"So John, are you saying that, instead of pre-planning worship "services," we should allow people to be "spontaneous?" Is this the old debate on planning vs. spontaneity?"
No. Those questions arise out of a paradigm I'm not embracing.
In my leadership I never encourage people to be spontaneous. Why not?
While "spontaneous" has the sense of "not pre-planned," it does not capture the idea of responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Spontaneity is too impulsive, and not discerning enough.
Pre-planning is not bad, if it means discerning ahead of time God's leading and direction for a coming Sunday morning. P-DC planning is a co-planning, with God. Often, God directs me on Monday, for the coming Sunday. And often, God directs me on Sunday morning, differently from what I was anticipating. Like yesterday morning at Redeemer, as you saw if you were there.
The presence-driven church (P-DC) does not value "spontaneity." Instead, the P-DC values "discernment," "following," "hearing God," "respond," and "obedience." P-DC leaders use these words, instead of "spontaneity."
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See Chapter 7 of my book Leading the Presence-Driven Church, "The Language of the Presence-Driven Church."
Chapter 1 Introduction ..........................................................................1
Chapter 2 The Case for Experience .....................................................7
Chapter 3 The “Presence Motif” ......................................................... 23
Chapter 4 Presence Comes Before Purpose and Programs................39
Chapter 5 How to Experience God’s Presence.................................... 53
Chapter 6 The Marks of a Presence-Driven Church ........................... 65
Chapter 7 The Language of the Presence-Driven Church....................99
Chapter 8 Leading the Presence-Driven Church.................................113
Chapter 9 God’s Presence Will Win the Day.......................................129
