Book of Common Worship

 I grabbed this awhile back: The Book of Common Worship (Louisville: WJK, 1993).  I had a very old Book of Common Prayer, but after using it at a few funerals and for a few other pastoral duties, I was sick of translating “on the fly” the archaic language of the old BCP.  Also, I wanted something with more prayers, liturgical helps, funeral outlines, and wedding details.  I saw The Book of Common Worship for a good price; now I use it for certain pastoral duties.

Reading through it I found some stuff I didn’t like at all (I stress at all).  For example, I’m not comfortable praying to “Eternal Light,” nor am I comfortable with paschal candles or the sign of the cross marked on foreheads while kneeling.  Some parts of The Book of Common Worship I’ll for sure skip!

To be sure, there are parts of it I really like.  I’m glad it is in modern language.  Some of the prayers and hymns are solid.   Here is one example.  This is a prayer for a funeral or burial service.

“Eternal God, we acknowledge the uncertainty of our life on earth.  We are given a mere handful of days, and our span of life seems nothing in your sight.  All flesh is as grass; and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.  The grass withers, the flower fades; but your word will stand forever.  In this is our hope, for you are our God.  Even in the valley of the shadow of death, you are with us.  O Lord, let us know our end and the  number of our days, that we may learn how fleeting life is.  Turn your ear to our cry, and hear our prayer.  Do not be silent at our tears, for we live as strangers before you, wandering pilgrims as all our ancestors were.  But you are the same and your years shall have no end.  Amen!”

The bottom line is this: I’m glad I have this liturgical resource, and I’ll use it quite a bit.  However, I have some big theological problems with large parts of it, so I can’t give it two thumbs up. 

One more thing – I’m certainly not a Book of Common Prayer/Worship expert, so feel free to comment if you have better suggestions.

shane lems

sunnyside wa

Introverts in the Church

 Someone mentioned Adam McHugh’s new book to me: Introverts in the Church: Finding our Place in an Extroverted Culture (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009).  As a pastor, the topic fascinated me so I quickly ordered it.  It wasn’t exactly what I expected, but I wasn’t disappointed.  I can even identify with introverts, since there are times when I’d like to avoid all people and just read for a few days straight (with some bold peaberry coffee).  In this book, McHugh discusses in-depth the differences between intro- and extroverts.  He writes about introverts in community, leadership positions, evangelism, and a bunch of other related topics.  Here’s one emphasis I appreciated.

“In mainstream American culture…those who are talkative, outgoing, energetic, and assertive have a decided advantage.  People who enjoy reflection and solitude, and listen more than they speak, are often viewed as enigmatic, antisocial, and passive” (p. 16).

McHugh says the evangelical church follows suit: to be extroverted is to be a good, energetic Christian while introversion is often viewed as a spiritual problem.  “Whereas in some church traditions you enter a sanctuary in a spirit of quiet reverence, in evangelical churches you walk into what feels like a nonalcoholic cocktail party.  There is a chatty, mingling informality to evangelicalism, where words flow like wine.”

“At the center of most megachurches is a big personality: a dynamic, larger-than-life pastor who is able to hold everything together with his charisma.  Time magazine and other various Christian publications now release lists of the most influential evangelicals, so fame and stardom have crept into evangelical culture” (p. 27).

McHugh remembers the job description of one church seeking a pastor: “This is a really high-octane environment.  We’re looking for someone who is excitable and high energy.  You have to be totally sold out to work here.  We work full throttle.”  McHugh had to double-check to make sure it wasn’t the job description for a pit crew position at the Indianapolis 500 (p. 26).

Some of the theological inferences in this book were less than satisfying to me, I must note.  He really emphasized the monastic orders of solitude, discussing how introverts find God in the quiet of the universe.  I’m not too gung-ho about finding God in our rhythms, or “centering prayer” (p. 83).  I’m don’t like the notion of quiet art being a witness for the gospel (p. 176), nor do I think we should, as McHugh advocates, “view the world sacramentally” (p. 182).  I don’t think women should be pastors (aka spiritual formation coaches), nor do I think we should let people sculpt during worship as an introverted way to “express worship” (p. 192).  I’m not a big fan of Taize, and I doubt we should listen for God in the fissures of the universe.   I have some serious disagreements with big parts of this book, in short.

At the same time, getting back to the positive, I’m glad I read it and I’ll for sure read parts of it again.  I do think it is worth reading, and I think McHugh had quite a few excellent points that are well worth pondering – like this: “We might say that modern evangelicalism has a hearing problem.  We often preach before we seek to understand a situation or before we sit in prayerful silence.  Our verbal effusiveness can devolve into breezy clichés, hollow sound bites, and repetitive song lyrics…” (p. 25).  Yahweh said it to the psalmist: be silent and know that I am God (Ps 46.10) and to Job: “Sit down and shut up!” (my rough paraphrase of ch 38.1-18ff).

shane lems

sunnyside wa