EC05: Seminar: Public Worship as Spiritual Formation (McLaren)
May 20, 2005
Post-protestant…moving to worship where elements of worship are not denominationally proprietary.
Older generations experienced denominations that truly believed that their form of worship was the ONLY legitimate form/method of worship.
What if we’re moving to an era where liturgy is acknowledged as universal…a dynamic tension of form and freedom, identity and innovation, and where ‘evolution’ is seen as normative and where one of the essential forms of the church is “spiritual formation.”
Spiritual formation involves intentional spiritual practices: actions within our power which we do to train ourselves to do things currently beyond our power, and to become people we are currently incapable of being.
10 Spiritual Practices for Public Worship
- Ritual: Doing things I may or may not feel like doing to bond to the meaning they represent. Everything we do in our service, if rightly understood, can be understood as a ritual which brings about meaning.
- Inconvenience: Going to a place I didn’t choose, at a time I didn’t choose for a purpose I do choose.
- Association: Associating with some people I like, and others I don’t like, for a purpose I believe in. It’s a beautiful thing to make a real choice to be with others you know you are not going to like - it’s because of Protestant fragmentation.
- Speed: Altering my pace to see what I’ve missed and to feel a different rhythm. Weekly, seasonal, annual and lifespan. So sometimes, courtesy of the church calendar, we get to ‘chill-out spiritually’ (during Ordinary Time). Rites of passage are hopefully going to be rediscovered, so that there are times of honoring or celebrating certain rites of passages (menopause, retirement, empty-nesting years).
- Hospitality: Using my presence and our space to help “the other” feel welcome in my presence, and in the presence of our community.
- Attentiveness: Waiting for what I may receive only by waiting receptively. This trains us to become the type of people who will be able to hear the Spirit’s voice and make us vulnerable enough to feel the wooings of the Spirit.
- Generosity: Taking greater pleasure in being productive (fruitful) than consumptive.
- Modeling: Exposing apprentices to masters. In prayer, teaching, artistry, faithfulness, service, hospitality, etc. Contemplative and charismatic models…
- Justice and Mercy: Preaching, singing, praying, signifying announcing justice…
- Catholicity: Quoting others, affirming others, praying for others, inviting others…
Adam’s Thoughts: It’s encouraging to hear about spiritual formation being talked about outside of the idea that most are familiar with, that spiritual formation is a thing that happens individually - when personal individuals are transformed to help their own personal relationship with Jesus. McLaren also brought up, when talking about the need to focus on justice, that there are no songs (hymns or contemporary worship) that talk about God’s justice, God’s desire and compassion for the orphans and the widows. This is again something that I’ve talked about before, but I’ve yet to really hear any good suggestions - where is the worship for the progressives, the liberals, and even the more conservatives who care about social justice and want to incorporate that into the musical aspect of their worship. Where is this music going to come from? Where are the liberal songwriters? Will they come from the Emergent conversation? And if not…where?
Tags: Brian-McLaren, Emergent, Spiritual Formation, Theology, Worship
Posted in 
Adam Walker Cleaveland: 
May 20th, 2005 at 10:21 am
Adam (and Brian), to give credit where it is due, I must put a plug in for Andy Park, specifically his song, “Multiply Your Love”. This song has become the anthem of my church over the last couple years. I don’t have permission to print the lyrics here, but please, do yourself a favor and check it out. Andy may not be a “liberal songwriter”, but the content of this particular song is dead-on.
May 21st, 2005 at 2:17 am
thanks for your notes. this session was packed and i wanted to check it out, but didn’t want to sit in another packed house.
May 22nd, 2005 at 10:32 pm
i think there are a some good mennonite hymns with social justice themes. if i can find the lyrics to some i’ll post them (not sure if i’ve got a hymnal here).
May 23rd, 2005 at 1:17 pm
So much more than a song we sing
So much more than a sunday fling
You want us all to answer your call
Give it all
So much more than the words we say
So much more than an hour a day
You want our lives to boldly proclaim
That God is real today
You want food for the hungry
Love for the lonely
Justice and mercy for those treated poorly
Tears for the lost and wounds from our cross
This is the worship you seek
A real life offering
Precious Lord would you change our hearts
Light a spark so a fire can start
Showing how precious holy lives are
Change us to want
Food for the hungry….
So much more than just a song
So much more than just our words
For you long to see us bring
A real life offering
I don’t know the name of the songwriter but the band is called elevate and you can find out more about them a http://www.briercrest.ca
The songwriters are out there, we just have to find them.
May 24th, 2005 at 2:08 pm
hey adam…
i’m finally recording a CD and not to pimp my own stuff, but i’ve written quite a few “dangerous songs” as walter brueggeman calls them. i haven’t posted my most dangerous one yet, but go to the poor musician and download some of the mp3s. they’re rough, but they were done in garage band using my laptop’s mic.
May 24th, 2005 at 3:15 pm
Hmm, just off the top of my head, how about “If We Are The Body” by Casting Crowns?
Quite popular on CCM radio all of last year (and probably the next decade if the radio behemoths have their way).
May 24th, 2005 at 3:16 pm
Oh, and gee, back in San Diego, there were only 8 principles.
At this rate there’ll be 1,000 by Christmas ;)
May 25th, 2005 at 8:26 pm
I write songs.
Am I ‘emergent’?
Blessings,
Dylan