There's been a bit of a push lately at York Elim towards alternative expressions of worship, and combining them with the more traditional expression of singing. I can't overstate how keen I am to explore that kind of thing, but my problem is this: whenever we introduce a new thing on a Sunday morning, the congregation is invariably rather reluctant to get involved. For example, one of our worship leaders thought it'd be great for people to share Scriptures that have encouraged/challenged/blessed them while the band continued to play in an attempt to avoid any silences. This would have been great but for the fact that, upon hearing the worship leader explain what he was aiming for, everyone decided to sit down and stare straight ahead, waiting for somebody else to do it instead of them. So it became a lot closer to the 'open mic night' scenario than I'm sure had been originally intended!

I do struggle with how 'consumerist' many people are when it comes to gathered worship, not just here, but over recent years our church members have been experiencing breakthrough and unquestionable liberation in their worship. When I first arrived a little over three years ago I regularly found myself thinking "wow, tough crowd..." whilst I was leading, but thanks to God that is now a rarity. But there is always more to be done. As I write, I wonder if it's a case of trying to do too much too soon, or whether people will begin to 'get it' as we as a leadership keep persevering.

I'd love to know how you guys keep people engaged when you're trying out some 'alternative' forms of worship and how you avoid it turning into a spectator sport by accident. I'd also love to know what ideas you've been experimenting with; what worked and what didn't, etc.?

Thanks!