Spontaneity vs Preparation
David Walters seems to suggest that a Spirit-led meeting is one where the components are completely unplanned and entirely spontaneous.
From David's article:
"So when we come together corporately, our gatherings, or meetings, should also be unpredictable, like the wind. 'How is it then? Whenever you come together each of you have a psalm, have a teaching, have a tongue, have a revelation, have an interpretation.'
1.Cor.14:26.
If you don't want messes, keep organized, keep everyone in order, then you will have sterile meetings. "
I agree with David in that spontaneity is a part of being Spirit-led, but I disagree with him that the Spirit is all about spontaneity. Planning ahead is also an aspect of Godly wisdom (as in Jesus' parable in Luke 14:28 about building a tower), so why would we presume that the Spirit cannot start leading us until after the meeting has begun?
There is nothing in 1 Cor. 14:26 that implies spontaneity. That verse is about everyone contributing to the meeting. Spontaneity can apply to the prophetic gift, as in 1 Cor. 14:30:
And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop.
So spontaneity is clearly a component of a Spirit-led meeting, but it is not a requirement for every aspect of the meeting.
I also disagree with David's assertion that because the Spirit is like the wind, Christians should be unpredictable. I see unpredictability as a sign of immaturity in a believer. The most mature believers I've encountered are very stable and predictable, no matter what the situation. They are sensitive and responsive to the Holy Spirit, but they are not unpredictable.
Christians should rather be like a sailor who is constantly watching the wind, adjusting the sails to allow the force of the wind to have maximum effect. It doesn't mean letting go of the rudder and spinning in circles. In fact, one of the gifts of the Spirit is administration (1 Cor. 12:28), which literally means someone who can steer a boat. Therefore, a church that is fully moving in the gifts of the Spirit should be responding to the latest blowing of the Spirit while still keeping things in order and on course during the meeting.
Despite David's poke at inflexible worship teams and preachers, the fact is it's very difficult to sing a song when you don't know the words, or play a melody that you aren't familiar with. It's also difficult to teach effectively when you haven't studied or made notes. Bringing our worship to God requires both preparation on our part and sensitivity to the Spirit. It's not one or the other. Certainly worship in the OT temple was not a spontaneous event. An animal had to be chosen and led to the temple before any sacrifice could occur. Preparation on the part of the worshipper was mandatory.
It's interesting that the Bible says remarkably little about the format of church meetings. That tells me we should expect a lot of variety between churches, as different believers try different methods that suit their situations. At The King's Family Church, we essentially plan the meeting to include times of spontaneity. The worship team plans and practices their chosen songs beforehand, but between songs they invite people to share their contributions. Some folks read a Bible verse, others say a short prayer of thanksgiving, a few bring prophetic words, and occasionally we even get a tongue and an interpretation. The speaker plans a sermon beforehand, and usually some of the contributions will fit with that topic. We keep trying to grow in this, and every year we get a little further ahead.
For instance, our worship teams are becoming more comfortable switching the order of their songs in response to the contributions that have just been made. As the worship teams get more and more songs that they can play by memory, they'll be able to add a song that they haven't practiced that week. Some day we'll be there, but not quite yet.
We've also made progress on what I would call "free singing." We have some worship leaders who can start singing their own words to a song. The musicians keep playing and the leader sings a new melody and new words in line with what we just sang together. No one from the congregation has tried that yet -- it will take some time for the worship leaders to model it before others have the confidence to step out in that way. It actually took us a long time to be able to do free singing at all. I remember the first occasion was a bit rough, because the musicians didn't really know what to do. Because each musician was playing his own unique chord progressions (which didn't sound good), they stopped playing altogether and the vocalist was left to sing by herself, which she wasn't comfortable doing. It was a noble attempt, and we encouraged the team afterwards, but it left some room for improvement! We now have musicians who know how to carry on certain chord progressions after a song is over, and we have some vocalists who know how to make up new melodies within those chord progressions. It's working very well now, and it significantly enhances our worship.
I guess all these mechanics don't sound very spiritual, but the development of skills is essential for us to be able to respond to the Spirit's leading.
Preparation on our part is a key aspect of having Spirit-led meetings.
