Diversity in Lutheran Worship
Father Hollywood must be reading my mind. He presents the topic of late of worship diversity with ease, breadth, and Lutheran specificity that I have not. His argumentation is sound. You may not like the conclusions though. I won't spoil it... go to his site for the punchline.
I attended the convention of the Southern District of our church body this past week. I could write a tome about it, but sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. However, I do want to address an interesting debate about worship. For my non-Lutheran friends, we Lutherans disagree with each other pretty vehemently about what should go on Sunday morning in our churches. Here's a brief overview of the controversy. Traditionalists vs. Non-Traditionalists Traditionalists advocate a liturgical form of worship that is nearly identical to the Roman Catholic Mass. In fact, many traditional Lutherans maintain practices that the Roman Church has abandoned since the 1960s (such as the altar that faces the wall and a kneeling rail for Holy Communion). Traditionalists do not approve of things like guitars, drums, dramas, dancers, casual attire, themed services (such as polka and cowboy services), big screens, etc. They see worship as very orderly, with pastors wearing Catholic vestments, an altar with candles, with music consisting of hymns, chants, and chorales, typically accompanied by an organ. Some traditionalists even use incense. Traditionalists typically adhere to the liturgy as found in one of our synodically-approved hymnals. Traditionalist preaching is anchored in an assigned Scripture reading for the day and is done from a pulpit. Non-traditionalists, on the other hand, have a diversity of worship practices. Some retain the litugical form, while incorporating what is known as contemporary Christian music (CCM). Others take a more radical approach, using large screens instead of hymn books, and having no liturgical order at all. Some use clowns, dramas, dancers, puppets, and rock music. Instead of wooden pews, one may find theater seats with cup holders. Instead of chorales and chants, one will find syncopated upbeat modern music that tends to be repetative. Pastors typically avoid vestments in favor of casual garb, and instead of standing in a pulpit, may stroll around the audience with a microphone. Worship in Today's Missouri Synod In the modern Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS), one can find both extremes. There is a church in Detroit, for example, that looks like it came right out of the middle ages, with votive candles surrounding statues of Jesus and Mary, in which women cover their heads with veils, the pastor is addressed as "Father," the service is called "Holy Mass," and incense, chanting, and genuflecting are part and parcel of the Sunday service. There are also LCMS churches (many in the South) that have pulsing rock music, a pastor clad in khakis (who is addressed by his first name), in which women are dressed in low-slung midriff-baring jeans, people spontaneously give their testimony, hands are waved around in the air, and dancers interpret biblical texts.There are obviously different understandings of worship competing here.Needless to say, those who are comfortable with Gregorian chant don't approve of hip-hop and heavy metal in the church. They find this distasteful and undignified - more entertainment than worship of the living God in our midst. On the other hand, non-traditionalists accuse the traditionalists of being narrow-minded and unconcerned with bringing new people into the church by being more concerned with staid tradition than reaching out to the lost in their own culture. This is, our worship war, in a nutshell.Please read on....
