My friend Marti left a very thought-provoking comment on my previous post about Creative Chaos or Quiet Reverence that really sparked some memories. I started to share these with her in the comment section, but decided they deserve a post of their own.

First, let me share with you what Marti wrote:

My church meets in an old warehouse, or anyway, the anchor to a defunct
shopping center. It was ugly. The old-timers kind of liked that, as it
harkened back to the day when they moved from one school to another…
they didn’t want things too nice. Nobody EVER got married there. After
we paid off the mortgage, fixed the leakin’ roof, etc, God provided a
major donor who gave a $1 million anonymous gift with no strings
attached. The mission committee got a tithe of it, which was cool, and
a lot of other good stuff happened too. Sadly, giving dropped; this was
about five years ago and we’ve yet to recover. However, somewhere in
there the elders decided to use part of ‘the big taco’ (as the $1
million was affectionately called) to build a new sanctuary inside out
building. It feels like a living room. It has niches for prayer. It has
pretty, ivory-colored walls. I was glad we didn’t spend all our money
on this, but it helps to have a comfortable, attractive environment. It
makes a difference. So does our new worship leader, and particularly,
his adorable wife with the great voice who leads our singing most
Sunday mornings. We sound great with her leading us. And she can do new
stuff, old stuff, in-between stuff just as well. I’m glad God gives us
so many ways to worship.

As I read her comment, especially when she began describing her church’s current set up,  I was reminded of the last six or so months of our old church plant here in Nashville (before it was decided the plant would merge with an already established Mosaic in town). We
revamped it after a jolting shift in our leadership, and part of the revamp was to completely change our approach to our "service" time. Instead of coming at it from a typical worship service mind-set, formatting it with music and then teaching, we instead approached it as if it were a giant Life Group (small group, or cell group; some now call them Community Groups). This one change in focus changed the whole dynamic and
feel of our times together, and opened the door for God to dwell among and within us at an ever deepening level. (please note this post continues after the jump — see below)

Los has this series he does on Thursdays called Creative Chaos, where he talks a little about
what his church (Buckhead, in the ATL; photo copyright Buckhead Church) does in their worship times, or planning times, etc. Then he invites others to post about what creative chaos is happening in their worlds and also provides a way they can link their posts to his on his blog. It’s really cool to read because you get a feel for all the creative madness going on out there in Worship Leader Land. I highly recommend it, even if you’re not a leader.

Today he posted a kickin’ video that you just gotta watch. But do yourself a favor, put your headphones on and crank the sound. It. Is. Awesome!!

Aside from the sound, the visual overload of the video, both from the screens and the constantly shifting camera angles, took me on a little ride. It was good, but I realized something the first time I watched. While I’d love to participate in something like that for a worship concert — where it’s just singing and music and some prayer (accompanied by music); just worship — I’m not sure I’d want to "do church" like that every week.

I’m realizing more and more that I long for some of the old — dare I say it? — traditions; the quiet reverence, the sacraments, the sort-of high church feel. I’d probably tire of it after a bit; I don’t think I’m by nature a quiet, calm, traditional worshiper. But for some reason, right now my soul craves that. I crave a chance to sit silently in a sanctuary, get on my knees with others, and take communion in community in the midst of such a holy-feeling place. I will probably shock some with this statement, but sometimes meeting in a movie theatre does, for me, take some of the awe and reverence from the worship experience. If I weren’t such an aesthetic person perhaps that wouldn’t be so, but I am. So I struggle with the environments I find myself in during worship services, and sometimes they just don’t fit with what my spirit is craving.

What about you? What kind of worship services do you like? Is aesthetics, your surroundings, important to you, or doe it not effect you?