Archive: Evangelicals: A Return to their Liturgical Roots

EVANGELICALS ON THE CANTERBURY TRAIL
(Why Evangelicals Are Attracted to the Liturgical Church)
by Robert E. Webber
(Jarrell/Word, $12.95)

Do you recognize in our private worship the existence of a sense of mystery that is missing in the or hip of your local church.

Do you ever ponder the difference between God centered and man-centered worship?

Do you feel the need or a kind of worship that is larger than yourself?

Do you experience a sense of separation from the rest of the Christian world?

Do you, as a Christian, have the personal authority to decide what it means to be orthodox?

Do you have difficult relating to your parent or children your choice of a Christian tradition that is different from theirs?

These are questions that six evangelical Christians ask as they relate their personal journey toward the “liturgical” church. These are not fly-by-night pilgrims. They represent adults who grew up in fundamental and conservative tradition, graduating from schools like Prairie Bible Institute, Mood Bible Institute, Wheaton College, Gordon College, Andrews University and Duke University. The author professor of theology at Wheaton College and a former Baptist, is now an Episcopal layperson. Webber’s book is divided into two sections. The second section consists of the testimonies of these six pilgrims. In the first section Webber relates the whys of his own journey into the liturgical church.

In general, the book is about evangelicals returning to mainline denominations—Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran—and Methodist. Since the author cites Methodism as part of “the Canterbury Trail,” it might be beneficial to consider some of the relevant distinction of Methodism.

When people became Methodists in the day of Wesley they were already members of the Anglican church. So by becoming Methodists they were attaching themselves not to a church but to a disciplined, religious society for bettering their spiritual condition. However, the Revolutionary War in America did form the colonial Methodists into a separate church.

And what kind of affirmations do these American Methodists still make about their church? The Preamble to the Constitution of United Methodists gives a good summary:

The Church is a community of all true believers under the Lordship of Christ. It is the redeemed and redeeming fellowship in which the Word of God is preached by persons divinely called, and the Sacraments are duly administered according to Christ’s own appointment. Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit the Church seeks to provide for the maintenance of worship, the edification of believers and the redemption of the world.

The Church of Jesus Christ exists in and for the world, and its very dividedness is a hindrance to its mission in that world.

What Webber was searching for, Methodism historically possesses. Webber gives six aspects of orthodoxy that had not heretofore been adequately fulfilled in his Christian experience: mystery, worship, sacraments, spiritual identity, an ecclesiastical home and a holistic spirituality. Each one of these aspects of Webber’s search can be identified in the Preamble to the United Methodist constitution.

What Webber discovered is that much of what has been forgotten in the Christian faith needs to be recovered.

Mystery: a deep encounter with God in Christ through experience; not an evangelical rationalism and proof-texting Christianity.

Worship: directed toward God, celebrating Christ; not centered around the pastor, education or entertainment.

Sacrament: a way of encountering the mystery; not our sign of faith directed toward God but His sign directed toward us.

Spiritual identity: a family tree that begins with Jesus Christ and continues with the universal Church through the ages; not with the monopoly of a particular religious label.

Ecclesiastical home: a healthy sense of unity and diversity, which holds the Church together; not that which separates and divides the Church.

Holistic spirituality: the attempt to integrate Christ with all of life; not merely with a spirituality of conversation, rules, intellectual believism, or ethical mission.

Maybe Webber is right when he says that readers of the book may identify with the Canterbury pilgrims and try to incorporate some of their practices into their own traditions. If the book helps recover any of Methodism’s past, and can be responsibly accepted, then Evangelicals On the Canterbury Trail can certainly become the work of God’s grace. In recounting his trek, however. Webber does not ask others to join him, only that they understand his and others’ experiences.

Here is a superior book for personal inquiry, a basis for a dynamic approach to understanding the nature of the Church and the function of worship.

Reviewed by Donald C. Boyd, Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship, Asbury Theological Seminary.

CALLED TO CARE
by Doug Stevens
(Zundervan. $9. 95)

In a newsletter from the United Methodist Board of Discipleship, the denomination’s director for Development of Youth Ministry, Dr. Leo Rippy, writes: “I envision congregations with strong structures for your ministry programming—congregations linked in significant ways to the resources, personnel and support of equally strong structures at the district and conference levels. … This is not just a personal vision, a private dream. This is an understanding and reality for youth ministry that is coming alive in congregations, districts and conferences across the United Methodist Church” (from Youth Ministry Resource Exchange. No. 1, Board of Discipleship).

As one who shares Dr. Rippy’s vision, I am concerned that we take deliberate steps to make that vision a reality. So far, our pattern in the UM Church has been more talk than action, more dream than scheme!

If the vision is going to be fleshed out, we will have to do some serious thinking about where we are now and where we want to go. A helpful tool for this evaluation process might be Doug Stevens’ recently published Called to Care (Youth Specialties Zondervan).

Stevens begins the book by presenting four youth ministry scenarios that have become all too common in our congregations:

(1) The youth ministry program is launched with great intentions, genuine enthusiasm, but it “never takes hold.” Frustrated leaders lose their steam, the kids go AWOL, and another youth program bites the dust. (2) The program staggers along with the support of only a few kids who prefer the sanctuary of the church to their own native culture—a program that gets the church “off the hook” but doesn’t get too many kids off the street. (3) After a strong start based on some incidental factors—a charismatic leader or a great kick-off retreat—the program fizzles and dies. making it twice as hard to boost enthusiasm for starting the program up again. Or (4) in rare cases, God breaks all the rules and takes a program that is doing everything wrong and does a wonderful work through it!

In the wake of these scenarios are churches who.se visions and dreams for youth ministry grow sour. Unfortunately, for many UM churches that may be a pretty thorough statement of “where we are now.”

If the book stopped there, it wouldn’t be worth buying. But the greatest contribution of Called to Care is that it moves on to give both lay and professional youth workers some clear direction toward “where we want to go.” Stevens’ opening chapters give what may be the clearest and most concise statement of youth ministry philosophy in print anywhere.

A philosophy of youth ministry, says Stevens, must meet the four criteria of being: (1) Biblical, (2) relevant, (3) comprehensive and (4) practical. In a chapter titled “Youth Ministry: What It Is,” he describes in clear terms what such a youth ministry looks like.

Later chapters provide a thorough examination of youth culture and a layman’s guide to adolescent psychology. Stevens’ years of youth ministry experience are readily apparent in this portion of the book as he discusses some of the elements of youth culture that might be alien and intimidating to lay youth workers new to youth ministry.

Especially helpful is Stevens’ chapter entitled “Soundings.” It offers a concise but credible survey of such issues as rock music, teenage sexuality, problem behavior and the culture of “me-ism.”

Subsequent chapters take the reader into some of the more practical issues related to youth ministry. These are the issues that so often get left out of other youth ministry books, issues like program organization and design, how to minister effectively with non-Christian kids, how to handle crises and how to make effective use of media. Stevens’ straight-forward, practical discussions bring these areas within reach of even the least experienced youth worker.

My delight in seeing such topics addressed is muted only by the fact that the author does not discuss them in adequate depth. That is the greatest weakness of this book. Stevens apparently could not decide whether to give us a general book with an overview of youth ministry and youth ministry philosophy or a “how-to” manual that explores, in-depth, various aspects of ministry with youth.

This is a common mistake in youth ministry books. probably because the more a book covers. the easier it is to sell. But in trying to cover some of these areas in minimal space. Stevens has not done them justice.

I do know, however, that the publisher already has plans for a companion volume that will look more specifically at the organizational and “how-to” dimensions of youth ministry. Together, these two books will provide good coverage of most of the bases. For now, Stevens has given us a fine start.

It takes more than a vision at the Board of Discipleship for effective youth ministry to happen in our congregations. More even than sound youth ministry philosophy and technique. But these are the kinds of “dry bones” necessary to provide a structure. so that when the Spirit of God does blow. the “dry bones” can come alive in a way that will bring new life to teenagers.

Reviewed by Duffy Robins

SHAPED BY THE WORD: THE POWER OF SCRIP TURE IN SPIRITUAL FORMATION
by M. Robert Mulholland, Jr.
(The Upper Room, $7.95)

While evangelicals have long emphasized the need for devotional life, recent years have seen the sharp rise of interest in the larger idea of “spiritual formation.” M. Robert Mulholland describes this as the process of being conformed to the image of Christ, and devotes his book to the role of Scripture in spiritual formation. Mulholland is Dean of Theology and Associate Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary. Here, however, he wears the hats of the spiritual director and caring pastor, encouraging his readers to change not only their approach to the Bible but also their approach to life!

In Mulholland’s view, what is required today is not another “how-to” manual for opening the treasures of the Bible. While late in his study he devotes a chapter each to Wesley’s guidelines for reading Scripture and the practice of “spiritual reading,” he is nevertheless much more interested in the attitudes, motives and preconceptions we bring to the Bible. Thus the majority of Shaped by the Word is given over to his call for a radical shift in how we “know” and “experience” life. One of the most helpful and prominent aspects of this discussion is Mulholland’s distinction between reading scripture for “information” (with emphasis on technique, speed and mastery of the text) and for “formation” (with emphasis on depth and openness to the voice of God).

A second interesting and central aspect of Mulholland’s discussion deals with his understanding of how the Bible functions. His emphasis here falls on the “iconographic nature of Scripture”—that is, the character of scripture as an image or picture through which God communicates His Word. In some ways this is a helpful perspective from which to view the Bible (reminiscent of Karl Barth’s theology of the Word of God), for God’s Word is a dynamic which transcends paper and ink and meets us where we are. On the other hand, we may wonder if this perspective on the Bible really constitutes a forward move for spiritual formation in classical Christianity.

It may be argued that this view leaves open the possibility of gross abuse of the Biblical texts. Mulholland relates his own experience of reading the story of Jesus’ anointing at Bethany (Mark 14:3-9). In the midst of reading this passage, he tells us that God turned his attention to the fact that the woman “broke the bottle” containing the precious ointment. Mulholland said he then realized God was telling him that even though he had poured out to God what was precious in his own life, he had not “broken the bottle.” Hence he was still capable of filling his “bottle” with more precious things. He needed to “break the bottle” if he was to be given wholly to God. No doubt God could have been teaching this lesson, and it is a good lesson. But is this the message of this text? Does not this approach to the Bible open the possibility for bending the Scriptures to our own purposes, for tearing the Word of God from its own dynamic, historical context? Does this approach not open the door to the sort of allegorizing and spiritualizing of the Scripture which Protestant Christianity has long held at arm’s length?

We may ask Mulholland also about his intended audience. Numerous occurrences of the technical language of the spiritual formation discipline make it doubtful that the everyday Christian will find this book easy reading. “Iconographic,” “kairotic existence,” “centering down,” “mode of being” and “focal” are some of the terms used regularly which may make Shaped by the Word seem foreign to many.

Ultimately, however, we must recognize the significance of this book in breaking potentially fruitful ground in the use of the Bible for spiritual formation. And we must applaud its continual emphasis on obedience over the longhaul—a much-needed word in a culture geared toward the instant.

Reviewed by Joel B. Green, a United Methodist minister and assistant professor of New Testament at New College for Advanced Christian