Four Ways to Create Focused Worship Environments

Building on my
memoirish look at listening and reading in church, the big picture
for worship environments is: how do I maintain focus?  Lavish
stage shows, multimedia presentations, or low key, singer-songwriter
worship all fail if everyone is staring off into space or texting in
the pews.  Focus trumps all, in terms of actualizing the reason
for worship: that people actually do it.

1. Less is More.
   My wife worked for autistic kindergarteners for over two years and
   learned a thing or two about what happens when an autistic child is
   over-stimulated: they shut down or lash out. Churches, in their
   good-natured decisions to be cutting edge, have decided to be
   cutting edge in everything all at once and all the time, and
   over-stimulated their congregations. Images whiz around behind
   projected lyrics as band members clap and dance, followed by a movie
   or drama, then a skit, then the offering, then a sermon with bullet
   points and projected Scripture. There is no time for people to
   relax, contemplate, be silent, or take in all that is going on. Too
   often two hours of content is smashed into a worship hour—and the
   congregation can simply not focus. Church should be a place where
   people can focus, participate, and be at rest. Without time to
   think about the sermon and to be brought into worship, many
   congregants are left gasping for breath during the hour long sprint.
   And most people will not take the time to reflect on the sermon
   once they leave church because they are too busy. So slow the pace
   down. Let people have time to reflect. Encourage times of silence
   or inactivity.
2. Themes are
   essential. Nothing can affect focus more than ideas going every
   which way. Choose one theme, whether from the lectionary, a book, a
   series, whatever; as long as the different parts of the worship
   service fit together do it. A well designed house does not have a
   Cape Cod second story with a split level foundation and a Victorian
   porch—it would look disjointed. Where would the eye focus on such
   a convoluted structure. The focus should be thematic, and this
   common stream brings the whole structure together. An added bonus
   of themes is that they encourage a healthy amount of
   repetition—repetition in diversity if you will. The repletion of
   a theme helps people focus on what they are to be receiving in
   worship and most importantly what they should be giving in worship.
3. One media at a time. I often remember sitting in a worship
   service and the pastor saying to look in the bulletin for announcements
   and prayer requests as he spoke about more announcements and even more
   announcements flashed across the screen.  Print, word, and visual media
   were all being called to attention at the same time, creating a
   environment where focus is splintered off in a swirl of information. 
   One type of media should be used at a time to avoid information
   overload.
4. "Center of Attention."  No matter the seating
   arrangement or setup of the church for worship, there should be a
   center of attention.  If you look down at your shoes during a service
   and then look back up again you should know exactly where to turn your
   head.  If a church has multiple focal points and is spread out, with
   the band over there, the podium over there, and people running around
   talking on wireless microphones the focus spreads too thin and people
   don’t know what point in the room to focus on.

Churches have a tremendous amount of options when it comes to organizing and planning a worship service.  They can choose the way the chairs are set up, how many songs to play, what prayers to use, what type of liturgy to have…the list goes on.  But all of it will be lost on a congregation unless the environment allows people to focus on worshipping as a community and as individuals.