A characteristic of Reformed churches is to think seriously about our approach to God in Worship. Those who are new to the “Reformed tradition” might easily conclude that a Reformed service is simply a “style” called, “traditional;” as opposed to “contemporary” or “emergent” or “camp-style,” etc.
But that evaluation would not be fair to the historical and Biblical background for a Reformed worship service.
Consider first the context of the Protestant Reformation. The day was dominated by the practice of the Roman Catholic church. In response, the early Reformers did not simply say, “We don’t like that!” Or, “We can’t relate to this element of the service; let’s do something that appeals to our culture…” Their conviction was to consult the Scriptures alone to determine what it actually meant to worship God. The directives of the Old and New Testament worship of God were the foundation for a proper ordering (or liturgy) of a worship service.
What did this approach produce? From one “stream” of the Protestant church, the Lutherans developed a liturgy that is reminiscent of the Roman Catholic church in many ways. From another stream, the Anabaptists rejected almost entirely what was practiced in the Roman church. Again, other streams included or rejected existing forms, or developed new ones – yet all of them citing Scripture for justification.
The Reformation churches connected to Calvin’s Geneva had a simple worship service which included the following liturgical elements: Acknowledging the call of God to worship, confession of sin with the appropriate words of pardon, the reading of the law, the proclamation of the gospel, the recitation of corporate prayers and the Apostle’s Creed, the singing of Psalms, collections for the poor, participation in the Lord’s Supper, and a closing benediction. These elements have marked Reformation worship services for a half-millennia and are a matter of great importance because they reflect first of all, the directions for worship found in Scripture: THIS IS THE TRADITION of a Reformed church.
In some respects, these elements are not far removed from what is observed in Roman Catholic churches. In other respects, the “reason” they are observed is vastly different.
Is this a matter of theology or style? (More to come…)
