Church on the Couch by Elaine Martens Hamilton

Author:Elaine Martens Hamilton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Array
Publisher: Zondervan

IDEAS FROM FLOOD

Flood does something they call a “Graffiti Wall.” They put pieces of butcher paper all along the walls, tape it down to tables with duct tape, and lay markers around. There are prompts on the screen for people to respond to. The band leads through worship songs. People come up and write or draw their thoughts. For example, while talking about King David and his authentic spirituality, people were asked to respond by owning things about themselves. The prompt said, “I am . . . I am not . . . .” People wrote things like:

I am . . . impatient

I am not . . . good when I am tired

I am . . . creative

I am not . . . focused

I am not . . . who my mother-in-law thinks I am

I am not . . . my sister

I am . . . lonely

The graffiti wall can be done with all kinds of topics. Just create a statement that people can respond to, such as:

An attribute of God that is really important to you right now and why

A dream you have

A struggle you are going through

A relationship you want to see change

Something you are asking God for

A fruit of the Spirit you want to develop

A loss you are grieving

A fear that is burdening you

You also might consider variations to the basic format. For example, you might begin the activity with the lights low. Then, as people become more comfortable with participating, turn the lights up and ask them to look around to see what others have written. Or, have people walk around the room afterward and touch someone else’s words or drawings and pray for them, either aloud or silently. Or, if you have a smaller space and it’s difficult for everyone to move around, have people call out their answers to a designated person who writes them all down.

Leeana also shared Flood’s approach to communion: “We try to make communion interactive. We do it ‘family style.’ We have six-foot banquet tables around the room. There’s a staff person at each table. When the table is filled, everyone takes communion together, then joins hands for prayer. We like doing it this way because in a large church with a lot going on, it’s sometimes hard to connect with a lot of our community. This is a good opportunity for us as staff to have contact — to look people in the eye, to put a hand on their shoulder and pray together in small groups. The way people look at us tells us they are hurting and longing for contact.”

In my own church, people are served communion in groups of ten or so by two servers. One server brings the bread and another the cup and serves each person individually. As they do, they look right at each person and say something, using their name whenever possible. It might be something as traditional as, “Karen, this is Christ’s body given for you,” or something more personal or

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