Passionate Worship - Post 30

I’ll never forget the first time it happened... We were in the second song of the customary first set of “three quick ones” and I was mid-hop in that most exuberant of dance expressions – the Jolly Jump. All of a sudden my left calf muscle violently seized up and refused to worship God even one hop further. Despite my incessant rebuking, the unrepentant calf muscle refused to offer any further assistance. This was the first humiliating failure of this kind that I ever experienced in worship but I’m afraid it was not the last.

When faced with the embarrassing prospect of such post-thirty, mid-worship “failures to launch”, many of my age cohort retreat to the chairs in abject disillusionment. It is a migration which bears an uncanny parallel to the “migration to the suburbs” which this same age-cohort often undergoes (I moved to Milnerton). The suburbs are cheaper, they are safer, the roads are wider, the cars drive slower, the parks are bigger. The chairs in the church represent much of the same.

If you identify with the scenario I have just described, don’t give up hope. Your disillusionment need not necessitate an end to your extravagant display of worship. A few practical adjustments to your worship technique is all you need.

1. Timing your exuberance

When you were younger you may have sprung around with joyful abandon throughout the length of any (or every) song. In your hey-day your energy was “uncapped”, now your energy comes very much in “bundles”. This is why timing your exuberance could make all the difference. We have probably all undergone that humiliating fate when we got too exuberant too early in the song and got caught “flat-footed” when the chorus reached its crescendo. The moral of the story – don’t peak too soon.

2. Efficiency of movement

As you grow older you need to get wiser regarding the efficiency of one dance technique over against another. The Jolly Jump may be regarded as the peak of spiritual dance style but it is far from the most energy efficient! Try swaying your hips and swinging your arms as an alternative and you are guaranteed to improve your chances of going the distance.

3. Inconspicuous stretching

The importance of pre-worship warm-ups cannot be over-emphasized. We probably all know this but how do you stretch out all the muscles in church without looking like an idiot?! Here are a few techniques that may help you to loosen up without looking unspiritual:

• Offer to assist unpacking a few chairs for the visitors just before worship begins.
• Hug a brother enthusiastically to crack any misaligned vertebras back where they belong.
• Bend down and greet a toddler.
• While all eyes are closed during the opening prayer, give all those problematic muscles a sneaky stretch.

4. “Be still” and recuperate

Of the many forms that passionate worship can take, there are those moments to just be still and reflect. Never before have those moments of stillness been so vital to your longevity in worship. A few minutes of stillness can provide much needed rest to over-exerted muscles and an opportunity to catch your breath.

5. Kneel and shift

Kneeling can also provide desperate relief when you are completely out of breath but it comes with its own dangers. Most of us will know the agony that can follow after kneeling in the same position for too long and all the muscles begin to seize. To be found clutching your body and convulsed by muscle spasm when the congregation have already moved on to the next song must surely be the fulfilment of every post 30 adult’s worst fear. To avoid cramping, keep shifting your weight and adjusting your body position while kneeling.

If you master these worship techniques there is absolutely no reason why you cannot continue to worship with abandon and give those youngsters a role model to look up to. If you found this article helpful, be sure to look out for the next article in the series – Passionate worship with a child on your hip