A Nice Quote Concerning Contemporary vs. Traditional Worship

Every now and then one finds a succinct statement about worship worth repeating.  This one was found on the website of the Anglican Catholic Church:
While contemporary worship may entertain, it also tends to isolate us from the historic and universal Church by reflecting back to us our own culture and tastes.  The Anglican tradition emphasizes the timeless nature of Christian worship.  Our liturgy (literally "work of the people") encourages us not only to know the Jesus of the Bible, but to experience Him through the sacramental life, drawing us out of our narrow and self-contained existence and into the loving presence of God.

My summary:
  • Contemporary worship reflects us back to our own culture and tastes.  It is therefore bound to a small range of experiences and personal desires and not reflective of the communion of saints throughout time. 
  • Traditional, thus liturgical worship, emphasizes the timeless nature of Christian worship.  It never becomes 'dated' but transcends trends. 
  • Traditional worship allows us to experience Christ through the sacramental life of the church.
  • This sacramental life draws us out of our narrow and self-contained existence, for it includes us in the communion of the one, holy, and catholic church.  

Comments

Jeff said…
Thanks for this quote! I will be forwarding it to our Elders and will happily give your blog credit as the source. In between pastors we tried contemporary worship. We were not members at the time and it made us think strongly about joining the WELS church when we moved up here. Thankfully they called a Christ centered, doctrinal Pastor. There are still some who think that those were proper services, but the 2 that we went to were not liturgical. With our current Pastor, they probably would be Christ centered, but why open the door? And yet, that is what we have been discussing.
February 5, 2013 at 10:00:00 AM PST
Donald V. Engebretson said…
You are welcome! I hope that it allows people to reexamine the rationale often used to introduce CW. Frequently it comes down to taste. However, worship is much more than what I like. There are theological issues at stake as the quote reveals.
February 5, 2013 at 10:09:00 AM PST
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