Liturgical Church is Weird For People Here…and That’s a Good Thing
Is it possible to plant a liturgical church? This is a question I had to ask myself just over a year ago as we began our effort to plant an Anglican church in Asheville, North Carolina. I had to evaluate whether I was imposing my values on a culture that had no interest in them, that would not resonate with, or that would not be formative in the lives of our neighbors.
What I’ve come to believe is that it is not just possible to plant a liturgical church, but it is beneficial. In fact, what makes us ‘attractive’ is that we are different. Let me explain.
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Observations on Asheville, North Carolina
I minister in an environment that would not exactly be labeled as receptive to the gospel. However, many, in their varied ways, are looking for answers —for something. Perhaps this explains the therapeutic massage, health stores, and yoga studios that line our streets. On many of the porches of the old, recently rehabbed houses, Tibetan prayer flags hang, and statues of Buddha are proudly displayed. It’s true, they are grasping for something, and it seems to be happiness. Their bank accounts emptied in the pursuit of peace, reaching to accomplish for themselves a sort of justification, to atone for that which is keeping them from rest.
At first glance, this can be discouraging for those of us hoping to draw our neighbors to our churches, and often leaves the faint of heart hopeless. However, this isn’t all bad news for us bearers of the gospel. Culturally, our neighbors are ritualistic, perhaps much like those Paul encountered at the Areopagus in Athens, Greece, and this can work to our advantage. They have rhythms incorporated into their lives, such as meditation, chanting, and certain food customs. What if we sought to redeem these already established rhythms? While the structure of our worship—rote prayers, postures, and the like —may be off-putting to some, it actually resonates well with our neighbors.
Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
Acts 17:29-31
Many missiological diagnoses of our culture have suggested we employ a strategy that casts ourselves in as ‘un-churchy’ a fashion as possible—to portray ourselves as ‘just like them’ and then drop the bomb after they assimilate comfortably into our community. Those who make up our demographic quickly see through our shallow attempts to emulate their world in our worship, a shameless attempt to coax them through our doors.
When I moved to Asheville, I asked several in the community for advice; they all gave similar answers: “Ashevillians will not be fooled by theatrics!” I agree, though what I have just described may be attractive to the backslider; our unchurched neighbors, however, will not take the bait.
Authenticity Inside the Church
We are working from the premise that there are very few in our neighborhood who wake up on Sunday and suddenly decide they need to go to church. Mailers don’t jog their memory, and unfortunately, we have no one wandering in off the sidewalk. No, if they come through our church doors, it is because they have made a conscious decision that they need what is offered inside. They don’t want a version of what they already have; they want church. The distinctive differences between the church and the world from which they come are actually refreshing.
Distinctly Christian, Distinctly Asheville
Our mission plan is embodied in our people, not in our worship style. Therefore, the way we worship is not dictated by culture, but should first serve to form a particular kind of Christian—one that is an evangelist in nature. This is our strategy.
Many churches start backward; they use worship as the primary means of attraction, never fully forming the participants in the image of Christ, because we’ve formulated worship according to the image of the world. Our expression of worship is enculturated, not in the sense that it is remade to reflect our people, but that it effectively remakes us into the image of the church and the Christ we love and serve. However, as seen particularly in the Reformation, the way we worship can and should serve to convert worshipers. This necessitates that we worship in a distinctly Christian way, while also being distinctly Asheville—worship in the vernacular.
When a Little Discomfort is a Good Thing
Newcomers notice that those gathered for worship genuinely care enough to learn about what they are participating in, and onlookers feel compelled to join such a group, where people pray together and observe practices that distinguish them as a ‘people’. That we are distinctly Christian in our worship expression is not a bad thing. Blurring the lines between our world and theirs can be confusing, seen as a ploy, and is often considered disingenuous.
However, while newcomers may feel slightly unfamiliar with the Christian ‘thing’, there should be elements that make them feel at home as well. Our processional cross and torches are crafted from recycled materials, and our altar is constructed from live-edge wood. This is sacramental in that we have employed the natural materials given to us to communicate the timeless truth of the gospel, in the language of our worshipers. Music may be the easiest way to span the distance between an otherworldly liturgy and the culture represented in the lives of those attending our worship time. Our music is rich, old, and sacred, yet it purposely echoes the harmonies and rhythms of the Appalachian mountains.
Ashville: Home to the Counter-Cultural
It doesn’t take long to realize our neighbors are protesters! What we do during our worship time aligns with the counter-cultural nature of our community. We have not intentionally shaped our worship to do so, using it as a marketing technique, but it has evolved over the generations to function in this way.
This is the heart of what God does in the Sabbath: to slow us down and refuse to let a person’s worth be dictated by what they produce. Our worship confronts a culture-driven way of life that often leaves us longing for rest. I usually say to those who worship at Redeemer, “You being here is saying to the world:”
- You don’t dictate my schedule.
- You don’t determine the pace at which I live my life.
- I am not defined by what I produce.
Space
Defining space is essential to our worship on many levels. It certainly sparks our imagination and creates an environment that points us heavenward. For our demographic, space must communicate, leaving something behind, and stepping into something new.
It’s apparent that over the last couple of decades, we have made entering the church easier and easier, but as we have accomplished this, we have also made leaving the church just as easy. Sure, we want to eliminate barriers to entering the life of the church. Still, in doing so, we must evaluate whether we’ve eliminated all rites of passage, making the door to the church a slippery place where people slide in and out.
Anglican Aesthetics Makes the Difference
Our rich Anglican aesthetic enables us to employ metaphorical imagery that simulates stepping into something new. We use incense as one such marker. Someone walked into the church the other day and said, “Smells like church in here!” It is refreshing for them to step off the busy street in front of the church and find themselves in a sanctuary.
Appealing to the senses is a serious matter for us, from the colors of the season to the smell of incense and the flicker of candles to the sweet taste of wine. These aspects of our worship are not gimmicks; we genuinely believe they are both appealing and formative in the life of our community. While many might think the ritual of Anglicanism to be strange, or even empty, it’s not such a stretch for our unchurched, artistic neighbors to appreciate it. In fact, I think they understand more so than many curious Christians who walk into Redeemer. The appeal to the senses plays a significant role.
Identity
It is clear that our culture is longing for identity, and we are uniquely positioned as a church to provide it. I find that the distinctive character of Anglicanism is especially effective in shaping identity. Our congregants, as well as our unchurched neighbors, are surprisingly open to adopting our practices. It is our standard, rhythmic way of life that they find enticing. To meet the need for identity and belonging, we provide each of our members with a Book of Common Prayer. The Prayer Book serves as one more element of shared identity among those in our church. This is just one way we are tapping into our tradition, using the instruments we’ve been given to shape worshipers and draw people into the life of the church.
Final Thoughts: A Checklist
- Explain: What we do each Sunday is packed with meaning, but our congregants have to know why and what we are doing! From reading the Gospel in the center of the church to dipping our fingers into the waters of our baptismal fonts, each week our faith should be enlivened. We are heirs to beautiful object lessons; let’s use them.
- Be Genuine: This is the most common compliment we receive. In a worship style that is often criticized for being stiff and empty, we should always strive to remain genuine. The liturgy is there to serve the church, not the other way around. Never sacrifice authenticity to stay on track with the service order.
- Don’t Apologize: I’m often preoccupied with what visitors are thinking. It is always the thing I am most concerned about that they end up saying was the most meaningful part of the service! We cannot control what God will use or how He will minister to the hearts of those who visit. We are always surprised by how much our visitors appreciate our worship.
- Give them a Prayer Book: Every young person who walks through our church doors wants one, and we give them one. It provides an added sense of belonging, something they learn how to use together and hold in common.
- Formational: Don’t do anything that is not formational in the life of the worshiper. If it is empty, toss it. If it is a gimmick, it’s got to go. I must admit, there are elements of worship that I wish we would do more. However, it’s mostly because I think they’re cool, not because I believe they are truly formational or God-honoring. Developing a filter to determine whether we are doing things for the right reasons is extremely important.
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