Comments on: Coronavirus has unveiled the liturgical poverty of evangelicals

By: Ruth

Ruth — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 01:10:08 +0000

In reply to Janet McKinney. Well said!

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 02:15:47 +0000

As Andy Stanley would say, “we are in the tension between what is and what could be..” there is/was a projection of the church, that projection became a story, then a prescription, and finally a prophecy. The church may have indeed begun to loose her relevance but new stories are out, new possibilities. I am very thankful for those that taught us as if they knew this was coming. I love their hearts, I love their minds. The church has many questions, life cycle, how do we start a new, relationships, how do we remain supportive, do we pause and ask why, are we more motivated and willing to sacrifice, how do we navigate our most important relationship? “All to be saved”

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 11:56:16 +0000

Evangelicals tossed out everything except singing, sermon, and a brief communion service taken in silence and solitude. Gone were the psalms, Te Deum, Gloria, nunc dimmittis, magnificat, and confession. It took a long time for me to find the Anglican where I could say the prayers and get a one point homily.

By: Ada

Ada — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 15:19:11 +0000

Good thoughts! It’s true liturgy is just as important & essential as singing, & is a form of worship in its own right.
Thanks for pointing out going to church is to be / feel closer to God, not only know Him/Them.
I think a lot of people think worship consists of mostly singing, but that isn’t true. I think you worship God whenever you do good & something you love.

By: Eric Hatfield

Eric Hatfield — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 12:27:42 +0000

I think all this is true, but I see a different picture. You used to ask the question, if we were starting over again, would we start church like we see it now? And the obvious answer (you inferred, and I agreed), was no.

So if we were the first apostles and Jesus had just ascended, would we do what we do now, or what you suggest? I can’t help feeling that, if all we had was the stories and teachings of Jesus as we find them now in the gospels, the christian movement would be quite different. The teachings of jesus seem to me to be based more on living than meeting, on serving more than “worshiping” (inverted commas because that word has too many meanings and connotations).

So maybe our meetings might focus more on following the way of Jesus, which, not coincidentally, is the subject of a book by Mark Scandrette that has a glowing (and quite accurate) recommendation from you on the back. We are finding Mark’s ideas of “experiments” to be an excellent basis for meeting, and I think they could be adapted to “church”. There would be ritual, recitation of prayers, repeating credal/commitment statements, etc, as you suggest, but they would be in a different context and serving an end rather than being almost an end in themselves.

By: Janet McKinney

Janet McKinney — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 09:20:07 +0000

Mike, my experience for 50+ years in faith was evangelical. 5 years ago I moved rental house, and having to get around in a powered wheelchair, I as looking for a place to worship I could get to by myself – Taxi fares add up and become affordably expensive. The nearest was a bigger Pentecostal church, and I wasn’t looking for that type of church at this time of life, or an Anglican, which was liturgical.

I have discovered a whole new way of worship, and am finding it meets my deepest spiritual needs. I love saying words that have in one way and another been said (in a variety of languages) since the early church. I love that the epicentre of the service is the Eucharist/communion. I love the emphasis in communion is not on remembering and being obedient (which are important I know), but indeed receiving the body and blood of Christ from his representative in the community – the priest. Rather than being something we did each week, it has become a love encounter with Christ.

By: Colin Murdoch

Colin Murdoch — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 08:46:49 +0000

When ministering with the most Gifted and first Woman Senior Minister UCA In Melbourne, being COC, the monthly Communion Service administered by her, myself and helped with some Elders, took on a Special Significance…
The same happened when ministering in a Parish of 500+ Members, 4 Morning and 3 Evening Services In Brighton, Melbourne…
However, when an opportunity opened to be ministering with the largest Church in Australia, Wesley Mission, Sydney, with multiple congregations and one of the finest Evangelists Australia produced in the 20th Century, Rev Dr Gordon Moyes, I had the best of both traditions, weekly Communion@COC and monthly@ Wesley Mission, where both Male and Female Ministers were Senior and Associate Ministers and administered communion…
I look forward to and prefer weekly communion and see it as the main feature of worship services I prepare, giving all who have gathered, longer times to reflect, refresh, pray being a Relational Evangelist…

By: Susie

Susie — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 08:37:08 +0000

Growing up as a Presbyterian minister’s kid I used to sneak out to join midnight mass and now, each Monday, as a Baptist pastor, I get the same slightly furtive feeling joining Good Shepherd New York’s weekly service on YouTube.

By: Dennis

Dennis — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 08:18:09 +0000

Thank you, Mike! I have been reading your blog and books and every time I go to church have a sense of grief over how much we are missing out by doing so little. At the same time, I have to always remind myself that our worship will still be acceptable to God as long as we worship in Spirit and Truth. It seems like many churches have the full-on liturgy and little heart or understanding with it, while others reduced the liturgy but at least worship from their heart. It would be good to have both somehow.

By: Fay Magee

Fay Magee — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 07:51:33 +0000

Thanks! a good summary of a conundrum! I have been sampling various online services and I’ve made similar observations. “Low church Anglican” has well and truly gone, morphed into neo-charismatic/pseudo Baptist, somehow putting some music together a few prayers and then of course the sermon!
Liturgy, even for those who don’t think they are doing it, is about the thread of meaning we make out of meeting together and working through the various parts and how we join them together. Some online services are made up of various segments which you can select from according to your interest, tolerance, etc. I think the corporate, communal, gathered nature of worship gets lost and breaking into discussion groups is probably not going to work!