Renewal of Liturgy in the Emerging Church
23 Dec 2008
So my first chapter of two for the Baker book project is drafted. In it I locate consumerism as a major problem for church, offer a diagnosis of it’s symptoms and a correlation to the state of the emerging church, and conclude that despite it’s best aspirations it isn’t doing too well (in terms of leading to new Christians and reproduction of Christen mission and identity).
I’m working on the second chapter that draws on some suggestions from the first chapter, on the possibilities of liturgy for the stabilization of christian identity, and in overcoming the genetic dead end of ‘private God space’ ecclesiologies that have been emerging.
In it, I’ll be trying to sketch out how we are all liturgical, the nature of liturgy, and it’s possibilities for identity formation in ecclesiology, in contrast to consumer ecclesiolgies of fragmentation and isolation.
In other words, how can ‘corporate embodied worship’, form us in Christen identity, and for mission, as an alternative to the isolation and fragmentation of consumer liturgies.
Tagged: ecclesiology, liturgy
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Comment by tripp fuller
10.08 am on 23 Dec 2008
sounds great. i will be interested in how you develop it.
Comment by Sam Marsh
1.31 pm on 23 Dec 2008
I’ll be fascinated to read your thoughts on the role of liturgy – all sounds fascinating!
Comment by Pippa
8.37 pm on 23 Dec 2008
I’m following this one with great interest. I’m a fan of liturgical worship and recently came across a booklet written in 1960 by the (Baptist) minister of the church where I was taken as a child, in which he argued that the restoration of liturgy, properly understood and used, would be the precursor to revival in the church!
Comment by Laura
10.34 pm on 23 Dec 2008
I’m looking forward to this as well, especially “possibilities for identity formation in ecclesiology” as this is a major theme in my research as well.
Comment by Existential Punk
8.24 am on 26 Dec 2008
Jase, you said, ‘. . . a correlation to the state of the emerging church, and conclude that despite it’s best aspirations it isn’t doing too well (in terms of leading to new Christians and reproduction of Christen mission and identity).’
How do we quantify new Christians? Do we need to quantify? Can’t G-D reach people in a multitude of ways and places beyond our perceived boundaries of Judeo-Christianity with a western view point without someone having to ‘receive Jesus into their heart’?
Maybe, just maybe, the church is dying out in the western hemisphere. People i meet want NOTHING to do with church or any kind of deity. Maybe we are killing G-D with our actions and words that are contrary to what our beautiful Creator intends.
So, how do we prevent this from happening or has it snowballed so fast that it is really out of our control? People i meet see no relevance of religion in their lives.
i agree about the issue of consumerism being out of control. i see our consumeristic society has become our new religion and place of worship.
i think the church for so long has either been a dry, boring place or a fundamentalist mentality that breed intolerance.
Just some thoughts that stirred inside me after reading your post.
i hope you and your family had a blessed and Merry Christmas!
Warmly,
EP
Comment by Andii Bowsher
8.07 pm on 28 Dec 2008
Good to see someone working on this. I started to work on ‘culture-jamming liturgy’ with a large focus on resisting consumerism, unfortunately I’ve not had the time to pursue it. It’s important I think. Keep going.
Comment by steven hamilton
3.31 pm on 30 Dec 2008
hey jason…i look forward to reading your material!
a friend just sent me his notes from a lecture he attended at princeton university by sheldon garon, professor of east asian studies concerning “cultures of thrift”. i thought it might interest you, because it concerns – from what i can tell – consumerism as a principality and power taking what was begun as a social institution to help the poor and making them into wholly financial institutions…(although you may be thoroughly up on this all ready)…it makes me wonder if churches or church-leaders were involved in establishing these social institutions to help the poor, (see below)
here are the notes in bullet points:
In his presentation, Garon notes:
*The story of household savings started around 1800 when savings banks began spreading in Europe and Australia. At the time, banks were philanthropic and managed by trustees who subsidized savings to depositors. A savings bank was a social institution, not just a financial institution, established to help the poor so that group would not draw on welfare.
*Around 1861, the British instituted a postal savings bank to provide all communities with an accessible and safe savings option. Through transnational learning, Japan followed the British example in the 1870s.
*Also in the 1860s, Belgium began to use its national education system to inculcate a savings mindset in children. Japan adopted a similar program in 1875.
*He also described the promotion of savings through the use of posters, such as posters targeted by gender (women as the household savers during war and post-war periods), anti-inflation messages and the idea of self-interest equaling national-interest.
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