To do worship and mission effectively, we need to know who we are as Church. And we need to protect and nurture this identity—not in a self-serving, defensive way. But in the sense that we are Church because the world needs Church. This then flows into a vibrant and ‘Ecclesial’ experience of worship and mission in which we allow our identity as Church to influence our relationship with and service of the world.

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore why it’s important that the Church doesn’t hide or lose its identity as Church, both in worship and in mission. And what it means to be Church when we seek to serve the world.

For an expanded version of this episode which goes deeper and offers more practical suggestions for progressive worship practitioners, sign up for the Sacredise Patreon. You'll also get additional bonus content from time to time, and exclusive discounts on premium Sacredise Resources.

And to ensure you don't miss any content and resources from Sacredise, click through to our website and sign up for one of our email lists.

The ultimate foundation for all talk about missions in the Church is Christ’s mission to reveal God and God’s reign to us. And at the heart of Christ’s mission is incarnation. Christ became human, lived with us, embrace our humanity, and showed us that God is not off watching us from a distance but is with us, among us, around us, and within us. And so the heart of all the work of service and mission in the Church should be the incarnation—Christ’s incarnation for us, and Christ’s incarnation in us and in those whom we serve.

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore how an incarnational approach to worship and mission can bring these two aspects of our lives together and help us to serve the world more effectively.

For an expanded version of this episode which goes deeper and offers more practical suggestions for progressive worship practitioners, sign up for the Sacredise Patreon. You'll also get additional bonus content from time to time, and exclusive discounts on premium Sacredise Resources.

And to ensure you don't miss any content and resources from Sacredise, click through to our website and sign up for one of our email lists.

How do we worship in a world of pain, polarisation, and poverty? Is there any relationship between what we do in Church and what happens in the world? Should there be some connection between them? 

One of the challenges we face as people of faith is that we live with deep grief at the world. We have a longing, a desire for a world of peace, justice, and love. But we also live with a sense of overwhelm at the size of the challenges we face in our world and at the feeling that there is nothing we can do as small, individual human beings to make any real difference. That grief can sometimes lead us into a tendency to see worship as separate from our lives and our world.

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore the relationship between worship and mission - both personally and collectively.

For an expanded version of this episode which goes deeper and offers more practical suggestions for progressive worship practitioners, sign up for the Sacredise Patreon. You'll also get additional bonus content from time to time, and exclusive discounts on premium Sacredise Resources.

And to ensure you don't miss any content and resources from Sacredise, click through to our website and sign up for one of our email lists.

Spirituality can often be used to rob us of pleasure and joy. When that happens, the result is an ascetic faith, a faith that is cold, dry, lifeless, and destructive. But when we embrace pleasure in a healthy way, it's life-giving. And many spiritual movements in history began from an ecstatic experience.

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore how ecstasy and pleasure can be life-giving and part of a healthy spirituality.

For an expanded version of this episode which goes deeper and offers more practical suggestions for progressive worship practitioners, sign up for the Sacredise Patreon. You'll also get additional bonus content from time to time, and exclusive discounts on premium Sacredise Resources.

And to ensure you don't miss any content and resources from Sacredise, click through to our website and sign up for one of our email lists.

Celebration is more than just an excuse to throw a party, especially when we think of celebration as a spiritual practice. When we celebrate, we are embracing joy, gratitude, and connection. We're making a conscious choice to recognise and appreciate beauty, goodness, and truth. We're affirming life and our ability to find hope and meaning in the face of challenges, and we're reminding ourselves of our shared humanity and of the interconnectedness of all things.

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore how to nurture a healthy practice of celebration.

For an expanded version of this episode which goes deeper and offers more practical suggestions for progressive worship practitioners, sign up for the Sacredise Patreon. You'll also get additional bonus content from time to time, and exclusive discounts on premium Sacredise Resources.

And to ensure you don't miss any content and resources from Sacredise, click through to our website and sign up for one of our email lists.

A life without wonder is a life without energy, joy, beauty, and a sense of vibrant aliveness. But, with a little bit of intentionality and care, there is no reason for us to live that way. Our world is pregnant with wonder at every turn. We just have to be open, aware, and free enough to recognise and respond to wonder when we encounter it. And, when it’s well crafted and facilitated, worship can help us to make opening to wonder a consistent and life-giving habit in our lives.

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore how wonder leads us into experiences of the closeness, accessibility, and connectedness we have with God and with our wonder-filled world.

For an expanded version of this episode which goes deeper and offers more practical suggestions for progressive worship practitioners, sign up for the Sacredise Patreon. You'll also get additional bonus content from time to time, and exclusive discounts on premium Sacredise Resources.

And to ensure you don't miss any content and resources from Sacredise, click through to our website and sign up for one of our email lists.

We have lost the original connection with the idea of awe. Originally, ‘awful’ meant simply ‘full of awe’—in the same way that we now speak of something being awesome. The experience of awe is essential to a rich and vibrant life. We all need an awe-full life if we are to live fully, creatively, authentically, and meaningfully.

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore how spiritual practices—and especially worship—are designed to lead us into regular and life-enriching experiences of awe.

For an expanded version of this episode which goes deeper and offers more practical suggestions for progressive worship practitioners, sign up for the Sacredise Patreon. You'll also get additional bonus content from time to time, and exclusive discounts on premium Sacredise Resources.

And to ensure you don't miss any content and resources from Sacredise, click through to our website and sign up for one of our email lists.

The human power of imagination is much more than just a pleasant mental exercise. What we visualise can generate literal, physical responses in our bodies. Sports people have known this for a long time and many professionals use visualisation along with physical training to achieve their peak performances. There’s even a sense in which this kind of visualisation can be thought of as remembering the future!

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore how the practice of remembering the future deliberately and mindfully can move us toward the self, the life and the world we seek.

For an expanded version of this episode which goes deeper and offers more practical suggestions for progressive worship practitioners, sign up for the Sacredise Patreon. You'll also get additional bonus content from time to time, and exclusive discounts on premium Sacredise Resources.

And to ensure you don't miss any content and resources from Sacredise, click through to our website and sign up for one of our email lists.

Our worship defines our lives. 

This means we can no longer settle for worship that feels inspiring but is shallow or worship that is deep but boring. We need worship that is deep and inspiring and that helps us to show up in our lives full, authentically, and courageously. We need worship that empowers us to connect more deeply with others, live more compassionately in the world, and make our unique contribution to the greater good. And for that we need ritual artistry!

In this bonus episode of the Progressive Worship Podcast, I’m chatting with Dr. Marcia McFee, author and ritual artist extraordinaire - and who also happens to be a good friend. If you’re looking for inspiration to ignite your creativity and help you to craft worship gatherings that are deep and inspiring, this conversation is for you!

Find out more about Worship Design Studio and become a free member of the community: www.worshipdesignstudio.com 

See more about Worship Design Studio series: 

www.worshipdesignstudio.com/series 

Find out more about Dr. Marcia McFee: www.marciamcfee.com

Metamorphosis Moment article: www.worshipdesignstudio.com/article

#Worship

#Liturgy

#RitualArtistry

Too often the Church is seen as an organisation that clings to a long lost past and refuses to engage the present world in any meaningful way. Its rituals and liturgies are often viewed as a desperate remembering that leads to stagnation and drains us of life. Perhaps that’s why so much of contemporary spirituality is focused on living in the present. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore healthy ways to remember the past that enable us to be more fully present now and live toward a brighter future.

For an expanded version of this episode which goes deeper and offers more practical suggestions for progressive worship practitioners, sign up for the Sacredise Patreon. You'll also get additional bonus content from time to time, and exclusive discounts on premium Sacredise Resources.

And to ensure you don't miss any content and resources from Sacredise, click through to our website and sign up for one of our email lists.