Thoughts on Liturgy and Worship
I know this is my third post in a row from Michael Spencer, aka the Internet Monk, but the Monk is really speaking my mind at the moment. Michael is an avowed Protestant, but defines himself as “post evangelical” and he has some interesting thoughts about where Western evangelical Christianity has got it wrong, particularly with regards to cultural compromise.
Michael’s first book, Jesus Shaped Spirituality, will be published by Waterbrook Press in the later part of 2010.
This excerpt is from his latest blog post entitled Thoughts At 8am Mass, following his recent attendence at midweek Catholic mass with his Roman Catholic wife:
The whole idea of the daily mass, and the level of devotion one sees among so many Catholics such as those surrounding me, has to be of real interest to any post-evangelical. Evangelicalism is diverse, but as a movement it is simply engaging less and less with worship, spiritual formation, spiritual disciplines and any form of tradition. The multi-site, internet driven model combined with evangelicalism’s inherent pragmatism and entrepreneurialism makes one wonder if clicking at the computer terminal or taking in the 20 minute drive up/drop in service can be far away as significant models of evangelical Christianity’s virtues.
I am especially impressed with how a small child and an 80 year old man are functioning within the same world of thought, ritual and understanding. Within evangelicalism, we have communities with strong elements of tradition that bind generations together, but overall, we have compromised this to the core, allowing the quest to make the faith acceptable to teenagers to define the style and substance of everything. Where has evangelicalism gone in the last 60 years? Toward maturity and the core of the faith, or toward the latest efforts to be relevant to the young? The old among us are often those who manage to hang on amidst a hurricane of changes.
I see evangelicals doing less and less that will hold anyone in the faith into their 80s. If I were 80, I wouldn’t go near 99% of evangelical churches. The traditionalists somewhere would have me as a customer. I could never be a Roman Catholic for theological reasons that won’t change, but if I were, this traditionalist-flavored variety would be quite appealing.
To read the entire post on the Internet Monk’s blog go here.