The Liturgies of Non-Liturgical Churches

In my last post, I wrote about my tour through a variety of churches. Most of these churches would fall under the broad label of “evangelical” churches. Evangelical churches have several distinctives, such as a deep reliance upon the truth of the Bible, the importance of sharing the good news of Jesus with people who do not know Him, and a rejection of the “liturgical” practices of traditional Protestant churches. In the Christian Churches where I serve, we would certainly describe ourselves as non-liturgical.

But this is not entirely accurate, because a liturgy is simply a prescribed form or format for a public worship service. In traditional churches, this is seen in the recital of various confessions and creeds…in offering formal prayers that are written in a prayer book or lectionary…and by reading Scriptures that follow the seasons of the “church calendar” (such as Lent and Advent). And while it is true that our evangelical churches may not use the formal practices of the more traditional churches, we do create – and rely upon - routine formats for our services.

Over time, then, I realized that we were fooling ourselves when we called ourselves “non-liturgical”, because every church has a liturgy of some sort.

For example, in the little Baptist Church where I became a Christian, the worship service began in exactly the same way, each and every Sunday: the organist would play a few chords, we all would rise to our feet, then the minister and choir would step out onto the platform while we all sang the first verse (and only the first verse!) of the hymn “Come Thou Almighty King”.

This weekly “call to worship” was part of our liturgy.

As I reflect back on my tour of churches, it is now clear to me that every one of these churches had some sort of liturgy, because the worship service followed a similar format…week after week. I recently read a blog post by a man whose father was a pastor in a small Bible church. He said his Dad’s service planning each week was quite simple: he took the bulletin from the prior week, crossed out the names of the hymns and the sermon title, and then wrote in the new hymns and the new sermon title. But the order of the service never changed. The choir number always was presented at the same point in the service. The offering always followed the choir number and then was followed by a solo. Communion always preceded the sermon, and the sermon always was followed by an invitation to respond.

In other words: this church had its own liturgy; they just did not recognize it or acknowledge it as such.

We live in an age in which many churches are striving to be hip, cool, relevant, and contemporary. Such churches typically view themselves as throwing off the constraints of the past and operating on the edge. And yet, these churches, too, wind up creating their own liturgies as the following video spoof makes clear.


"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

If you have difficulty playing this clip, you can find it at http://vimeo.com/11501569

So...I find myself wondering: why do virtually all churches (even those identified as “non-liturgical”) create some sort of consistent pattern in their worship services?

I believe the answer is two-fold:

First, our God is a God of order and He prefers that our time together in corporate worship be peaceful, rather than chaotic (1 Corinthians 14:33). Clearly, it is much easier to accomplish orderly worship when people know what to expect.

Second, God has designed us as creatures of habit. Our normal method of navigating life is to explore options, learn those which suit us best (or which are most comfortable), and then adopt those habits as an ongoing part of life. This brings a sense of order and normalcy to our days.

As a point of comparison, imagine how disruptive and anxious our lives would be if each day when we arrived at work (a) our desk or work station was in an entirely new location and (b) we had a completely new set of responsibilities for that day. By the end of the first week, I think most of us would be a neurotic mess.

Orderly patterns, then, make life manageable. They give structure to our days and create a sense of stability and security. That is why established patterns in church – our liturgies, whatever they might be – are vitally important.

However, there is one huge potential downside to these patterns: our liturgies can take on a life of their own. They can stop serving as a pathway to the living God, and instead they can become the familiar and well-worn ruts in which we “do church”. If we are not careful, our liturgies can become traditions that even interfere with the movement of God’s Spirit.

Facing the pressure of providing a worship service each week, alongside all the other demands of ministry, it is easy for those of us in ministry to simply do things the way we’ve always done them (whether those ways are “traditional” or “contemporary”.) It takes time to prayerfully seek the heart of God, and ask Him what He wants to accomplish in and among His people each week.

So…as I strive to find some sort of balance in all of this…I find myself asking the Lord these sorts of questions:

How can we best structure corporate worship to lead people into Your presence?

How can we create familiar patterns to help accomplish this goal?

How can we bring some variety into these established patterns to keep them fresh…without creating chaos?

How do we insure that our worship is orderly...yet still sensitive to the promptings of Your Spirit?

- Bruce