tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post3211047983236345526..comments2024-03-27T15:47:46.091-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: Leading Worship Is No big deal. . .Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-79681187036894065132017-12-13T16:02:39.803-06:002017-12-13T16:02:39.803-06:00As one who, in my 30 years of pastoral ministry, h...As one who, in my 30 years of pastoral ministry, have heard every argument why we should not be liturgical in the catholic sense, and as one who has tried to be the “emcee” of a contemporary worship service with band in the chancel and the altar moved to the side....kyrie eleison. When I was blessed to be the pastor of a small inner-city parish I was determined to go back to the Mass every week. I was privileged to serve another inner-city church in a larger city and was blessed with a pipe organ and excellent organist. Again, the Divine Service from LW and then LSB, with Eucharistic Prayers added from a very reliable Lutheran source, the Mass was celebrated and the community catechized.<br /><br />Upon my retirement, my successor reversed everything I had done and made it all about being relevant and more approachable. Truth be told, I was so approachable with my “liturgical with a smile”. Now I serve as interim or vacancy Pastor in Arizona, I am blessed to be serving a parish that values traditional worship and values catechesis. They are calling a Pastor who also values traditional worship. While simplified from my usual practice, I am still called to be reverent, to proclaim Law and Gospel, and to bring Holy Communion to the people each and every service. That is all that I can do.....Padre Dave Poedelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14033503960196272783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-40332875835760806172017-12-07T11:44:31.919-06:002017-12-07T11:44:31.919-06:00Sin and rebellion play a huge part in rejecting li...Sin and rebellion play a huge part in rejecting liturgical worship. Having said that, liturgical worship can be made multi-facetted and you don't always have to use pages 5 or 15 every time you meet for the Divine Service. The biggest complaint people have is they are unfamiliar with the liturgy and hymnody. The sin and rebellion part of rejecting liturgical worship is bound up in covetousness and ingratitude for the gifts given therein. Who said worship had to be like a ride in an amusement park, entertaining and unpredictable, dynamic with foot stomping music? Repetition in worship is for our remembrance, to memorize Scripture and to be catechized:<br /><br />"Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit..."<br />"Let the vineyards be fruitful, Lord, and fill to the brim our cup of blessing..."<br />"Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."<br />"In peace let us pray to the Lord. Lord have mercy."<br />"I, a poor miserable sinner..."<br /><br />I could go on but you get my drift.<br /><br />The ordinaries don't change but the propers do, not to mention the sermon. But think of it this way, what does CoWo lead to? It leads to disparaging church history which leads to disparaging the church calendar which leads to disparaging church art and architecture which leads to disparaging our Lutheran heritage which becomes disposable and the church catholic is no longer needed in our midst, it is no longer relevant to our real enjoyment of Sunday mornings. All the old or formal stuff is put on a shelf because we got bored out of our heads. We couldn't take it anymore! We want to feel like we do when we emerge from a Michael W. Smith concert. We want mountain top experiences every Sunday morning, not just the same ole, same ole.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-79783696714044892852017-12-04T11:07:10.708-06:002017-12-04T11:07:10.708-06:00Recommend using "Didache" instruction bo...Recommend using "Didache" instruction book by Prof. John Pless for catechesis. It is the only book available for instruction that incorporates Scripture, Book of Concord, and Lutheran Service Book. It is vital that catechesis include our liturgy and hymnody as resources that are vital for teaching the faith.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-31716198369569167692017-12-04T05:20:18.333-06:002017-12-04T05:20:18.333-06:00Could someone explain to me how far off theologica...Could someone explain to me how far off theologically LW or LBW are compared to TLH? I believe the former contain as much liturgy as TLH. LW has four settings, which shouldn't make it monotonous. Maybe I am missing some nuances here.Ted Badjehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03220879004715648795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-87102608053655555542017-12-03T18:18:09.463-06:002017-12-03T18:18:09.463-06:00Following the same CoWo service format every week ...Following the same CoWo service format every week eventually leads Lutherans to believe that contemporary worship services are indistinguishable from the non-denominational church across town. If worship does not matter and if the small group curricula is the same, then why remain a Lutheran. As a bonus, the coffee is better and the praise bands are superior at the big box church.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-63321454480237077392017-12-03T18:11:48.267-06:002017-12-03T18:11:48.267-06:00"Until we begin talking about this in cateche..."Until we begin talking about this in catechesis and training our pastors to be as well equipped in the chancel as they are in other places, we will remain a church divided and worship wars will continue to be fought among us."<br /><br />I understand that we are supposed to gather for an hour every Sunday morning to listen to the sermon and to take communion, but what is "worship." What is its purpose. Why is there an organ. Why is there a guitar. Why sing songs at all? Following the same service format every week eventually leads Lutherans to believe that traditional worship is rigid, boring, dated, monotonous, and stuffy. Lutherans are not trained in the "why" of worship; they blindly go through the motions without understanding what they are doing.<br /><br />I am tired of watching the LCMS tear itself apart. I wish President Harrison would use the bully pulpit and get Synod to make the changes suggested in your concluding sentence.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-44563488285323064652017-12-03T10:16:52.246-06:002017-12-03T10:16:52.246-06:00This rural Minnesota LCMS church still uses the TL...This rural Minnesota LCMS church still uses the TLH. Anyone who finds it boringly monotonous really doesn't understand worship.David Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11966977894876326659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-45911823941048794042017-12-03T10:05:02.216-06:002017-12-03T10:05:02.216-06:00A humble and reverent pastor can lead the liturgic...A humble and reverent pastor can lead the liturgical worship service.<br />His dignified presence is more important that making all the correct<br />U-turns and bows toward the altar. The high-church folks have made the<br />leader of worship into a robot who makes all the correct moves. Take<br />away the genuflecting, the incense, the chasuble. the chanting and give<br />me a pastor who loves the Lord and loves his parish members.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-20204703353330343682017-12-03T07:49:18.841-06:002017-12-03T07:49:18.841-06:00"It is no coincidence that when I remind us o..."It is no coincidence that when I remind us of our liturgical history of form and practice I receive a barrage of complaints."<br /><br />Here's why the complaints: LCMS Lutherans already had a historic form and practice. It was called The Lutheran Hymnal. It was boringly monotonous Sunday after Sunday, but it was ours. <br /><br />That Lutheran worship tradition was summarily discarded.<br /><br />The problem is that we who grew up on the tradition of TLH are still out here in the pews.<br />We get to hear a stream of unending commentary that the American tradition of worship and practice was/is not good enough, wrongheaded, even un-Lutheran. We hear that we need to embrace practices and traditions that are not our own and which consequently have no meaning for us. Seriously. This is our debate. And you wonder why this position is ridiculed. It's the same as if someone demand that their Minnesota rural Lutheran family speak French and wear powdered wigs, because they read about it somewhere in a book and it seemed like a noble tradition...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-42509223150102287662017-12-03T07:37:37.072-06:002017-12-03T07:37:37.072-06:00Very insightful but troubling article. I suppose t...Very insightful but troubling article. I suppose the best solution for us is to find our roots again, The progressives have had a hand in neutralizing the Lutheran body and reconstituting it into something else. I have no answers. Perhaps, the cultural shifts are too overwhelming and the LCMS is caught in the tsunami of social disorder and spiritual chaos. I think a major problem is that many LCMS churches do not focus enough on solid preaching these days. The congregations are also lazy and disengaged too often. All is not lost, however, and we must keep talking about it. We need not accept defeat.John Joseph Flanaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06596324816480709495noreply@blogger.com