What To Do With Liturgical Conversions
"The conversion of young low church evangelicals to liturgical
traditions should hardly surprise us. What we should be doing is
correcting our weaknesses by listening to those converting." -Scot McKnight
Here’s my thoughts two years into a major liturgical conversion in my life.
I was tired of learning and arguing about the Bible, I wanted to live the Bible.
I was bored with church for the sake of church, I wanted church to have a higher value in my life.
I began to see that "mere rememberance" is dry and routine, and that true worship was found in living sacramentally.
I didn’t want to just read the Word, I wanted to eat the Word.
I was learning checklist prayers were juvenile, and that prayers of metaphor, imagery, allusion, and devotion are better ways for God to commune with you and you with God.
I was troubled by the deification of the Bible at the detriment of the congregation.
I was bothered by our willing denial and disregard for the Apostles’ words to have communion every time we gather together.
I was unsatisfied with knowledge so I began to desire wisdom.
I was weary of Christendom and a desire for political power, I wanted a Kingdom.
I was annoyed by the dichotomy of clergy/laity, I wanted to be a priest along with other believers.
I was a bit nostalgic.
I was pondering ways to not feel so disconnected with God from Monday to Saturday. Upping my "quiet time" minutes didn’t help. Prayer and meditation did.
I was looking for God beyond the Word, and I am finding him in the garden, in the church, in the field, in the workplace, in carrides, in contemplation, in busyness, and in constant prayer.
There are many of us on this road? Are you one? Do you think they will listen?
where is the McKnight quote from? sweet quote!
amazing reflections you have here. as a late 20′s Evangelical pastor i wonder when the boomers will listen to those of us who hunger for worship that is more authentic, historic, rooted in the Bible, and in the sacraments. i wonder when we’ll stop singing “i just want to see you” and realize God is present in the eucharist.
outside of Webber’s “ancient/future” stuff, do you know of any resources for worship renewal among younger generations? are there resources that speak of, attempt to explain, or have researched the move to more “traditional” or “liturgical” among young peope? thanks!
The McKnight quote is from his blog post today More On the Liturgical Turn.
I have found McLaren’s Finding Our Way Again to be an introductory source for young people to begin thinking about these ideas outside of Foster. Certainly Peterson’s Eat This Book comes to mind as well. And who can forget N.T. Wright, and his books such as The Lord and His Prayer and The Meal Jesus Gave Us.
But those sources are all at the beginning of the horizon, so to speak. I think much of the ancient/future stuff amongst our generation is still an oral history. We have yet to canonize it in books, tapes, and conferences. We are still working on it. Glimpses of this can be seen in Shane Claiborne and Christopher Haw’s Jesus for President, which includes a litany to accompany the book. The litany is amazing—actually hearing it on their book tour and participating in the shouting of saints names as the band danced around the congregation was something entirely different and beautiful. There are people like Paul Soupiset who delve into liturgy in creative ways.
You can also find some resources I have put together for a Litany on the Great Commission and a Litany on Discipleship.
As people like me begin to grow their resources, they will eventually be pooled together and published online or in print, I imagine.
Excellent list. I personally resonate with many of the items here. I’ll be following your journey on this.
Paz y esperanza,
Eliacin
I am very interested by this discussion and Scot McKnight’s on liturgy. As a Baby Boomer who discovered liturgy late in life I have been delighted by the increasing interest over the last few years. i have not only found myself listening to and reciting liturgy but writing it as well. I thought that you might enjoy this centering prayer that I wrote for a recent retreat that we ran.
Breathe in the breath of God,
Breathe out your cares and concerns,
Breathe in the love of God,
Breathe our your doubts and despairs,
Breathe in the life of God,
Breathe out your fears and frustrations.
We sit quietly before the One who gives life and love to all creation,
We sit in awe of the One who formed us in our mother’s wombs,
We sit at peace surrounded by the One who fills every fiber of our being.
Breathe in the breath of God,
Breathe out your tensions and turmoil,
Breathe in the love of God,
Breathe out your haste and hurry,
Breathe in the life of God,
Breathe our your work and worries,
We sit quietly before the One who gives life and love to all creation,
We sit in awe of the One who formed us in our mother’s wombs,
We sit at peace surrounded by the One who fills every fiber of our being.