#the liturgy

[blackmalelaw]

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[ohdoubters-blog]

A friend and I were discussing our dissatisfaction...

with much of how the modern Christian church goes about worship.  

I came up with a type of worship section and the parameters of it that would directly appeal to me.  Definitely different for every person, but here is my take on what I would enjoy.

First of all, abandon (entirely where possible) electronic instruments.  They always tend to be noisy and buzzy and showy and distracting.  However, I would have an eclectic array of acoustic instruments, perhaps from many different cultures.  Think The Psalters.  

The "worship leader(s)" need to be people that are not going to give in to the natural inclination to rile up the crowd as the front man for a band.  They are there to lead in worship of God, not to yell out trite call and response segments to get me all excited.

The musicians should likewise come to this with a reverent attitude of approaching a God that is holy with adoration and praise.  This is not the time to show off your skills, this is a time to  time to guide a church body in worship.

Now to the approach to the service itself, I would combine sections of liturgical texts from the Eastern Orthodox Church (some that were the same every week, some that changed according to a special occasion such as Good Friday etc.).  This would be possibly a call and response, or simply the responsibility of a talented singer to accomplish in guiding the direction of the service.  I tend to think that the crazy wailing singer from, once again, The Psalters would be awesome.

As for the majority of the actual songs, I would update some of the old hymns that are rarely sung anymore.  Give them some new life, some extra instrumentation if it calls for it, but continually keep the focus on God and on the voices of the congregation.

I might also incorporate, if the musicians and leaders seemed up for it, original music.  Creativity is, in my mind, an excellent way to worship God, and why not let a group of talented people create something to include in the service?

Finally, I would include some more modern songs if it felt right, as the worship sections came to a close and the parishioners sat to hear the sermon.  Probably rarely the same songs each week.  They would be something rather quiet and pleasant, like a slower mewithoutYou song or something by The Welcome Wagon.  

Now, perhaps this is very theologically unsound.  The Orthodox Liturgy is done a certain way and for a certain reason, and that is very important.  I can see many of that inclination being uncomfortable with the use of parts of the liturgy and not the whole.  I can also see those of a more protestant persuasion feeling that the service lacked a certain intensity or that parts of it were too "Catholic" for their tastes.  I simply think this would appeal to me.

Perhaps I should just shut up and listen to a good playlist.  I don't know.