Engaging Your Online Church Service
For a lot of us these days “going to church” means putting YouTube on the TV and curling up on the couch. And while it’s great that, even stuck at home, we can see our leaders, be led in worship, and hear Scripture read and preached, there are also a lot of challenges to this scenario.
For many of us it’s a lot harder to focus, participate and really engage in the service while lounging in my PJs and sipping coffee in our living room (as comfy as all that is!). And even if we started out strong in the early days, some of us have been at home now for a long time and it isn’t getting any easier to stay attentive, absorbed and involved.
So, while a lot of what I’m about to share may be profoundly obvious, I thought I’d offer a few ideas (in no particular order) which might help us as singles, couples or bigger families to engage in our online worship services.
Turn up the volume
Maybe you’re super confident belting out solos in your house, but if you’re like me it’s hard to really get in there and sing out that song if all I can hear is my raspy self. My crunchy morning voice definitely feels a bit shy about that and is more likely to keep to itself, with a soft murmur at best. Singing, speaking liturgy, focusing on the speaker, all these things are especially hard to do if your volume is pretty low. And doing all that out loud has significance for our own soul and for the souls of any others in our home. So, I’d recommend you consider cranking it up!
Get comfortable, but not too comfortable
Maybe your favourite movie-watching-spot, all stretched out on the couch feels super nice but—and I’m just putting this out there—maybe it isn’t the very best for engaging with intentional worship. If you’re looking to focus and engage more in the service maybe a change of position and posture could help. Maybe instead of that saggy couch, a firm chair? Or, I know this could feel weird at first, but even standing for some parts?
Devices away
Phones and tablets can be so useful and fun but also super distracting! For me checking that email that just came in or mention on Instagram or comment on Facebook can be hard to resist, especially when the preacher can’t even see you. If that’s you too, the best recourse may be putting those oh-so-useful devices far, far away. Try reading along with a printed Bible instead of your app and reduce the distraction temptation!
Prepare yourself
If it’s harder to focus, engage and feel a part of a service from your living room consider taking more time to prepare yourself/your family before it starts. Just flipping it on right as it starts(or part way through!) like your favourite weekly show or the hockey game may not exactly be helping you engage in worship. Instead, what if we took a minute or two or five of quiet first? What if we prayed to be more aware of the presence and peace and leading of the Holy Spirit in our homes?
I want to end by confessing that I often neglect to follow through on many of these ideas in our home. It’s easy to have good ideas, but faithfully, actively pursuing them is a different thing altogether. It will probably take some real effort and intentionality, to make all of these things happen. And so then, we’re faced with a big question. Is it worth it?
I think we suspect somewhere inside that the answer is “Yes”. We probably wouldn’t be reading this article otherwise. And there’s a lot that could be said to this question. But let me just end by saying this, to you and to me.
You are fully and forever loved, whether you ever do any of this. You are fully and forever cleansed of all your sin, justified and purified, accepted and pleasing and desired by your Creator God, adopted as his beloved child, sibling and co-heir with Jesus, alive and well and secure and full of meaning and purpose. You are part of the communion of saints, “the fellowship of all those, in heaven and on earth, who are united in Christ as one Body, through one Spirit” who “participates with the Church in heaven in the eternal worship of God” (‘To Be A Christian: An Anglican Catechism’).
How can all this be? Because Jesus has done it all. Out of the great love of God his amazing grace has rescued you and redeemed you by the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and King, and is renewing you by the Holy Spirit. And this is just the tip of the tip of the iceberg of all that could be said about the wonder and beauty and glory of the One we worship. But, Lord, may this be a start. May it answer for us deep in our hearts today this question, not with fear and shame but with your perfect love and the power of your grace: Is it worth it?
AUTHOR
Scott Hunt
Scott is our Communications Director. He and his family live in Ontario and he is a member of St. George’s Burlington.