Comments on: Missional Church and Liturgy?

By: John Mark

John Mark — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:15:32 +0000

As an Anglican I’ve been blessed by attending the Sunday and weekday liturgies my church provides. the liturgy; unlike many other forms of public worship has not just taught me to be a christian, but actually engaged me IN being one. For instance, if I were to attend lecture style worship with a focus only on the pulpit (as I have before) then I am only learning to be a christian in the community, on the other hand in liturgical worship, we act out our lives as christians in a public way. I’m not just learning to confess my sins, I am actually doing it, I am not just learning to hear God’s word, I am in fact responding to it. And my favorite, I am not just learning to take Christ into myself, I am in fact DOing it by recieving him into my body and soul during the Eucharist I hope that many more evangelical christians utilize the ancient and modern practice of liturgical worship; it is a difficult practice at first, but in the long run Christ centered liturgy is a much needed antidote to a culture of media crazed and unspiritual, individualistic churches.

By: Missional Church and Liturgy « Christ Mission at the Bricklight

Missional Church and Liturgy « Christ Mission at the Bricklight — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:37:48 +0000

[...] 10 2009 More good stuff from David Fitch, this time from his (along with Matt Tibbe) 4/23/09 post “Missional Church and Liturgy?” As I have traveled and led discussions on missional church, I usually get the most resistance when [...]

By: sandrar

sandrar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:58:19 +0000

Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. Cheers! Sandra. R.

By: modern reception chairs

modern reception chairs — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 05:43:37 +0000

Will take link with ?. Please excuse, my English not good,

By: Random Acts of Linkage #98 : Subversive Influence

Random Acts of Linkage #98 : Subversive Influence — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:47:20 +0000

[...] Missional Church and Liturgy? David Fitch on liturgical missional formation, with an article by Matt Tebbe, also from Life on the Vine, giving an overview of their worship gatherings. [...]

By: Gus Kroll

Gus Kroll — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:28:00 +0000

Thanks for this post. I’m getting married in just over a month and my fiance and I come from radically different backgrounds: (In the Hauerwas Mafia I think I’m the local kid who looks up to, adores Don Hauerwas and tells friends how cool the Don is ) I grew up in the Conservative Baptist church (very non-liturgical) and I’m now going to a Episcopalian church and I love the liturgy there – for some of the same reasons you mention – when I’ve attended Catholic mass I’ve felt the same way. Rachel on the other hand grew up in a variety of church setting and is less thrilled with the idea of liturgy. She sees that a real tendency of liturgy to become just a tradition that one could almost recite in their sleep, lacking in emotion etc.

This next year I’m going to be working with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship at Evergreen State College and my question is this:
What would a synthesis of liturgical and non-liturgical look like in it’s best forms? How do we keep an attempt at synthesis from just becoming a bland compromise? Thoughts?

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:10:00 +0000

Oops. Chan interview link:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/november/33.66.html?start=1

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:40:00 +0000

Thank you Beth and Dave. I have some Weber materials, and met him in 2003. He fanned the liturgical spark into flame for me. I am indebted to him. Chan is on my list, but not yet acquired, and so Ben’s review/synopsis is a welcome interim aid (thanks Ben – I read your blog, but had not spotted this post). In case it is of interest, Chan is interviewed here by Mark Galli (also on the list). Schmemmann and Vogel are new to me, and so are appreciated.
Re setting – I attend at an Anglican church in Canada, and work with a wonderful lay team of poets, artists, dancers, musicians, readers …. We are blessed with a church that gives our team almost total freedom in crafting alternative services. To implement the described theology, we use our liturgy as a vehicle for engaging us in and releasing us to a spiritual theology approach to worship. To keep the relationship between the theology and spirituality dynamic, we constantly seek to renew, reveal and embody themes within the narrative through the use of unique ritual, symbol and imagery, and so use the classic liturgical form as a framework, but not a blueprint. It has been a challenge, and it is still in early phases of development, but is showing signs of promise.
Thanks for this post Dave. Matt’s article, and your ongoing descriptions of LOV have been helpful, and will be used as resource material. Matt’s writing has been very appreciated. Beth – in a month or two?, when I wrestle a couple of projects under control, I will forward you some of our materials via your blog. You may find them interesting.

By: David Fitch

David Fitch — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:19:00 +0000

Thanks beth for those excellent recommendations. For those interested, Ben (first comment) reviewed Chan’s book on his blog.
DF

By: Beth

Beth — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 12:24:00 +0000

Jim — I’m an adjunct in the Anglican/Episcopal track at Gordon Conwell, but all the courses in that track are so new there’s not any distance learning. I love what you posted — from where I stand (and I recognize different ones of us stand different places) it reads as deep and solid.

Resources in lieu of distance learning…. I’d recommend Simon Chan’s ‘Liturgical Theology’ as a book especially accessible to evangelicals. (Robert Webber, obviously, would be another such author.) An older classic from the Orthodox tradition is Schmemmann “For the Life of the World.” And Dwight Vogel, “Primary Sources of Liturgical Theology.” 1/3 of my course this past semester was people in your kind of situation — wanting to get a better theoretical grounding for use in non-liturgical settings. We had a ball.