting that there is a right way or wrong way to worship God. Instead, looking through different eyes gives me a new perspective on what worship is, and what it can become.
Part of the reason why I appreciate multiple styles and types of worship, is because it seems to be the Biblical example. Throughout the Bible, there are many different stories and types of worship. The Torah gives specific, intentional ways and places to worship. Paul writes about expectations in the Early Church for how worship is to look. But then there are a lot of stories of worshipful experiences that show a beautiful diversity. One such example is the passage I read a few minutes ago: Philip and the Ethiopian. For sure, there are elements of worship here: Scripture, baptism, and praising God. Now, if you have been paying attention the last few months, you will know that I just preached on this passage not that long ago. But I turn to the passage again because I want to view it through this question of worship. What is worship and how does this passage show us something about the worship experience? I posed this question to the Two-Way [sermon discussion group] last week, and these are some of the implications that we saw in this text:
One, worship is “prepared for spontaneity.” This sounds like it might be two opposites, but I like the tension of this polarity, holding these two things together. Philip was prepared by the Spirit for something to happen on that Wilderness Road: he was told with intentionality to go there and be ready. But he wasn’t sure what it was that was coming, and was ready for anything. There was intentionality and preparation, but then there was also openness to respond to the Spirit’s prompting. I like this phrase that the Two-Way came up with: “prepared for spontaneity,” because it captures a great polarity. Too little forethought and worship can become unintentional and haphazard. But worship can also be too rigid and unopen to the Spirit’s movement. For Philip, this encounter with the Ethiopian—and the Holy Spirit of God—struck a powerful balance between these two worship approaches.
Two, in the passage we find a worship experience that includes a dialogical encounter with Scripture. The Ethiopian is reading this Scripture devotionally, personally, individually, but then Philip shows up and it becomes a moment for shared worship: “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip listens to the Ethiopian and the Ethiopian listens to the wisdom that Philip has to share about the prophet Isaiah. Around the Bible, these two men (and perhaps others who were on the road with them), gathered around the Scripture and learned from each other. This is part of what I find valuable in our church. During the week, I get to dialogue about a Scripture passage—with the folks in the Two-Way, and with staff, and often with other preachers—in a way that creates a more meaningful encounter. One of the powerful elements of worship is that we can read together and listen to the work of the Spirit together, and learn together from the text. The Ethiopian needed someone to explain it to him; and I would suggest that Philip needed this encounter to open his eyes to what God was doing in ever-inclusive terms; they needed each other, and they found it in dialogue around Scripture.
Finally, worship opens the door to response. I love the question of the Ethiopian, “here is some water…what is to prevent me from being baptized?” At the heart of worship itself is response. Engagement. Action. A service of worship prepares us for a life of worship, and ministry, and neighbor love. That is why we have an opportunity to respond at the end of the service each week. I explain that baptism—like it was for the Ethiopian—is a natural outgrowth of a worship experience. One of the questions we often ask in the Two-Way is “what will we do as a result of this text and sermon?” It doesn’t have to be baptism every week, and there doesn’t have to be public decision every week, but worship moves us to transformation and new ways of living, in small and large ways.
So, let us take these principles and look at how God is reshaping our church in the context of worship. Again, we have been on a year-long journey called ReShape, which has involved congregational input and discernment from the leadership. And without a doubt, the theme that we heard most often throughout this process was gratitude for the way that our leadership has led worship during this pandemic. Folks have been incredibly thankful for the work of the tech team and Susan Pauls, and the music staff and all of our worship leadership, volunteer and paid staff. The congregation was thankful for creative and additional worship services, such as Pop-up Church, and Car Church, that served as a transition for a lot of folk. And my guess is that part of the reason that this worship ministry was meaningful is that it reflected the essence of worship that we see in Acts.
- “Prepared for spontaneity?” Absolutely! How many times have our best laid plans been renegotiated because of tech issues, or copyright issues on YouTube, or logistical issues of combining two worshipping families, in-person and virtual? We prepare, and then we figure out what to do when that preparation doesn’t work!
- “Dialogical conversation around Scriptures?” Of course, the Two-Way has continued to be a meaningful experience of dialogue. The chat provides some real-time conversation around the sermon and the text. I have been able to share Zoom conversations with other preachers around the narrative lectionary texts. The dialogue continues!
- “Opportunity to respond?” Again, the chat is a cool way to engage during the worship experience. We have had folks attend virtual worship and we have had folks choose to join the church and be baptized during these last months. And I have heard your stories about how the text that we explore together has been a catalyst for the ways that you have lived pandemic life.
During ReShape, we have heard a lot of comments of gratitude. Furthermore, that gratitude spilled over into the conversation about what needs to continue, many respondents responding that virtual, livestreamed worship should not end. “Now that we know how to do it, this is a ministry that we can and ought to continue,” they said. With a streamlined plan and a great bunch of volunteers, that ministry absolutely will continue. Livestream is here to stay. Throughout ReShape, that hope and expectation has been made loud and clear.
What wasn’t as clear was a word about an ongoing second service. Sixteen months ago, we held an additional service for a good portion of the year. During the pandemic, we held car church and pop-up church alternatives. And for some in the congregation, according to the ReShape conversations, the time has come to take a break from any additional service. Yet, for others, there is something meaningful and different about what made those services work. They have especially grieved the 8:30 service, and miss it as a valuable part of their week.
So, when the ReShaping Worship Team was formed, this question was at the forefront of their minds: “what do we do with the early service?” Again, we returned to the essence of what worship is about. And the result is what we debuted this morning at 8:38: an early service with a twist. With elements of the previous iteration of that service, some from pandemic car church, and really a more intentional identity of its own. Again, Acts 8 became an unspoken guide for us as we created the service:
- “Prepared for spontaneity?” This is really a core value of the 8:38 service. There are no bulletins. No words on the wall. No choir. No pre-chosen liturgist, but a volunteer Scripture reader chosen on the spot. In a way, the service was more of a step toward Shaker worship, simplified and spontaneous. Christy and Cristina and I this morning knew where the service was going, more or less. Like Philip, we started down the road, but weren’t 100% sure what we would find. The spontaneity was intentional.
- “Dialogical conversation around Scriptures?” This is one of the biggest differences. With a smaller crowd, folks can engage and discuss and actually dialogue in a way that we cannot quite do in the 10:45 service. The result is more like a Sunday school class, or the Two-Way, with the preacher as conversation-leader. Like Philip and the Ethiopian engaging around Isaiah, we engaged around Acts 8, and found new and shared wisdom together.
- Finally, an “opportunity to respond?” Like we did 16 months ago in the first service, we had a chance to engage around prayer requests: people responding and sharing what was important to them. And another opportunity we hope to have in that service is that there will be communion every time we worship…another way to respond and engage with one another. You may be wondering why we started at 8:38. Look again at the passage at Acts 8:38: “[The Ethiopian] commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.” An opportunity to respond. A core value of worship, and a core value of the way that we choose to worship during this additional service.
Like all of the ReShaping initiatives, we understand that there is an experimental nature, which is true of this early service. We will gather feedback from the SLT [Spiritual Leadership Team] and others, gather again as a ReShaping Worship team, and ask what comes next. But know for sure that whatever worship looks like at First Baptist, we will stay true to form of the Acts 8 model. We will find ways to give honor and glory to God in Christ. And we will seek the leadership of the Spirit in our gathering.
The same that was true of the Shakers. Earlier I mentioned the most famous Shaker tune: Simple Gifts. And I have loved that song for a long time. I have sung—as many of you—arrangements with a choir. I have listened to [Aaron] Copeland’s arrangement in quiet meditation. But perhaps the most meaningful time I have experienced this song is when I sat in the meetinghouse at Shakertown, listening to a soloist bounce that melody around the same rafters where it was first heard 150 years ago.
Today, I want to read the words of that hymn as a way to end our time together. They remind us what worship ought to look like, regardless of the time and place, the style or format, the context or denomination. May these words be true for us today:
‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,
‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain’d,
To bow and to bend we will not be asham’d,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.
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