Liturgy
October 17th, 2005 · Posted in Uncategorized ·
In liturgical churches, many of the prayers are well-crafted, but to some ears they lack spontaneity. In non-liturgical churches, many of the prayers are so predictable that they are scarcely any more spontaneous than written prayers, and most of them are not nearly as well-crafted.
D.A. Carson, A Call To Spiritual Reformation
RodeoClown: likes the green prayer book.
October 17th, 2005 at 2:54 pm
Very Good Observation.
I am a Salvo so we don’t have “little Green Book” it is all “spontaneous”.
Sometimes I don’t like the “little green book” method of prayer because , to me, it does sometimes lack meaning. Othertimes it is nice to be able to follow what will be said. It is good to read something that someone has obviously put time and effort into, much like reading a poem written for God.
I guess what I am trying to say is that I enjoy both types of prayer “LGB” and “spontaneous”. I think that there sia time and a place for both when worshiping GOD!!
D!
Dez Apolgises for a confusing contribution
October 17th, 2005 at 2:59 pm
Does your baptist church have a liturgy Ian?
October 17th, 2005 at 3:35 pm
No, we don’t have one.
Sometimes I like the prayer book, sometimes I don’t. Depends on the situation. Grandad’s funeral was very by-the-(green prayer)-book, and I really liked it. Times like that make me very aware of why they have written prayers. There are some amazingly strong prayers in that book - and you know people have gone over all of them with a keen eye, and so you don’t have to be so wary of what is being said (not that I’d just go along with everything being read, but it’s nice to be able to relax your guard on dodgy teachings sometimes).
They also pack so much into such a small space, each line - each word - has a lot of meaning and thought behind it.
That being said, I’m not a stickler for it, and I’m fine with us not having a liturgy at the church I’m at right now.
(And Callum, the Salvo’s little red book does have a few prayers/creeds in the back, doesn’t it?)
October 17th, 2005 at 4:06 pm
Not really.
Our Song Book has “What we believe” in the back which I guess is our creed, but we don’t read it in church or out loud together or anything like that.
While we are on the topic I remember going to the Anglican Chirch at S.wood one day with you and we all read the “creed” together and we, you and I, discussed that it was a good idea because it re-emphasises, for ourselves, what we believe. Like you said someone has gone to a lot of effort to make surenthat it is spot-on, so if you read this you can know that what you are saying and learning is rite.
D!
October 17th, 2005 at 4:26 pm
Yeah, I’m a big fan of creeds. Even though I turned down tickets to see them (boom boom! Sorry Callum).
They are good for re-inforcing what we believe, plus if any one asks I can say “I believe in God, the Father, maker of heaven and Earth…” etc. I don’t have to clutch at straws to figure out what I believe. Someone has gone to the trouble of writing it out concisely for me.
Of course, I won’t go along with any old creed - but at least one church I have been to has encouraged people who don’t agree not to say it - then it would be a lie.
It also helps you to think about what you believe. You can use it like a checklist: “Do I believe this?” Yes. Check.
October 17th, 2005 at 8:15 pm
i’m kinda not a heaps lbg fan.
unlike you ian, i thought it was too much at grandads funeral. it was in true grandad and nana style, but to me, it was too much and it really really got to me though at times coz it seemed to go on forever, this is my teen impatience or something. so i dunno. at the same time i get frustrated at my church that when “some of our leaders are going to lead us in prayer…” they are reading it and i feel like its not from the heart…. i dunno
October 18th, 2005 at 9:30 am
So is this a critcism of liturgy and if so why?
October 18th, 2005 at 9:43 am
Hi Oly, I assume you are asking about the quote in the post, and so, no, it’s not a criticism of liturgy - if anything it is an endorsement I’d say.
Personally, I don’t mind reading out some prayers etc, but at times it can feel very mechanical and purely a religious ritual, without any meaning behind it.
I like a mix between the two.
October 18th, 2005 at 2:00 pm
Hi Rodeo, who is that photograph on your banner for the bloglines subscription? That can’t be you and your wife is it?
Are you Anglican?
My potrait of my spiritual grandfather is falling off the wall. What do you think of Eliot?
T.S. that is.
Well there are reasons for religious ritual, I think it has to do with discipline. Many saints of the Orthodox church write about prayer rules. Incidentally, I had better go carry out mine. I struggle with discipline on a daily basis in so many areas it is horrid!
I look forward to reading your latest post tomorrow morning. I wonder what Eliot thought of gay people…I suppose that was a ‘non-issue’ back then. What do you think?
October 18th, 2005 at 2:08 pm
Yep, that’s my wife and I (although the photo is a few years old. I have a goatee beard now).
I’m not really any denomination - I used to go to an Anglican church, but now I go to a Baptist church.
I haven’t read any T.S. Elliot, so I can’t answer that one, sorry.
October 18th, 2005 at 11:55 pm
But I thought you were 23. Yes? No? Ok, so now you are a Baptist. That is good to know!
October 19th, 2005 at 5:31 am
Yes I am 23. Yes it is a photo of my wife and I.
No I am not a Baptist (I just go to a Baptist church).
October 19th, 2005 at 7:08 am
Rodeo, how can you go to a Baptist church and not be a Baptist? Well I understand. I went to a Baptist church in Trout Lake without being a Baptist.
How did you get that little photograph in your banner?
October 19th, 2005 at 8:34 am
It’s easy to go to a Baptist church and not be a Baptist.
I haven’t been made a member of the church (nor do I intend on doing so). It’s just where I go to meet other Christians and worship God (not that I can’t/don’t worship him at other times).
You can stand in a garage and that doesn’t make you a car, and you can go to church, but it doesn’t make you a Christian.
Adding extra features to your RSS feed is a post I wrote outlining how to add a comments feed and a picture to your RSS feed. Unfortunately it won’t be of much use to you unless you use wordpress or can edit your RSS generating code.