get real, get right
for you will not be distracted
“Tradition is the
living faith of the dead. Traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. And,
I suppose I should add, it is traditionalism that gives tradition its bad
name.” ~Pelikan
in seminary we talk
about all sorts of things that don’t matter
For instance, did you know that worship has a four-fold
shape?
If you did, congratulations!
If you didn’t, oh well…
See, that’s thing, we learn this stuff that has little to no
contemporary relevancy.
well, let me nuance
that a little
It is important to learn the foundations. I had this great
journalism professor in college, and she was fine with breaking layout and AP
rules. There was one catch, though, you had to know what rules you were
breaking and why.
Ultimately I think that is why it is good to know the foundations.
Tradition has power, real meaningful power. Rote enactment of tradition (i.e.
traditionalism) is, well, boring.
not only is it
boring, it begs irrelevancy
Going through the motions is counterproductive, and I dare
say it is nihilistic. To become a pastor we learn the basics, and somewhere
along the way the basics have become an idol or sorts.
If we don’t follow the rules just so, I don’t know, the sky
will fall.
In other words, we begin to think that the basics are the
end-all-be-all.
I am convinced that the “four-fold” shape of worship (gathering,
word, meal, sending) came about because it was intuitive to the first followers
of Jesus, because it fit their living tradition and their lived experience.
the four-fold shape of worship didn’t come about
because it is a theological paradigm unto itself
That’s the thing, we learn the basics to help people
synthesize their lived experience to an incredibly large and diverse story;
that of God’s and God’s followers. The basics are not some form to be protected,
but a treasure ready to be opened.
so what
So that brings me to the question I’ve been struggling with
in various ways since my last year of college and my four years of seminary;
what does that tradition look to my generation?
How am I, as a servant-leader within the church, to assist
my peers in crafting a worship that is intuitive, that invites them into a
larger story, a story that bursts with power and sends us ready into the world?
sometimes I worry
I’ve betrayed my friends and peers by entering seminary
Sometimes I worry that by entering seminary I’ve postured
that all the meaningful traditions of my generation must be discarded so we can
look like all those older than us.
I guess my post is a farewell to posturing that lie by my
silence.
I’ve learned the tradition, now it is time to study my
generation again. What makes us unique is not something to ignore and destroy,
instead it is something that empowers us uniquely to bring a meaningful word to
the tradition of all those before it, and add treasure to treasure.
The next four posts will address each dimension of worship
(propelling, mastication, reading, and getting together) and examine the power
of the tradition, and what unique aspects my generation can add.
Can I get an amen?
Hey Ryan, so I read this blog 2-3 times since I realized that you had posted a new one. Nonetheless, I cannot wait for the next 4 where you will address the pieces of worship, however now is the time for me to throw you some of my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that comes to mind is something we discussed in my Post Modern Thought class with Dr. Mattes, which was the idea that post modern ideas are not neglectful of the pre/modern but a re-emphasis of the era of before. With that thought springing to my mind, I think about people my age who talk about church and who present a disenfranchised longing for church that don't know the history of the institution. They see the drama that is the modern church, they grew up in a church with their parents making them go, they think church means organized religion, but what they fail to realize is that church is a living, breathing organism that needs their energy to keep going.
I would agree that the foundations are important to know, just like those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it--the same with church. I feel that you have to know where the church has been in order to keep the momentum pointed in the right direction--forward and growing! It is when the history becomes locked in as "the way we do church," that it is detrimental to those who are currently seeking a refuge from the problems of the world. Yes, there needs to be a place where the folks who grew up in a traditional swedish lutheran church can feel comfortable and know the way things go, but at the same time there needs to be a way to get the foundations presented to the new generation as well.
I realize that I am kind of rambling along without fully formed thoughts, but this is something that I have thought about for years now: "How do we reach the broken people of today?" The more I see people moving towards the loudest music, the brightest lights, the catchiest sermon topics, and even the sharpest threads there's not a lot of substance. It's all mouth and no trouser as the saying goes. There is a reason that the traditional european churches are still chugging along: Luther Memorial and Grand View Lutheran (for instance). I mean this is not to say that modern non-denom churches don't have something going too (Elim Fellowship, Lutheran Church of Hope, etc). However, it's the same basic concept that flows through each: word, sacrament, fellowship and outreach. The model works, it's just a matter of getting people plugged in or finding a way to get the info out there.
I still don't know that anything I have said makes sense or if it's what you were looking to get from me. I'm going to keep mulling this over, and will be on the look out for your next posts so that maybe I can see where you were headed and can offer up more directional insight from my messed up theological mind!
Take care and I look forward to hearing back from you!