Recently we\u2019ve had two good conversations about the liturgical turn of low church evangelical Christians. So today I ask: What can be done about it? One option is to ignore the turning folks and carry on with what we\u2019ve got. I suspect most will just let it happen in that way. For some of us, we\u2019d like to see a marriage of the two. What will it look like? I\u2019d like to hear your thoughts, but here are mine: Recently we\u2019ve had two good conversations about the liturgical turn of low church evangelical Christians. So today I ask: What can be done about it? One option is to ignore the turning folks and carry on with what we\u2019ve got. I suspect most will just let it happen in that way. For some of us, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1733],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prayer-and-formation"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nFirst, we need to have churches that self-consciously tie themselves to two Stories: the Story of the Bible and the Story of the Church.
\nSecond, we need to have churches that are capable of constantly reforming in light of the Story of the Bible and in continuity with the Story of the Church<\/em>. Those who reform without those two connections, both of them, are just mavericks.
\nThird, we need to have churches that express the gospel in our day and in our way that sustains its life from the Story of the Bible and in continuity with the Story of the Church. The biblical model is not one of simple repetition of the faith of our fathers and mothers but of re-engagement in a new day of the faith of our fathers and mothers. Jesus didn\u2019t repeat Isaiah; he took Isaiah to a new level. Paul didn\u2019t repeat Jesus; he applied Jesus to the Roman empire. Hebrews didn\u2019t repeat Paul; he engaged Jesus in the creative metaphor of temple worship.
\nHere are a few suggestions:
\nAsk for teaching and preaching that covers the whole Bible \u2014 thus, think about whether the lectionary just might be good for your church for a few years. Ask for weekly oral reading of large chunks of the Bible.
\nExpect your pastor to connect his or her sermons to Ignatius, Irenaeus, Athanasius, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, etc \u2026 not just to Luther or Calvin but to the whole Church.
\nAsk for Sunday School classes on Church History. Ask a Lutheran to teach Luther for a few weeks; ask a priest to come to class to teach Aquinas.
\nDiscern whether your church has changed over the last 25 years. If not, ask why.
\nAsk for sermons to find creative metaphor for what is happening in our world.
\nWhat are your ideas?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"