If God was a dog in church . . .
–Traditional church would put the dog in a cage, cover the cage with a blanket, and then have someone give a talk about the dog.
–Participatory church would let the dog run free, from person to person, controlling the meeting. It would let people in the meeting, personally interact with the dog; and allow them to openly share what the dog means to them.

God is actually present with us when we meet in His name, however, far too often we neglect to make Him welcome.  We ignore Him, put Him in the the back of the room, and listen to a talk about Him.  Meanwhile God longs for us to personally interact with Him in the meeting and to give Him our full affection and attention.