Worship Narratives and the Element of Surprise

Last night I had a chance to attend a sneak preview of the new movie “How To Train Your Dragon.” Being a Dreamworks film I was confident it would be a crowd-pleaser, and that’s exactly what it will be when it comes out here in a few weeks. All you’ll need is a Coke, some popcorn and your inner 10-year-old and you’ll be in for some good times.

Having said that, my expectations for the story itself really weren’t that high. The title itself gives away a whole lot of the journey the protagonist is going to take. Plus, animated movies cost of lot of money to make, so studios have a finite amount of risk their willing to take when it comes to messing with safe storytelling formulas.

So imagine my shock when the movie ended with a genuine surprise. A surprise that was devastating and poignant and symmetrical and beautiful. It doesn’t happen until the very end, but it blew me away with its unexpected power. Completely made my night.

Last week I wrote about employing the power of great storytelling in our worship experience and I laid out eight fundamental elements of good narratives: setting, characters, conflict, exposition, dramatic tension, surprise reversal, climax and resolution. As you think about the worship experiences you’ve been a part of over the course of your life, how many of them have had moments of genuine surprise or shock? I bet you can count them on one hand.

Why is that? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Think about the message of the gospel for a moment. The Son of God came to serve, not to be served. Lose your life for the gospel’s sake and you’ll find it. If someone strikes you turn the other cheek as well. In Christ there is neither male nor female, Jew nor Greek. This is revolutionary stuff, and the counter-intuitive call of the gospel is ripe for moments of shock and awe. But where are they in our worship?

Jodi-Renee Adams makes a good point in her column this week when she asserts that we need a new orientation, a new way to see the power of God’s Narrative, but I think that’s hard for those of use who’ve grown up in the church. We can’t keep repeating the same words and phrases (and lyrics) over and over and expecting them to resonate in fresh ways. This is where the artist comes in . . .

There’s a reason that in Psalms and Isaiah and Revelations God wants us to sing new songs to him. Our default is to go for what we know, mostly ‘cause it’s easier. Creating and re-creating is hard work. It’s easier to double-back to something you’ve done before. But that’s not what God wants from us, and that doesn’t tell the best story.

So what are some ways we can incorporate surprise into our worship? One way is to practice the art of shifting perspectives. M. Night Shamalan is a masters of this. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Mr. Shamalan, he’s the writer and director of “The Sixth Sense” a movie that made over $670 million based on the power of shifting perspectives (i.e. – “oh my gosh, Bruce Willis was a ghost! I SO did not see that coming!)

In a behind-the-scenes interview for one of his films he describes the joy that comes when the audience realizes they weren’t watching what they thought they were. The ultimate is when repeat reflections indicate that the surprise was, of course, inevitable. Things really couldn’t have gone any other way.

But to pull something like that off we have to plan ahead. We have to be familiar with the elements of character and setting and dramatic tension. We have to be willing to let God work in the hearts and minds of the worshipers without needing to spell everything out. Think about the great stories of when God allows us to see people through His eyes instead of our own. Those kinds of stories can change our attitudes and our actions in ways that nothing else can.

Another way to surprise people in worship is to be willing to laugh and to have a little fun. I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of joy-free worship. This can definitely be overdone, but I’d rather err sometimes on the side of too joyful rather than too monotonous.

Write a poem or song that explores the rigors of walking with God with genuine wit or wisdom. Highlight community life with a short comedy film. Teach about God-centric feasts and celebrations, then drop a disco ball and rock out. Paint a six-part mosaic all around the room during the service and assemble it in the end to make something entirely new. These surprise reversals allow us to see our lives, God and His stories in brand-new, life-altering ways.

So what are the ways you’ve seen surprise, shock and/or reversal in worship that stuck most with you?