Why a Spiritual, Visual Space

This book is an ideas book, a helps book, a springboard, and a place to begin. It can help you tap into the creative nature that God gave each of us. This book can be used by pastors, worship leaders and teams, retreat leaders, and teachers, and for personal use in creating a worship or devotion space in a home.

We compiled this book for leaders and readers interested in following the liturgical year and its readings; however, you do not have to follow it using the lectionary. The scripture and topical indexes at the back will help you use the suggestions at any time. We offer suggestions and ideas for bringing a visual dimension into the worship experience.

The primary purpose of this book is to lift up the following ways of augmenting worship:

• Using the visual to enhance the experience of God's presence, worship, and prayer;

• Adding a multifaceted dimension to the worship time;

• Helping guide people on the focus of the message, scripture, or theme;

• Connecting devotion to words, music, prayer, and Eucharistic times; and

• Helping everyone worship God in a more intentional way.

Liturgy means the work of the people. And as Thomas Aquinas stated, liturgy is for the people, not for God. Worship is like a drama: the leaders are the prompters, the people are the actors, and God is the audience. We want to make the best effort of our work and time as we prepare to come together to worship and praise God. The visual arts can be just as helpful as the music we use and the songs we sing. Visual arts deepen our experiences and understandings. Visuals bring forth our cultures, time, and elements of tradition. From the very beginning, Christians used the visual to tell the stories, share the heart, and express the connections we have with God and with each other. In fact, churches originally installed stained-glass windows to help those who could not read or remember the stories. Liturgical space theology is the use of space for transformation and for the growth in relationship with God that can happen in that space.

Personalities and Worship

We now realize that our personalities make a difference in the acts and procedures that enhance our worship. We find that some older adults prefer a service with more energy and physical expression, what we now call contemporary worship. We also see some teens and young adults who prefer a more liturgical service. We often overlook a third type of worship, a contemplative worship that has periods of silence and reflection. We all need, at times, to experience all three styles of worship, but our personalities lead us to one more than another.

In exploring some of the Myers-Briggs personality types, we find that visuals help us, no matter our personality. We give you some suggestions for this below. For more information on spirituality and personality types, we suggest two books: Knowing Me, Knowing God by Malcolm Goldsmith and Discover Your Spiritual Type by Corinne Ware.

Introverts and Extroverts

We gain energy in different ways. Extroverts gain energy from people and activity, and introverts gain energy from quiet, reflective times. Visuals can appeal to both introverts and extroverts. The extrovert will see the visual as an exciting way to understand the theme or message. The introvert will take the visual into his or her heart and mull it over throughout the worship time.

Sensers and Intuitives

Sensers take in information through the senses, and the visual images bring the theme home to them. They also benefit from touch, smell, and taste. Even when those senses are not used, the visual can help them imagine the roughness of a rugged cross or the smell of a bottle of perfumed oil or the taste of a fruit.

Intuitives take in information through imagination. They will use the visual as a stepping stone into imagining the theme or understanding the passage of scripture. Since intuitives quickly become bored with repetition, the freshness of a new visual for each service will enhance their worship. They find that words cannot describe God, and so the visuals add a dimension to their experience.

Thinkers and Feelers

We all are thinkers and feelers to some degree, but some personalities thrive more on thinking and others more on expressing their feelings. Thinkers enjoy an order in their worship experience. Since the very process of thinking can be a form of spiritual exercise to them, a visual in worship gives them opportunity to think about the theme or scripture. These thoughts can be an actual offering to God for thinkers.

Feelers place themselves in other people's shoes. Visuals help them identify with situations and circumstances. A hammer and three nails can help them understand the pain and agony of the crucifixion. They also like peace and harmony, and will often avoid conflict. Sometimes a visual can help them face facts about our world and bring them to action.

Learning Preferences and Worship

Just as we have different personalities, we have different ways of learning. In Matthew 22:7, we hear Jesus telling us to love God with our heart, soul, and mind. Jesus did not separate the mind from worshiping God, and we must take the different ways of learning into account as we prepare worship experiences.

Some of us are more oriented to what we hear, while others are more oriented to what we see. Today's churches lean heavily on the audio, focusing on music and the spoken word. We have a mission to help people who learn more through visuals. For a visual person, a service that has no visual connection can be as meaningless as a service without words or music would be to a person primarily focused on hearing.

Howard Gardner, an authority in brain research, identified eight intelligences that God gave each of us. We all use these intelligences, but each one of us will favor some more than others. Recognizing these intelligences can help enhance our worship time.

• Jesus approached his verbal/linguistic followers with the use of stories and scripture. Visuals can act as a bridge between the words and the listener.

• Jesus often used questions and answers to provoke the logical/mathematical follower into thinking and reasoning. A visual can trigger...