Worship and Power - Liturgical Authority in Free Church Traditions --- A Review
WORSHIP AND POWER: Liturgical Authority in Free Church Traditions. (Worship & Witness). Edited by Sarah Kathleen Johnson and Andrew Wymer. Foreword by Lisa M. Weaver. Afterword by John D. Witvliet. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2023. Xiv + 210 pages.
Who
authorizes worship? Is it a denomination? A nation-state? The local
congregation? An individual? The answer is all of the above are possible,
depending on the context. When it comes to free church traditions, the focus of
the book at hand, we’re talking about Christian bodies that historically lack
state sponsorship or authorization. An example of a free church tradition would
be Baptist churches. A good example of a state church would be the Church of
England, which ultimately requires Parliament’s approval of any official
liturgical developments. That's why the current official Book of Common Prayer continues
to be the 1666 edition since Parliament hasn't permitted the church to publish
an updated version. I should note that the Church of England is allowed to
provide "nonofficial" liturgical materials they just don’t carry the
same weight as the official Book of Common Prayer. Ultimately, all denominations
and churches in the United States are officially free churches, but some are
historically free churches. That is, they have never had any official sanction
in the United States or elsewhere.
It is
these historic free church traditions that are under review in Worship and Power, which is edited by Sarah
Kathleen Johnson and Andrew Wymer. These are faith communities that lack not
only state sponsorship but are traditions (like my own) that may offer
liturgical guidance and resources to churches, but the liturgical resources are
not considered official or required. Thus, my denominational publisher offers a
hymnal and a book of worship, but it is not authorized by an official body. We
can use the materials if we wish, but we’re not required to use them.
The
traditions represented in Worship and Power are Baptist, Pentecostal,
Mennonite, and Disciples of Christ. John Witvleit notes in his afterword that until
recently traditions such as these (though the Disciples have been present,
largely through the work of Keith Watkins) have not been major participants in
discussions of liturgical and worship matters, such as participation in the
North American Academy of Liturgy. That has begun to change, as we will
discover in the course of reading this volume. Each contributor brings
something different to the conversation, including ethnic and gender diversity.
The editors tell us that the thesis of the book has three dimensions. First,
"liturgy is power-laden." That is, our worship experiences and
practices involve relationships shaped by power and authority. Secondly, there
is the question of how liturgy is power-laden and "is manifested in
distinct ways in Free Church traditions." This might include localization,
decentralization, and personal agency. Third, the distinctions noted here
"invite ecumenical dialogue" (p. 1). It is this third dimension that serves
as the impetus and foundation for this compilation of essays, as it allows for
ecumenical conversation about liturgical matters.
Worship
and Power, as a book focuses, as one might expect, on the interaction
between liturgical authority (power) and how worship functions in Free Church
traditions. With that in mind, the editors provide definitions of both worship
and power. The editors offer three characteristics that define free churches in
the context of this discussion. First, a Free Church is separate from civic
intervention. The state doesn't legislate what the churches do when it comes to
the way they worship. Second, there is some
form of local autonomy (congregational polity). Third, these churches are
marked by voluntarism. Now, as we see in the course of the book there is some
diversity in how these are expressed. For example, the Disciples of Christ have
sought to distance themselves from the term autonomy and have suggested the
idea of covenant as a binding of congregations with General and Regional
expressions/manifestations. Nevertheless, when it comes to worship, Disciples
like most Baptists and Pentecostals, can define the contours of worship for
themselves. That is, there is no overarching authority that prescribes what
happens in worship.
The
editors have divided the ten chapters/contributions into three parts. Part 1 is
titled Contesting Power in Society. The section begins with a chapter by
Disciples homiletics professor and New Testament scholar Ronald J. Allen that explores
the “Power to Resist Empire,” as seen through the lens of the Book of
Revelation. In this chapter Allen suggests that the issue here, when seen
through the lens of Revelation, not form, but the core purpose of worship,
which here involves resisting the empire. Thus, the focus is on bringing into
existence the purposes of God. Other chapters in this section include Andrew
Wymer’s on Liturgical Anarchy, which in many continues the concepts broached in
Allen’s essay but points toward decentralized religious authority. Finally,
Isaac Villegas' "The Power to Re-Member” focuses on religious vigils
taking place at the Borderlands, such as the US-Mexican border. These three
essays offer reflections on ways that worship can contest power in the larger
society.
We live
in an age when ecclesial traditions of all stripes have tended toward a free
church orientation. Even more traditional denominations have given increasing
authority to local congregations to organize themselves liturgically in ways
that fit their context. Thus, they may borrow from the practices of historically
free church traditions. On the other hand, some of these free church
traditions, such as the Disciples of Christ, may borrow from the more
traditionally liturgical denominations. The question remains then, where does
the power to decide lie? Might the ability to make decisions locally without
external pressure, evidence itself in other ways, including resistance to
empire? In other words, when it comes to ecclesial life, where does power lie,
and how is it exercised? As John Witvliet notes most liturgical studies focus
on traditions governed by bishops, which “are relatively stable, more-or-less-set
liturgies.” Less common are studies of free church traditions. This volume is a
contribution to fulfilling that need. As we discover in reading the set of
essays found in Worship and Power, there is no one way in which authority
functions in these traditions. Thus, the conversation going forward should be
interesting.
Comments