Obviously, this work of getting started on the Christian Year in your worship life is not going to be something you will tackle by yourself as a worship leader. You’ll need others to join you in learning and studying, in teaching and introducing, and in evaluating the progress your congregation makes.
We can’t stress strongly enough the role that evaluative questions play in this process. The freedom to ask probing questions together is often one of the keys that makes the difference between those who succeed and those who stumble.
Here are some questions we suggest you use in your planning group:
- What are the expected benefits for our congregation from introducing the Christian Year?
- How much do our members know about it, and what level of understanding can we assume?
- What are the likely push-back areas that we must be prepared to handle?
- What are some of the most helpful means by which our congregation can be informed and educated in the practice of the Christian Year?
- Are there ways and methods of introducing this that could be counterproductive and which we ought to avoid? What are they?
How can we create a situation where the congregation will not be tempted to think this is the pastor’s idea alone?
