Worship Weblog

Denver Book Group – First Meeting

Posted by cicw

Friday, November 6th, 2009

Book Groups

We invited 34 book groups across the U.S. and Canada to meet and discuss The Church of All Ages and its implications for their worship, and to share their notes here.
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Key Question: Could ancient liturgy be a helpful tool for intergenerational worship?

If you want to attract the young folks, you’ve got to throw out all that stuffy tradition. Or so the accepted “wisdom” seems to have been during the last few decades. But John, a young seminary student, wasn’t quite so sure. “Haven’t the Roman Catholics had this intergenerational business down for centuries?” He asked. “It seems like they’d be great for kids. They’ve got alter boys involved at a young age, and surely the repetition of the liturgy must be a helpful teaching tool…” Tim, a former Missouri Synod Lutheran who now is a part of an independent Baptist congregation, agreed. “I remember being asked to light candles as a part of the liturgy as a ten year old boy,” he said. “That was huge!” Sam, a pastor/church planter in a young congregation that makes heavy use of the traditional liturgy (albeit with jazz instrumentation), appeared to like where the conversation was headed. “We find that in our setting—seeking to reach young, jaded, urbanites—the regular rhythms of the liturgy are less threatening than more ‘contemporary’ forms of worship. We can provide them with the language they need.” Sam went on to not that he believed that the use of a traditional liturgy was a wonderful way to teach people the language of faith. Nancy agreed, noting that hearing the same words spoken at different stages of her life and faith development had been tremendously beneficial to her. “I also believe,” she added, “that the liturgy is a way for the church to be consistent throughout all the generations—it’s a way to bridge what old and young (and all those in between!) do when we come together as God’s people.” While the group went on to note that differing contexts would demand differing applications the group seemed to agree—the prevailing wisdom of recent years may not have been that wise after all!

Tags: bgdenver, Book Groups 2009, intergenerational