Old Liturgy

Growing up, the old liturgy at my church seemed tedious at times. Sit down. Stand up. Repeat. But Kevin DeYoung’s got me thinking.

DeYoung comments on the New Evangelical liturgy. He points out what few of us consider: We all have a liturgy. We may not think of this or that church as particularly liturgical, and yet, technically, every order of service is a type of liturgy. So even the hippest, most nonchalant church has a liturgy. The question is simply one of kind.

In particular, DeYoung wonders if the casual liturgy of our generation reaches the depths of some of the more traditional forms. As I scour my memory, I see his point.

Off the cuff…

I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. He descended into hell and on the third day, he arose again from the grave. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right have of God the Father. From thence he shall come to judge the living and dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

That’s the Apostles Creed from my memory. I have not repeated it during a service in over ten years. I don’t remember it perfectly, but lodged in my brain the kernel sits, a pearl-like deposit of theology. And let me tell you, that’s a load of theology. The creed captures a systematic theology tome in a nutshell.

There must be something to a liturgy that could leave me so aptly trained. I wonder what our Passion generation will remember from their youth. Is Christian rap the next best alternative to creedal recitation? Maybe.

All of this discussion is really just an introduction to ask you this: What do you think? What are some of your poignant memories of worship growing up? For those of you who have experienced old and new liturgies, which do you prefer? Is one better than another? Why or why not?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.