Wednesday, June 20, 2007

A Reformed Liturgy

Please click on the title above to read an excellent article on liturgy in the reformed church. It assumes (rightly) that many churches in the reformed tradition have abandoned their liturgical heritage with two primary results: First, there is no unity in worship from one congregation to another. Anyone that has visited two different PCA churches has likely noticed this. Second, their is much to be commended in the traditional reformed liturgy which we are missing out on due to our failure in this regard. Because we have either forgotten or rejected our liturgical heritage, we are missing out on the rich theological and doxological worship which might be ours. I commend it to each of you ministering in the reformed context. Reading shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes at most.

Recommended in the article is Terry Johnson's Leading in Worship. This is the second time this week this work has been recommended to me and I am now determined to seek it out and devour it. If you do as well, please return and give some feedback!

4 comments:

M. Jay Bennett said...

Great article! I enjoyed it.

I've found myself questioning why we close our eyes in prayer before. Oftentimes in private prayer I will lift my eyes heavenward while praying.

Jared Nelson said...

Have you read "recovering Mother Kirk" by D.G. Hart? It is a book length exploration of Reformed liturgy and his attempt to argue for a "high-church Presbyterianism." Basically arguing for Presbyterians to stop being merely "Baptists who can read." A book with humor on liturgy? wierd...

Matthew Bradley said...

I want to read this, but Jay keeps hogging the office copy. I'm looking forward to it, though!

M. Jay Bennett said...

Oink oink, that's some good reading!