Jeffrey T. Howard
In this book Schultz has entered into an ongoing debate at my church, Faith United Presbyterian Church. At the center of the debate is not the use of technology, but what elements constitute worship. The English speaking congregation is at odds with the new bilingual pastor who arrived with his own Spanish speaking congregation.
The new pastor has decided that the English church must change. His Spanish church begins worship with a reading from Scripture. This is followed by four praise songs. Then the pastor preaches, prays and does announcements. All of this can last for an hour or more. Using this order of worship the pastor has been able to build a new Spanish speaking church with about 100 members. Many of these members are young Latinos. The pastor believes that this order of service is necessary for bringing young people to the church.
The English congregation has experience a decline in membership to the point where there are only 15 members. The church was close to closing its doors until the Spanish congregation arrived. Most of the members are in their 70s and 80s and have been at this church for many years. They are used to a more liturgical order of worship with a call to worship, singing, confession, assurance of pardon, singing, scripture reading, sermon, creedal reading, prayers, song, and benediction. They like to have a bulletin where they can follow the order of worship and know what is going on.
When the two churches combined the Spanish order was imposed on the English congregation. The rationale was that the pastor wanted the two congregations to worship in the same way. It was easier to print one bilingual bulletin and have one Power Point presentation than two. And a new order of worship was needed to attract new members. The English congregation was lost. They did not know what was happening during worship. The minimal information in bulletin did not tell them what would happen next. Since the preacher could do what he or she wanted in the second half hour the order of worship could change each week. Rarely was a creed spoken. The Lord's Prayer was prayed only on occasion. As a result of this there has been a growing dissatisfaction by the English congregation. It just does not seen like church to them and they have been looking for ways to have their own pastor.
I have to agree with the English congregation. A prayer of confession is needed to put us into a correct posture when approaching God. Praise is also necessary, but if we truly believe that Christ is present in worship them our own feeling of unworthiness must overpower us. The creeds are helpful to remind us of our history as Christians and Presbyterians. But my biggest complaint is the infrequent use of the Lord's Prayer. It is rarely prayer, except when I lead the prayers, and it is never printed in the bulletin or Power Point even after I have complained. I believe that the Lord's Prayer is an important part of both corporate and personal devotion. It is something Christ told us to do. If people do not recite it weekly they will never memorize and use it as Christians have done for 2000 years. I would raise the Lord's Prayer to the level of sacrament and do it every Sunday in all churches.
[1] Quentin J. Schultze, High Tech Worship? (Grand Rapids: Baker Books 2004)
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