LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 31

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SYNODICAL REPORTS 31

power” (Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary). Worship is,
first and foremost, God coming to us with His gifts of forgiveness,
life, and salvation. Faith receives these gifts with thanksgiving and
praises and extols the Giver for His merciful goodness.

In the liturgy God’s gifts are distributed to His people. Because
God’s Word and Sacraments do not exist in a vacuum, the liturgy
serves to provide a structure through which these gifts are deliv-
ered to the congregation. Since earliest times, that structure has ex-
hibited two basic patterns: one for daily prayer in morning and
evening and the other for the regular, weekly celebration of the
Lord’s Supper. Over centuries of cautious development, various
biblical texts have become constant components of these historic
liturgies. In general these texts focus attention on God’s plan of sal-
vation, on the person and work of Christ, and on the nature and
blessings of the Lord’s Supper.

When discussing liturgy, it is important to explain what liturgy
is and what it is not. For some, liturgy is associated with a particu-
lar service in a worship book (e.g., p. 15 in The Lutheran Hymnal).
While a specific service might be an expression of the church's
liturgy, the two cannot be equated. Similarly, when speaking of
using the liturgy, some assume that this implies that there is only
one way of worshiping and that no deviations are permitted.

Both of these views fail to recognize the richness of the
church’s liturgy. The liturgy, as it has been handed down over the
centuries, is a living, breathing structure. It includes standard texts
(e.g., the Kyrie, Creed, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, common responses,
etc.) which are set within a framework that provides ample oppor-
tunity for variety (based on the theme of the day as provided in the
lectionary). Far from being a straightjacket, the liturgy provides
constancy within the service even as it allows for creativity in the
best sense of the word.

In recent years, phrases like “contemporary worship” and “al-
ternative worship” have become popular designations for liturgies
that diverge from the historic model. Given the fact that there is no
common definition for these phrases, contemporary/alternative
worship has come to mean many things. For some, allowing the
liturgy’s richness to blossom is what is meant by contemporary.
Others start with the historic liturgy and then make alterations to
the basic structure, adding materials in some places and removing
them from others. For still others, contemporary/alternative wor-
ship has come to mean something quite different from the church's
historic liturgy. While a pattern faintly similar to the historic liturgy
may be recognizable, nearly every particular feature is replaced
with new material.

Reaching the Unchurched

Our Lord Jesus commanded His church to go into all the world
and make disciples by baptizing and teaching all that He had com-
manded (Matt. 28:19-20). Beginning with the story as told in the
book of Acts and continuing to the present day, the history of the
church is one of carrying out our Lord’s Great Commission.

That there has been a renewed interest in recent years in reach-
ing the unchurched is beyond dispute, and we thank God for it.
There are billions of people who do not know Christ, meaning that
they do not have a share in the life that He has won for them. With-
out faith in Christ they will be forever lost. This sad reality should
rightly grieve us and fill us with the same compassion that Jesus
had as He looked out over the shepherdless crowds (Matt. 9:36).

The Commission on Worship is keenly aware of the challenge
of reaching the unchurched. It regrets any lack of evangelistic zeal
among those who promote the use of the church’s rich liturgical
heritage. But it also laments the unfortunate mindset that has pitted
the church’s worship against her task of taking the Gospel to the
nations.

The commission believes it is not helpful to ask whether the
congregation's worship is for confessing Christians or for the
unchurched. Inasmuch as the service is the place where God comes
through Word and Sacrament to grant life to His people, it is obvi-
ously beneficial to both. To those who do not have faith, the service
will be, in one sense, incomprehensible, since the things of the
Spirit of God are only received by those who possess the Spirit
(1 Cor. 2:14). Nevertheless, the reading, singing and preaching of
God’s Word are clearly means whereby the unchurched may be ed-

ified (see Is. 55:10-11). Furthermore, the service demonstrates that
God is in our midst, and may therefore lead the unchurched to fur-
ther instruction, to Holy Baptism, and finally to admission to the
Lord’s Table (1 Cor. 14:24-25).

In an effort to reach out to the unchurched, some have identified
the Sunday-moming service as the primary place to evangelize.
Recognizing that the unchurched have little or no familiarity with
our liturgical and hymnic heritage, some congregations have cho-
sen to simplify the service by removing various segments, elimi-
nating hymns that are not known outside Lutheranism, and intro-
ducing songs written in other styles (e.g., pop, rock, country, jazz,
blues, etc.). The purpose of this approach is to find a point of entry
through which the unchurched can enter the church.

This approach holds to an assumption, namely, that the
unchurched do not find the church’s traditional liturgy and hymns
effective means of communicating the Gospel. Not all, however,
would hold to that opinion. There are, in fact, many unchurched
people who would prefer to attend a service that is best described as
“traditional” (see George Barna, Evangelism That Works [1995],
p. 60). In addition, the deep yearning in our society for a spiritual-
ity that goes beyond the here and now is precisely what the
church’s historic liturgy aims to nurture as it joins us to the worship
of the whole church, including the saints in heaven.

The Liturgy Is a Teacher of the Faith

Changes in the church’s liturgy have always been made cau-
tiously and, therefore, slowly. One factor that has contributed to
this caution is the liturgy’s role as a teacher of the faith. Modern
technology has made it relatively easy for the church’s historic
liturgy to be displaced by other forms, and this raises some impor-
tant questions. Chief among them is the question of why the liturgy
has been retained by the church for centuries, despite dramatic
changes in diverse human cultures. While there have been numer-
ous additions and deletions to the historic liturgy over the years,
there remains a basic structure—with standard texts—that has sur-
vived one reformation after another. What is to explain this preser-
vation of the liturgy?

Over the centuries, the church has recognized the vital role its
worship plays in the formation of faith in the lives of God’s people.
Through weekly repetition of basic, Gospel-centered texts from
Holy Scripture, the people of God are schooled in the fundamental
teachings of the Christian faith. The liturgy and hymns serve as
building blocks for a lifetime of receiving God’s gifts through
Word and Sacrament.

Inextricably joined to this concept of the liturgy as a teacher of
the faith is the discipline of the lectionary. Each year the church
enters into the story of Christ and His work of salvation, beginning
with the anticipation of His coming (Advent) and proceeding
through His ascension and sending of the Holy Spirit (Pgntecost).
Here again the worshiper is schooled in the fundamentals of the
faith by being linked to the life and work of Jesus.

One of the important blessings of the church’s liturgical her-
itage is repetition. Through repetition of basic, important truths,
Christians learn by heart. With the heart we believe and with the
mouth we confess (Rom. 10:9). By repeated confession in the
church's public prayer, the Christian faith is so grounded in the
worshiper that it provides a foundation on which the person can
build for a lifetime. When, on the other hand, the repetition of texts
is abandoned in favor of new materials each week, the opportunity
to impress unchanging truths onto the hearts and minds of God’s
people, especially children, is seriously compromised.

The benefit that is gained through repetition of crucial texts is
the development of a common language. In every community and
profession there is a unique vocabulary or a standard procedure that
enables the work to be done as efficiently as possible. Architects
have symbols that cause a blueprint to come to life with informa-~
tion. Carpenters learn how to drive a nail in as few hammer blows
as possible. Bankers have formulas that make the compounding of
interest a simple matter.

Likewise, the church has a common language that speaks of sin
and grace, repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, righteousness,
etc. These expressions of the faith are taught in the sermon and
Bible class, to be sure. But this common language is also imparted