Some of us can imagine our worship services filled with people of multiple colors, nationalities, economic levels, and political beliefs all worshipping God together. The only problem with that scenario is that most of us imagine how great that vision would be as long as those various cultures, tribes, and tongues are willing to adjust their worship to worship just like we do.

Hymns and modern worship songs aren’t mutually exclusive. As long as we are filtering them according to theology instead of partiality, they can both live in harmony and compatibility as worship allies instead of adversaries.

If worshippers habitually practiced the presence of God throughout the week, then what could occur when they got to practice God’s presence together on Sunday?

A balanced approach to worship evaluation can be summative in that a congregation can learn from its previous worship failures and successes. But it can also be formative since it occurs during the development and conceptual worship service stages.

When an intentional and collaborative process of weekly worship evaluation is implemented, the reality is that you as leaders will no longer receive all of the credit for worship successes. But fortunately, you won’t receive all of the credit for worship failures either.

If we never involve our congregants as more than casual bystanders while we read, speak, sing, play, pray, testify, lead, mediate, commune, baptize, con- fess, thank, petition, and exhort, then how can we expect them to transform from passive spectators to active participators? Aren’t we really creating worship tourists who select their destination based solely on their impression of the platform tour guide and excursion offered rather than worship travelers on a continuous journey?

Participative worship is intentionally collaborative and is not guarded, territorial, or defensive. It trusts the creative abilities and resources of the whole in the planning, preparation, and implementation. Consequently, participatory leaders are not threatened when someone else gets their way or gets the credit. Participatory worship is a culture, not a one-time event.

If churches want great worship leaders in the future, they must invest in not-yet-great worship leaders in the present.