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Worship in 7 Movements: Part I (Background)

9/5/2012

2 Comments

 
Among mainline denominational churches that are using contemporary music, there have been two main approaches: (1) incorporate some of the new music into an otherwise traditional liturgical form, or (2) follow the example of non-denominational churches and abandon almost all liturgical form, reducing the worship service to a “music-and-a-message” model.  In reality most churches fall somewhere between these two poles.  But many churches seem unsure of exactly what they should be doing.  How should we order our worship?
As a Lutheran I look to the Augsburg Confession to see what our tradition says about worship.  I find this in Article VII: “The church is the assembly of saints in which the Gospel is taught purely and the sacraments are administered rightly.  For the true unity of the church it is enough to agree concerning the teaching of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments.  It is not necessary that human traditions or rites and ceremonies, instituted by humans, should be alike everywhere.” 

There you have it.  It would appear that each form is valid, as long as we include preaching the Word and celebrating the Sacraments.  Those with a highly liturgical format should not say the simplified way is invalid, and those using a music/message/communion model should not complain that “traditionalists” have missed the boat. 

And yet the reformers did not abandon the traditional liturgical format altogether.  Luther re-wrote the Catholic Mass two different times, putting it in the language of the people.  The early Evangelicals (16th century Lutherans) continued to worship weekly using roughly the same format that had been used for hundreds of years. 

So as we engage new formats today, perhaps it would be wise of us to explore the worship format that has been handed down and refined among Christians for many generations.  What is it about this tradition that has been particularly life-giving? 

The broad, simple outline that is taught among many denominations today reflects the emphasis on Word and Sacrament in the Augsburg Confession: Gathering, Word, Meal, Sending.  It reaches as far back as Justin Martyr, ca. 150 A.D.  We gather as a community to worship, we hear the Gospel proclaimed from God’s Word, we receive God’s grace in Holy Communion, and we are sent out to share that grace with the world.  Again, both traditional and simplified liturgies can reflect this model.

But what about the other parts of a traditional liturgy, those with titles like kyrie, gloria, and sanctus?  What might they have for us?  In Part II I’ll propose a contemporary worship outline that incorporates the intention behind some of the treasures of traditional liturgy.
2 Comments
Michael Steffen link
9/5/2012 05:59:23 pm

This is interesting stuff--I like how you're dissecting worship to get to the heart of it.

"Gathering, Word, Meal, Sending" makes sense. I think in general, churches do well with the first two (Gathering and Word). Most churches I've attended still do communion (Meal) regularly, but I feel as if the meaning is lost on many (including myself, who grew up in the Lutheran Church and read the Small Catechism at one point). When you put it as "receiving God's grace", that really resonates, however it doesn't seem clear from most services why I am eating a wafer and sipping some wine. It too easily feels like empty ritual. How can we make the Meal more meaningful?

Sending also seems a bit ineffective. How many congregants are actually leaving church on Sunday fired up and ready to proclaim the Word? Most people it seems (I often have to count myself as well) seem to think more about what they're having for lunch or what is next in their schedule for the day. It's too easy to leave church with a "okay, that's done" kind of attitude, and not really internalize that "no, I am supposed to go out into the world and preach the Gospel this week" (well, I've been feeling this more and more in the past few years, but I don't get the impression that everyone does).

Hope you don't mind my long and potentially frequent comments. This is a topic that really interests me.

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Matthew Anderson link
9/6/2012 01:13:47 am

Don't mind at all! Glad to have the engagement with the ideas.

Quite frankly, the fact that the purpose/function of the Meal and Sending parts of the service haven't been clear is an indictment on pastors. Those of us who have received the gift of training - who the community of faith has appointed as "stewards of God's mysteries," as Paul put it (1 Cor 4:1) - need to do a better job of communicating what we are doing in worship and why. Or better put, how God is acting in worship.

This can and should be done as a part of preaching. In fact there's even a name for it: mystagogy, or mystagogical preaching (this is particularly preaching on the sacraments). This is a favorite topic of one of my preaching professors, Craig Satterlee. You can find his book "When God Speaks Through Worship," written for a general audience, on Amazon.

Thanks for sharing your experience of what you've seen done well (Gathering, Word) and not as well (Meal, Sending). Very helpful.

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    WorshipInDepth evaluates current worship music in depth theologically so that the worship in our churches engages and addresses the whole person and community in depth.  Join the conversation!  More...

    Welcome!

    My name is Matthew Anderson I am a pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Victorville, CA, and a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary. I've also done some post-graduate work at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.  I have been leading worship in various contexts for over a decade. More...

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