A Pastor/Elders’ Vision for an Embodied and Liturgical Visit
Most of my ideas on practices, habits, liturgies, and the ways humans operate as worshipful beings have been taken (sometimes scalped) from James K.A. Smith’s work in Cultural Liturgies, specifically his first and second volumes. Any mistakes in logic, wording, or style are not his, but mine. For a more thorough discussion on the spiritual implications of people as habitual creatures, check out “You Are What You Love” by James K.A. Smith.
Liturgy. A strange word for a pastor/elder’s visits. Liturgy is simply an order for Christian worship. It doesn’t matter if you consider yourself “high” or “low” church because every worship gathering follows a liturgy. Depending on one’s tradition, each worship service consists of practices that have been handed down through their ecclesiastical body: reading Scripture, prayers, a sermon, confession, singing, the Lord’s Supper, and many other collective practices. Even if you “plan” not to have a plan, this is still an “order” of worship.
I have applied this idea to the visits we make with our congregants. That is, we all have a set of practices; be it certain questions, phrases, seating postures, prayers, or what I’ll call ‘natural rhythms,’ that we do when we’re with congregants. These are ‘lived’ experiential practices that we naturally do, whether we think about them or not. You may want to think of these practices as habits.
These habits, whether we realize this or not, form the structure of our visits. (And I don’t believe this is a bad thing!) For example, your natural rhythm (or habit, let the reader understand) may already include an introduction of both you and your church, sitting after being invited to, and ending your visits in prayer. There is nothing wrong with these habits, and my argument (really the argument of James K.A. Smith) is that they aid in the discipleship of our congregants.
When we began to reflect on our unconscious natural rhythms for visits, we can evaluate their effectiveness for our visitation. I’m suggesting that some of our habits may not be as formative for patient discipleship as we think. Once we realize this, we can begin to include practices, tethered to Christian tradition, that will not only consciously shape the congregant but also unconsciously. The ancient Christian practices we do include have been used for millennia because of their Spirit-empowered directives.[1] Importantly, these repetitive Christian habits not only shape congregants but also pastors and elders.
My point is that we are habitual creatures, so let’s take advantage of it. But as you’ll read below, these habits not only shape our minds but also our bodies. That is, our spiritual life is not only formed by what we “know” but what we “do”. We are full-bodied people, mind and body. There is no dichotomy in the Kingdom of God.
As I’ve stated, all the traditional Christian practices so far mentioned are embodied. That means they are the kind of practices that invoke a physical bodily action. Some of these practices become so natural that we don’t notice we do them! However, your congregants have, even if they don’t “know” it.
For example, every time I visited a dementia patient, I read him Psalms 23 about 1/3 into a 30-minute visit. Over the first few months, he would sit there and listen and then silently mouth the words. After more visits, he began asking me to read the Psalm to him at the beginning of our visit and would quote it with me. He “knew” what to expect, even though he wouldn’t have been able to tell anyone he expected it! For these visits, I was in the same physical space and participating in the ancient Christian practice of reading Scripture aloud. This practice helped him “know” what was coming and how he could participate.
We know that God uses His Word, and therefore, this practice invokes the working and power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, Spirit-infused practices begin to change congregants and us. This is not supra-spiritual or spooky, but a practice that was embedded in his bodily and lived experience. Think about the dementia patient who listens to Christian hymns and then loudly sings along as if they were in church. So, we need to ask ourselves, what lived habits am I consciously or unconsciously doing that shape my congregants? What Christian-shaped habits could I include in my visits that would help their spiritual formation and human flourishing?
These embodied practices work on the whole person and tap into all the ways of human “knowing.” That means that even cognitively impaired congregants are participating in practices of grace and “growing in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18). These practices invoke the dignity of every human interaction and work with all types of congregants’ cognitive abilities.
Below I’ve listed one type of “liturgy” for my visits by way of example. For me, these are not fixed decrees, and I can certainly deviate my conversations or habits based on relational and spiritual needs. However, I use the liturgy as a guideline that structures our time together and habituates our members (and myself) to the Spirit-empowered practices of Christian formation.[2] I’m not saying my liturgy must be done, but I hope it will help you reflect on your practices and habits that you already rhythmically, and maybe even unconsciously, do.
Once we’ve reflected on visitation habits, we can begin to ask, “Does this practice or ‘lived habit’ communicate the grace of Christ and help congregants participate in their spiritual formation?” Moreover, we can consider our habits of conversation; the questions we ask, the statements we use, and the topics we discuss to address all our congregants’ spiritual needs. All this thinking and planning our visits on the front end will help us thoughtfully respond to the Holy Spirit and his invitation to commune with Him and our congregants during the visit. These Spirit-shaped visits will not only form our congregants into the image of his Son, but us too.
I would love to talk further with each of you on this. Also, it would encourage and help me to hear of any practices or habits that you include or have found helpful in your visits. I look forward to continuing our conversation.
A “Liturgical” Visit:
Greeting/Introduction –equivalent to your “call to worship,” you are calling them to a spiritual visit, a time to commune together with a spiritual friend.
Conversation about the congregant’s physical wellness –Pastors/elders care about congregants’ physical bodies. We are all embodied creatures, and we know their embodied aspects that will affect all of their life.
Conversation about congregants’ relationships—Pastor/elders care about congregants’ social and spiritual faith communities, family, and friends.
Life Reflection—Stories are what shape us. We construct our world through stories and find meaning through our participation in certain narratives. Someone’s life is not simply a set of facts, but a collection of stories. What stories are at their core? Even rote ‘facts’ are embedded within larger meaning-making stories. Think of Hemingway’s “facts” that reveal a pertinent story: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”[3]
Open-ended questions about their spiritual needs/concerns/blessings—this element combines a few liturgical elements: the sermon or homily, passing of the peace, and spiritual fellowship experienced through interactions with the congregation. Here we are practicing our congregants in addressing their Spiritual life more concretely and with other people.
Scripture Reading—like the sermon or homily. Here we are inviting them into the great story of God. We are helping them reimagine their stories within the framework of the Gospel. However, when you hear ‘Gospel’, think the entire canon with all its narratives. It might be helpful to consult a lectionary for readings that correspond to the time of your visits. Another easy way is to vary your readings from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the letters.
Prayer— like “Prayers of the People.” Most importantly, prayers are a time to invite communion with God and with each other. Prayer is a Spirit-empowered practice that invites the triune God into fellowship with you and the congregant. It may help write out your prayers before a visit so that you don’t simply go through the motions and use the same phrases. You could also pray Scripture with a congregant.
Goodbyes—blessing them, clearly closing your time, and telling them you will see them again. Like a benediction, this is also an important embodied practice that is indicated by your movement, your words, and maybe even a handshake or hug (if appropriate) signaling that the visit has ended.
Other Embodied Spiritual Practices
Leading in silence and meditation
Celebrating the Lord’s Supper/Eucharist
Responsive Prayers or responsive readings
Singing
Confession and assurance of pardon
Petitionary prayers
Fasting (careful with congregants’ physical needs)
Reading from short devotionals or catechisms
[1] There is a lot we could say about this, but it may need to be another article. I hope that the reader understands that I believe the Holy Spirit is the one who changes lives and that there is nothing we can “do” to achieve his grace or anything salvific. Nevertheless, these practices invite his presence and are Spirit-infused because of their biblical directives (e.g., confession of sin).
[2] This liturgy or order would include differences based upon the patient’s needs, faith tradition, and cognitive ability.
[3] Smith, James K.A. “Imagining the Kingdom; How Worship Works.” p 161.