In a recent academic publication by InterVarsity Press, Liturgical Theology, Simon Chan presents an intriguing case for the use of liturgy. With the center of the church shifting from Western Europe and North America to the southern hemisphere, perhaps it is fitting that Professor Chan lives in Singapore.
Chan points out that one of the distinctive advantages of liturgy is the communication of the Christian faith from generation to generation. For example, the Apostle's Creed dates from the early centuries of Christianity, and using it on a regular basis is a reminder of the truths we hold dear as Christians, for our own benefit and as a witness to others.
In his paper entitled “An Awkward Church,” Douglas John Hall of McGill University says, “We now have two or three generations of people in and around the churches who are not only unfamiliar with the fundamental teachings of the Christian tradition, but largely ignorant even of the Scriptures.”
The use of liturgy requires discipline on the part of both clergy and laity, lest it become rote and meaningless recitation. But rightly used, it can be valuable in worship, enabling the congregation to have a more significant role in the worship experience. It does require thought, and serious thinking is a rare commodity in our day!
A few years ago, my wife and I attended her home church, Park Street Church in Boston. The worship service had more liturgy than she had ever remembered, yet the church was packed with young adults and young families, many of them students and staff from area colleges (Harvard, MIT, etc.), including many from an Asian background. In fact, half the churches in the Boston area worship in a language other than English, serving the large immigrant population.
Sometimes we Baptists have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. We tend to avoid any form of liturgy—I believe, to our detriment. Many Baptist churches avoid the Lord's Prayer and the Doxology, and some consider a responsive reading too formal. Are we on the verge of a return to the “spectator worship” which characterized large Protestant churches in the mid-19th century? Of watching theater performed rather than being involved with hymns and Scriptures and prayers?
Recently, while on vacation in Virginia Beach, we attended First Presbyterian (please forgive us, First Baptist, right next door!). The liturgy used in the service was very meaningful, especially the use of the Apostle's Creed. On Christmas Sunday, we attended Coral Ridge Presbyterian in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which perhaps was more formal than liturgical. But in this age of informality, the formal worship was most refreshing. In both churches, the use of traditional hymns accompanied by pipe organs was heartwarming. And to me, the reciting of the Apostle's Creed is always a meaningful worship experience.
Another important aspect of liturgical churches is the study of a catechism, enabling prospective members to learn about the Christian faith and what will be expected of them as church members. In most Baptist churches, walk the aisle and you're in!
Our MCEF (Mechanicsville Churches Emergency Functions) meetings are currently led by an Episcopal clergyman, and he begins our meetings with a simple liturgical touch—“The Lord be with you.” As committee members from various denominations, we have learned to respond, “And with you.” It is a warm blessing, and a marvelous way to begin any gathering of God's people!
So I leave you with these questions: Is there a future for liturgical worship in our Baptist churches? Is it too late to retrieve the baby? As you ponder these thoughts, “The Lord be with you!”