Worship in the Worlds: How Theological Worlds Can Inform Worship Music and Express the Deepest Spiritual Needs of Worshipers
Title
Worship in the Worlds: How Theological Worlds Can Inform Worship Music and Express the Deepest Spiritual Needs of WorshipersAbstract
TRACIE ANNE JERNIGAN WORSHIP IN THE WORLDS: HOW THEOLOGICAL WORLDS CAN INFORM WORSHIP MUSIC AND EXPRESS THE DEEPEST SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF WORSHIPERS Under the direction of David G. Garber, Jr., Ph.D. Worshipers form connections to God through their individual and communal theologies. These theologies form the embedded theologies of the church, giving insight to how they think through and act out their faith. The role of the worship planner includes paying attention to how worship music forms and expresses the congregants’ understanding of God. I implemented this project to better understand how worshipers at The Summit connect to God and how worship music can help them express their deepest spiritual needs. The embedded theology of worshipers was measured using the Five Theological Worlds of W. Paul Jones. Participants took the Theological Worlds Inventory by Jones, answered questionnaires following five worship gatherings representing a single World each week, and attended a focus group. I recognized the embedded theologies of the congregation through their answers on the Theological Worlds Inventory and experimented with deliberative theology through the worship experiences. Several themes surfaced during evaluation of my data. Participants’ ability to resonate with a worship song can be linked to theological, spiritual, nostalgic, and stylistic reasons. Participants were able to understand their primary World, resonate with their primary World through its definition and scripture, and resonate with other nonprimary Worlds. Participants interpreted worship songs through the lens of their primary World as well as current and past church experiences. Some participants have experienced theological formation through worship songs. The intention of the worship planner stands in balance to the reception of the material through the lens of these experiences and Worlds. I found reception to lead to three primary results: resonance, lack of resonance, and/or deliberative theology. Worshipers resonate with songs that meet a spiritual need represented by their theological home. Worshipers can also resonate with music that speaks to a non-primary theological home through the lens of their primary theological home. Additionally, worshipers can experience theological formation through songs from their primary theological home, a resonant theological home, and for some, a challenging, unfamiliar theological home. Worship planners can help a diverse theological community find a unifying expression of worship by identifying a core repertory of worship music and offering opportunities for theological reflection.Description
2023Collections
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The Incarnation Of Blessing : How Do Worshipers At First Baptist Church Of West Jefferson, Nc Experience Blessing In The Confluence Of The Sermon And Liturgical Response? / By Michael Shane LeaThe dialogical and incarnational nature of Christian worship provides opportunities for personal encounters with the Triune God. God speaks to people through the “liturgical language�? of worship—both the literal and figurative words used and the material signs and symbols of worship practices. Worshipers often respond by describing their experience in theological language (theology literally means “words about God�?). Implementing the methodological approach of pastoral ethnography, this research project sought to understand the relationship between the liturgical language of certain worship practices and the theology of worshipers at First Baptist Church of West Jefferson, NC. In particular, how do worshipers at First Baptist Church experience what they had previously described as the “blessing�? of God’s presence and love through sermons with concurrent liturgical responses? The researcher utilized the speech-act theory of J. L. Austin’s work "How to Do Things with Words" as an interpretive tool of the performative nature of six sermons with concurrent liturgical responses. The performative impact of these sermons and responses was explored for six consecutive weeks in the one Sunday morning worship service at First Baptist Church. Through data collected from weekly surveys and a handful of focus group interviews, participants revealed the performative nature of the sermons and concurrent liturgical responses, and how they experienced the blessing of God’s presence and love through the liturgical language of the sermons and concurrent practices. The project revealed some important lessons about the performative nature of liturgical language, particularly how members of First Baptist Church experience the blessing of God’s love and presence through sermons and concurrent liturgical responses. The combined experiences of participating congregants and the participating preacher led to recommendations for how the preaching and worship ministries of the First Baptist Church of West Jefferson, NC can continue to be a source of the blessing of God’s presence and love in the lives of worshipers.
