Recently we've had two good conversations about the liturgical turn of low church evangelical Christians. So today I ask: What can be done about it? One option is to ignore the turning folks and carry on with what we've got. I suspect most will just let it happen in that way. For some of us, we'd like to see a marriage of the two. What will it look like? I'd like to hear your thoughts, but here are mine:
First, we need to have churches that self-consciously tie themselves to two Stories: the Story of the Bible and the Story of the Church.
Second, we need to have churches that are capable of constantly reforming in light of the Story of the Bible and in continuity with the Story of the Church. Those who reform without those two connections, both of them, are just mavericks.
Third, we need to have churches that express the gospel in our day and in our way that sustains its life from the Story of the Bible and in continuity with the Story of the Church. The biblical model is not one of simple repetition of the faith of our fathers and mothers but of re-engagement in a new day of the faith of our fathers and mothers. Jesus didn't repeat Isaiah; he took Isaiah to a new level. Paul didn't repeat Jesus; he applied Jesus to the Roman empire. Hebrews didn't repeat Paul; he engaged Jesus in the creative metaphor of temple worship.
Here are a few suggestions:
Ask for teaching and preaching that covers the whole Bible -- thus, think about whether the lectionary just might be good for your church for a few years. Ask for weekly oral reading of large chunks of the Bible.
Expect your pastor to connect his or her sermons to Ignatius, Irenaeus, Athanasius, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, etc ... not just to Luther or Calvin but to the whole Church.
Ask for Sunday School classes on Church History. Ask a Lutheran to teach Luther for a few weeks; ask a priest to come to class to teach Aquinas.
Discern whether your church has changed over the last 25 years. If not, ask why.
Ask for sermons to find creative metaphor for what is happening in our world.
What are your ideas?
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Not to be unecumenical, but does anyone think that these moves to 'high' churches on the part of evangelicals is problematic? I've been struck at how little criticism of such a move that Scot's posts seem to have provoked. I'm deeply committed to and grateful for the Church and its tradition, but I think this is at least a major pastoral issue, and likely at times simply a problem. Partly a problem of anemic evangelical churches, but also often enough a problem on the part of reactionary church-hoppers.
Ndidi (55),
Actually I was referring to RC and OC, not Anglicanism. The theological type of liturgy might matter as well. My primary experience is with young adult African-Americans within the hip-hop culture and though I have seen a tiny movement towards the Episcopal church in the Bronx, the movement that I am seeing among hip-hop African-Americans is mostly towards Reformed evangelical theology. That would be another topic I suppose...
#59,
It seems to me that the point of this post to acknowledge the reality that exists (whether it's considered a "problem" is a matter of opinion), and to ask if there's something that "anemic evangelical" churches can learn from it. That's not to say that evangelicals necessarily should become more "high church," but if they're failing to meet an actual need that people are leaving their churches to go to these other groups to have met, there should at least be a response.
Hey Joel (60), I actually agree with the Reformed bent. Reformed theology is making a movement in hip-hop, with artists like shai linne and the Lampmode label, and rappers like Lecrae, Trip Lee and Tedashii.
To Matt (59), I don't think it's problematic, per se. I had nothing against the last two churches I attended. They were sound in doctrine, active in the community, preached the gospel - what more could a girl ask for? But when I realized that I attended my first church because of friends, I felt convicted and left. The second one was great as well, but it was around this time last year I felt God calling me to an Anglican church. How could I say no?
If anything, I can say that the liturgical worship style is more beneficial for me than that found in low churches.
???"Expect your pastor to connect his or her sermons to Ignatius, Irenaeus, Athanasius, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, etc … not just to Luther or Calvin but to the whole Church"???
Not all of us have that kind of time. Where is the time to read Ignatius, Irenaeus, Athanasius, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin. Hardly have the time to connect with the people who are in the pew.
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