Years ago, I read a book called A Man Called Peter, which was the biography of Peter Marshall, the man who was chaplain of the U.S. Senate (not the game show host). The book told of the time when reporters asked Marshall if he could give them a copy of his prayer in time for them to run it in their papers, rather than having to wait until he actually delivered it. Marshall explained that that was impossible, since he merely prayed as the Holy Spirit moved him at that time. One reporter called out, “Couldn’t the Holy Spirit move you ahead of time?”
One of the great tensions in planning an assembly is just that: how much should be planned? Can we allow for spontaneity without falling into chaos? Can we organize our assemblies ahead of time without limiting the Spirit?
I feel a need for a balance of both spontaneity and organization. If I had to lean one way or the other, I would lean toward organization, merely because human nature can often lapse into sloth and call it spontaneity. I find nothing particularly spiritual about a song leader who does not choose songs ahead of time because he wants to let the Spirit move him. Why not spend time in prayer and study during the week and let the Spirit move you as you plan the service?
The larger the gathering, the more structure that will necessarily need to be involved. Still, there needs to be room for someone to bring what God has placed upon their heart. There needs to be enough flexibility in our schedules so that someone can share a thought, a prayer need, or a timely passage without everyone in the congregation groaning about the delay.
I’m not sure of all the ins and outs of that, and I know that this can be a touchy subject for some. I’ve written before about assemblies and don’t want to rehash all of that again. But I know that we can grow in our understanding of how to have structure and flexibility at the same time.
Perhaps rather than the word “sontaneity”, a better word would be “creativity”. By that I mean creativity that is fueled by God. That presupposes that the worship leader and all the worshipers are engaged in God’s mission outside the assembly by participating in what God is doing through prayer, service, disicipleship, etc… Thus when they come together, the hymns they have, the words of instruction, etc…(cf 1 Cor 14.26) is not some chaotic offering that has been haphazzardly conceived apart from spiritual discernment but is a reflection of their engagement with God and his mission throughout their week.
This sort of “creativity” does not eliminate the need for some prayerful planning and basic order. It does not leave everything taking place in worship in the hands of a committee, worship learder(s), praise team, etc… and from outsiders/secular viewpoint it may appear somewhat spontaneus yet it would not be meaningless chaos and disruptive disorder (which would violate the point of Paul’s worship instructions in 1 Cor 14). And of course, the larger the assembly the more difficult this is but then again, I am becoming more and more convinced that large (what’s too large?) regular assemblies hinder more so than enable the entire point of assembling but that is another issue.
Grace and peace,
Rex
It’s too bad that people are so scared of spontaneity in the assembly that they react and stay so “structured” quenching and restricting the Holy Spirit at work within us even though He is active at all times in our daily lives. Being “spontaneous” in our worship is declaring His goodness and how He has blessed us throughout the week and proclaiming how much more he wants to bless others through us in an orderly and planned manner. When God-fearing people worship God like our passionate brother David did in Psalms, we don’t worry about our dignity and who people might think about us. We are focused on God and we want to hear from others (one by one and in orderly fashion) how God is working in their lives so we can glorify God.