Theatre Worship / Worship Theatre

I have many of the same problems when I go to church as when I go to the theater. Both places try in many ways to be polite, convenient, welcoming, and not to offend me too much. Neither of them should have an obligation to do any of those things. (Okay, I guess everybody should be polite…)

I know a lot about how to do theater and just as much, if not more, about how to do worship. I often have to pinch myself to remember that I am there to enjoy and participate, not to critique and correct.

Have you ever watched a worship leader, pastor, actor or dancer, who was just a little unsure of what they were doing? They might not have missed a note, a sermon point, a cue line, or a dance step, but they were (to use a technical term) “shaky”. How did it affect your emotional involvement? Your understanding of what the author said?

You probably kept on singing, clapping, taking notes, or watching the play or musical. You probably still got the point. After all, they didn’t quite make a mistake. Only almost. They only broke character for a split second – uncertain of their blocking or their cue. Or they kicked right when everyone kicked left. No big deal. Except that a little magic slips out. Whatever that magic is that God put in us to participate in a story, to get caught up by the emotion of music and passionate speech – a little of it slips away when those tiny bobbles happen. Keeping the Magic – that is the performers part!

But what about the audience’s part? What about me and my hyper-critical brain sitting out there cataloging mistakes? The point is the Author’s Words. That is what I try to keep in the front of my mind when I sit in a pew or a theater seat. (of course some churches have theater seats too…) As long as I get those sacred words delivered intact, the rest of it is all a matter of belief. Appreciating the immense effort that it takes to present words on stage in any venue or format, and believing in the Magic of performance to break down barriers, transforms us all. Believing the Magic is what makes worshippers into audience members and what makes theater go-ers into congregants and pilgrims.