If worship is going to the theater, the congregation is not the audience

Rev. Dr. Todd Renner shared with a workshop he was co-leading something from Kierkegaard and his metaphor of worship as theater. I have not read Kierkegaard to know the context of this metaphor, and I have not taken time to look the source up, but here is how Dr. Renner shared it to our group. 

There were three aspects of traditional theater:

  1. Audience
  2. Actors
  3. Prompter (situated out so to cue the actors if they forget a line)

In worship it is commonly understood that:

  1. The congregation is the audience
  2. The preacher is the actor
  3. God is the prompter - provoking/inspiring the actors

Kierkegaard used this metaphor but argued:

  1. The congregation is the actor
  2. The preacher is the prompter
  3. God is the audience

I am not sure what to make of this at this time, it really is just something to meditate on and consider the role of worship in our lives. Consider what role you fill and where you see God in it all. 

Jason Valendy

Husband, father of two boys, pastor in the United Methodist Church, and guy who is interested in the desert mothers and fathers. The idea of Orthocardia is the pursuit of having a “right heart” over the pursuit of having a “right belief” (orthodoxy) or a “right action” (orthopraxy).

www.jasonvalendy.net
Previous
Previous

Beer exposes the growing or dying fallacy in the Church

Next
Next

Reasons why young people seeking old ways of church - commentary