Historical Perspective Helpful

I just finished Paul Bradshaw’s “Early Christian Worship: A Basic Introduction to Ideas & Practices”. I found the work VERY helpful – especially for pastors of existing churches attempting to introduce emergent ideas into the faith community. Let me explain why I say that. Whenever almost any change regarding worship is brought up, one of the most common responses/mantras we encounter is: “We’ve never done it that way before!” Often the response is put forth as a statement intending to suggest that we (the Christian community) have never done it that way before. What is really meant, however, is that we (the local church) have never done it that way in the past 10-20 years. To help give us a better sense of perspective on worship practices, Bradshaw’s book takes us back to the first five centuries of the Christian tradition and shows ways that Christian practices have in fact evolved. This means that the practices we might recognize today as Baptism or Communion didn’t exist in exactly the same form we observe them today. Lots of factors (culture, geography, theological orientation) shaped the way these rites evolved over the years. Some of the forms we have adopted over the past 2,000 years have changed significantly (and for reasons most folks in the pews have no clue about). Ironically, many of the things that today are viewed as innovations are actually a return to historic practices. By getting the facts out to members in our existing churches, we can perhaps reduce some levels of anxiety and hopefully deepen the worship experiences of our members – whether they participate in traditional or emergent worship experiences! I think Bradshaw’s book would be a helpful resource in helping get out some of those facts. I would recommend it for use as a tool of spiritual formation for all faith communities (note: the postmodernist in me prevented me from saying “an educational tool” for reasons explored in my blog earlier this week). For those of you tracking my father’s condition following his heart attack last week, he remains in ICU. His signs have stabilized a bit. I’ll let you know when he makes it out of ICU. I’m not sure where my studies will take me next. Check back tomorrow to find out. Til next time…