The declining number of Christians in church for many denominations has people looking for something, anything, to keep people or bring new people in. Many churches, even Lutheran ones, have added “contemporary” services, sometimes stopping liturgical services or offering a “blended” service in place of the liturgical service.
I dislike the term “contemporary.” Contemporary refers to a short length of historical time, something new, when some of the things that are done in this type of service are not new at all. The advocates, to avoid getting a term assigned to them by critics, should choose a term that has to do with what is going on in the service.
The worship format war is tangential to and consequential of the theologies people have about worship, and there is more than one theology of worship. It doesn’t take a Master’s Degree of Divinity to see this.
I will be attending the LCMS Model Theological Conference on Worship in St. Louis next week. The advance literature has been interesting, including Chapter 22 of Timothy H. Maschke’s, “Gathered Guests,” titled “Variety in Worship.” There is a lot of talk of freedom, adaptation to the culture, making things “new” again for a congregation, and experiencing other expressions, all of which ring true to me in various degrees.
Yet to those who seek “freedom” in worship, even Maschke has rules. Some materials cannot be sung by congregations, leaving them to watch the band or the performer. The pastor and those involved in worship planning need to analyze the theme and theology of what they are including in the service. Materials should be “Lutheranized” to emphasize Word and Sacrament, Law and Gospel. Contemporary worship, even to Maschke, is not the “freedom” to do whatever one wants. As someone who has traveled to a lot of different churches while on business trips, I can tell you that even Maschke’s level of discernment has not been followed. Watching some services has been like driving without seat belts or even a steering wheel.
Whatever the variety the LCMS seeks, it should make sure that the texts we use in worship, first are free of heterodox theology, and second, include good Christian theology. One can sing a sing, “Jesus is Lord,” 20 times, and while the statement is indeed true, think of those who can’t confess the Nicene Creed who can still claim that “Jesus is Lord.” A love song to Jesus can be sung by just about anyone — even Gandhi is quoted as saying he liked Jesus.
We can take that even further. I should be able to tell upon viewing the whole text of the service what denomination that church is and what that church teaches. It makes no sense for a Lutheran church to teach that people can earn even part of their way to heaven, or that Jesus exists as separate God and man people, or that the sacraments are mere metaphor.
If the Model Theological Conference on Worship can publish guidelines that ensure that distinctly Lutheran doctrine is proclaimed in the order of service and in the hymns, and those guidelines are followed, then it will be a success in my opinion. Some may inappropriately call that “dead orthodoxy” or slavery to a doctrine, but we are supposed to be slaves to Christ, and we should teach his Word. We have to complete that sentence in the Great Commission, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
The core argument is not liturgical vs. contemporary. Those are styles and tools. A liturgy can be written that totally botches law and gospel. How many times have we seen “confessions of sins” that say only that we are sorry for not evangelizing, or that we have bad attitudes, or that we haven’t given enough to the church? Likewise, we can have contemporary worship that puts us into true pondering of the Word that God has given to us, such as Cantor Magness’s Taizé service. That requires real work, though, on the part of the cantor or pastor to deliver sound doctrine.
I am interested in seeing if the Conference tries to push for freedom for freedom’s sake, or if and how it will address the proper usage of new tools to ensure that Lutherans in these new services will actually stay Lutheran, recognizing their own depravity and relying on Christ for their deliverance. The published liturgies in TLH/LW/LSB have the advantage over the need for reinventing the wheel.
Similar Posts:
- First Thoughts on LCMS Model Theological Conference
- Exposure to Multiple Worship Contexts at CSL
- Please Pray for the LCMS Convocation
Dan-
make sure you come up and introduce yourself. I’ll be there too. I’m the big guy with short hair, loud mouth, anglican collar. I’m rooming with Pr. Dave Petersen, so I’m sure we’ll have a crowd in our room each night for a few laughs and serious discussion on matters pertaining to the Holy Liturgy.
Pr. Ball+
Looking forward to your posts from the conference!
It certainly will be an interesting conference…I wonder if incense will set off a hotel room smoke alarm or sprinkler system? Not sure if I want to find out…
“I should be able to tell upon viewing the whole text of the service what denomination that church is and what that church teaches.”
Off-topic, slightly, but this is true of the architecture and interior arrangement of a church, too. The architecture of a church is the “liturgy” of the space. It confesses that church’s beliefs as well.
Looking forward to your thoughts on the conference.
Dan, even reaching the goal of “publish guidelines that ensure that distinctly Lutheran doctrine is proclaimed…” would be hollow to me. As you say, “…even Maschke’s level of discernment has not been followed.” I believe that there are those that are tryinging to bring a “format” that is not so foreign to people today as the historic liturgy and would welcome the opinions from the conference because they want to be normed by a larger body. But there are a large number that, as you point out simply cry “freedom” and would ignore any authority other than their own. I hope the conference can attempt to address how it plans to work with congregations to work within whatever guidlines can be published.
Any plans to twitter? Got a #tag?
My phone can Twitter, but it’s just a Motorola V3 and thus doesn’t have a cool keyboard. If there’s wireless access, I can Twitter with the iPod.
#LCMSCOW would be kind of funny but slightly uncharitable. How about #LCMSMTC?
The problem with LCMS worship service isn’t a theological one. It may more likely be a problem of religious tradition… or a problem of religiosity.
Too many times I’ve heard non-Lutherans and ex-Lutherans tell me they felt the Lutheran service was too heavy, too ominous, or some other oppressive description. In the face of so many “happy clappy” churches, LCMS strives to maintain its connextion with Law and Gospel… and I’ve noticed lately a strong effort to focus on the Law. Driving home the OT Law message before a quick wrapping up with Gospel at the end.
And I’ve often heard from a number of Catholic friends that the Lutherans have become more Catholic than even the Catholics.
Ultimatley, my opinion on the greater issue involving church attendance is that I wish we LCMS would focus more on leading flocks to pasture, rather than chasing or dragging them in. And I’ve seen a number of pastors try to authoritize the message rather than proclaim it.
It is the Holy Spirit’s job to lead people to church anyway, not the individual parissioner or pastor.
I can only speak of the churches that I have seen. Of those churches that I have seen that seek to closely follow a defined liturgical tradition, I am pleased to note that I have heard less frequently a defense of tradition consisting solely of, “we have always done it that way.” More and more I’ve seen, “we have always done it this way because it teaches X.”
I have heard sermons that are law-heavy with a frosting of Gospel on the end, or sermons that have a little bit of law, a little bit of Gospel, and a boatload of “application.” Trouble is, the pastor doesn’t get to choose which uses of the law his parishioners are hearing. Overloading the law with little about what Jesus has done makes people either hopeless or arrogant.
It would be interesting to ask your Catholic friends what they regard in worship as Catholic. That kind of comment could be a compliment!
I have seen pastors try to personalize their authority and then try to push pet agendas in the name of God. Despite being among the most trained, Lutheran pastors aren’t immune to that sort of thing. Fortunately, we have the Bible and the Book of Concord to help us guard against those kind of things. We just haven’t used them enough.
The Holy Spirit does lead people to church, through the Word, through sound preaching and doctrine, through truth-soaked hymnody, and through the Christians’ defense of the hope that is in them. Even J.S. Bach signed all his works “S.D.G.” — Soli Deo Gloria, to the glory of God alone.