Among the visitors at last Sunday's service was someone who commented on the fact that the whole service hung together - that the act of Remembrance and the concept of sacrifice threaded their way through it all, that the hymns/songs fitted in, that the Sunday School's (absolutely amazing) reflection on the first Armistice Remembrance Day connected and so on.  Surely, I thought, this is basic stuff - but of course even as I thought it, alas I know it isn't, why else is every Baptist denominational college having to teach the rudiments of how to create an act of public worship?  How often do we hear people say 'we'll start with some worship' when they really mean 'let's sing some songs we like' or even, among hymny churches, 'we'll end with that one because it has a good tune'?  Scary.

As I said in a recent sermon, it isn't style that makes of breaks worship, I like all sorts of styles and can worship in some very diverse settings, it is understanding what we are about.  Thank goodness for people like Chris Ellis whose recent publication 'Approaching God: A Guide for Worship Leaders and Worshippers' explores this in a way that is accessible, respectful of different styles and preferences, and rooted in a good understanding of what public worship is about.

I am grateful to have spent my formative years in allegedly 'boring' churches where the groundwork of good worship practices were maintained, allowing me to learn what I was doing before I started to experiment with how I do it.  I do like creativity, and movement and contemporary music as well as stillness, listening and ancient forms.  But over style come intentionality and authenticity - and that is not always so evident.