Theology Pub Night

‘Twas a small group last night, but we did manage to have a bit of discussion. First off, I’d like to say that the pizza from the woodfire grill was awesome. As for discussion, we spent a little time discussing the pros and cons of liturgical worship and typical evangelical worship.

This conversation has been coming up more often lately. Having grown up nominally Methodist, I am aware of the pitfalls of many liturgical churches. There is a degree of truth in the observation that many churches in the USA that use liturgy have wandered down the road of modern liberalism. With that, many of the souls attending know what words to say and when, but where is their faith? But is this the fault of the liturgy? I don’t think so. I’ve been an evangelical for more than 10 years now, and as I study the history of Christianity, I find more and more benefit from the beauty and symbolism of both the liturgy and the Christian year.

Let’s put it this way: Liturgy doesn’t make dead Christians. Lack of repentance and faith makes dead Christians.

Our conversation wandered a bit from there, eventually getting into the topic of participation in church. One of the good things about liturgical worship is that it is far more participatory than the typical hymns-announcements-sermon/lecture of evangelical worship. This is, of course, a broad generalization. There is much that is good about evangelical churches, which is why I am still in one. Still, this topic is coming up quite a bit. Three recent posts in the blogosphere touch on the subject.

Andrew Jones, aka TallSkinnyKiwi: Increasing Participation from 20:80 to 80:20

Len at NextReformation: Worship … An Agenda for Biblical People

Alan Hartung at The Ooze: Church Re-Structure

Check out the articles and the comments and let us know what you think.