The New Rick Livermore Site : Donald Griggs -- pastor, educator and Kerygma author 　 

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Donald Griggs -- pastor, educator and Kerygma author 　 

10 tips for crafting inclusive worship experiences

Pastor and educator Donald Griggs offers ten ways to create inclusive worship by applying educational theories such as Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences.

BY DONALD L. GRIGGS
PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 20, 2023 -- The Presbyterian Outlook

In my career teaching Christian educators, pastors would often attend my workshops. After one workshop a pastor asked, “I agree with the principles and strategies you are sharing about teaching. I am wondering if any of those principles can be applied to worship services I lead?” That excellent question led to a workshop where we explored how some principles of education apply to planning worship.

Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences greatly influenced my approach to teaching and can be seen in the ten points below. Gardner pushed against the idea that there was a single, general intelligence. Instead, he suggested that there are different types of intelligences including: linguistic, logical-mathematical, usical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic.

The ten points below originate from that workshop and reflect some of what I learned from Gardner. I’ve added a suggestion or two to illustrate how each affirmation might be experienced in a worship service.

1. Concrete concepts can be communicated more easily than abstract concepts.

How can we reduce the abstractions and increase the concreteness of Scripture, sermons, and other elements of worship?

Suggestion: Use words with fewer syllables. If your natural choice is an abstract word, use a synonym that is less abstract. Some abstract concepts are unavoidable. Illustrate those with a personal experience or illustrative story to help worshippers better understand the concept.

Read the rest of this article, “10 tips for crafting inclusive worship experiences" by visiting pres-outlook.org.