exchanged living.

Worship Design, Pudding, and Pragmatism

In the comments section of my last post on Worship Leaders and Theologians, Chad noted that many times one of the most pressing needs we have in worship design is people, and that sometimes the best we can do is find someone who can make X happen. We need someone who can sing, or doesn’t mind praying aloud, or someone who brought their Bible and so can read Scripture. Chad called this “liturgical pragmatism”, and I think the term is spot on.

Pragmatism is rooted in the belief that theories that are just theoretical are worthless; theory finds its validation and life in the way it is practiced. Think of the maxim, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating” - we only know how accurate, effective, or valid an idea is when we see it in practice. In a worship (or liturgical) setting, then, liturgical pragmatism is the way that our theological and theoretical ideas come to be embodied through what we do when we’re together. 

It is important to note, then, that every serving of pudding ever made was made with a recipe. Every action has theory or ideas embedded in them, whether intentionally or not. Even the most basic, needed choices we make in worship are undergirded with some form of thinking, and that line of thinking transfers in and through the action itself. Therefore, when we make decisions about what happens when we gather, even on the smallest levels, we are saying something about what rightfully should happen when we gather. We are stamping it as theoretically (or theologically) approved. 

Remember this, then, when it comes time to fill the roster for your gatherings. Pragmatic choices are not neutral choices, and to fill a role without thinking through the what, how, why, and to what end of that role could leave your pudding with some unintended extra ingredients. Think through and set up guidelines for the roles people play before, not after, you give them the role, and do not let someone serve in ways that distort or compromise you (or your team’s) leadership and theological vision.