Browsing by Author "Ruth, Lester"

Since the late 1940s, Praise and Worship has emerged as a new mode of liturgical expression out of North American Pentecostalism. Despite a variety of conflicts that have marked its adoption, it has found a home in a wide swath of global Protestant churches and it is estimated that nearly a quarter of the world’s Christians practice some form of Praise and Worship today. Praise and Worship today is known primarily by the expectation that participants will encounter God’s presence through music.This dissertation presents a historical case study of the International Worship Symposium (IWS) as a lens into Praise and Worship history. The IWS was an annual Praise and Worship teaching event that began in 1977 and peaked in the late 1980s. The theology and practice of IWS worship was built on the central claim that God “inhabits” or “is enthroned upon” the praises of God’s people (from Psalm 22:3)—an insight first popularized by Latter Rain theologian and pastoral leader Reg Layzell. I begin with the background of the Latter Rain Revival of 1948 and the impact of Reg Layzell’s theology on the churches and individuals that birthed the IWS. Through conference teaching materials, personal interviews, and other primary sources, I explore how IWS teachers expanded on this theology by the 1980s and used the Tabernacle of David as typological prism for understanding worshipers’ special access to God through Praise and Worship, especially music. My argument concludes with a case study of the critical, early influence that the IWS had on the theology and music of a major—though little-researched—player in the worship music industry: Integrity’s Hosanna! Music. Through its influence both on the thousands of individual conference participants and on the leadership of this one major company, the IWS had a central role in the dissemination or Praise and Worship’s practices and theology. In summary, I suggest that it is precisely the biblically-derived theological and liturgical understandings of the IWS that were central to the development of Praise and Worship (and its music) in the 1980s. Despite its importance, liturgical studies scholarship has largely ignored the role of Latter Rain Pentecostals and the IWS. Instead, scholars have constructed a music-industrial history of Praise and Worship that focuses primarily on musical style and attributes Praise and Worship’s origins to the Jesus People Movement of the late 1960s and 1970s. I argue that is actually Pentecostals affiliated with the Latter Rain Revival of 1948, including those who originated and led the IWS, who were most critical to the construction and mainstream dissemination of Praise and Worship during the critical period of development, which was the 1980s. In addition to focusing on the wrong people and the wrong time period, scholars have often overlooked the underlying liturgical theology of Praise and Worship, which is, I suggest, the most critical element in its historical development. Thus, the dissertation offers liturgical history as a productive frame for engaging musicological and ethnomusicological research on present-day sites while expanding the scholarship of liturgical history on the Latter Rain stream of Pentecostal worship that has contributed to contemporary transformations in global Protestant worship today.

Since the late 1940s, Praise and Worship has emerged as a new mode of liturgical expression out of North American Pentecostalism. Despite a variety of conflicts that have marked its adoption, it has found a home in a wide swath of global Protestant churches and it is estimated that nearly a quarter of the world’s Christians practice some form of Praise and Worship today. Praise and Worship today is known primarily by the expectation that participants will encounter God’s presence through music.This dissertation presents a historical case study of the International Worship Symposium (IWS) as a lens into Praise and Worship history. The IWS was an annual Praise and Worship teaching event that began in 1977 and peaked in the late 1980s. The theology and practice of IWS worship was built on the central claim that God “inhabits” or “is enthroned upon” the praises of God’s people (from Psalm 22:3)—an insight first popularized by Latter Rain theologian and pastoral leader Reg Layzell. I begin with the background of the Latter Rain Revival of 1948 and the impact of Reg Layzell’s theology on the churches and individuals that birthed the IWS. Through conference teaching materials, personal interviews, and other primary sources, I explore how IWS teachers expanded on this theology by the 1980s and used the Tabernacle of David as typological prism for understanding worshipers’ special access to God through Praise and Worship, especially music. My argument concludes with a case study of the critical, early influence that the IWS had on the theology and music of a major—though little-researched—player in the worship music industry: Integrity’s Hosanna! Music. Through its influence both on the thousands of individual conference participants and on the leadership of this one major company, the IWS had a central role in the dissemination or Praise and Worship’s practices and theology. In summary, I suggest that it is precisely the biblically-derived theological and liturgical understandings of the IWS that were central to the development of Praise and Worship (and its music) in the 1980s. Despite its importance, liturgical studies scholarship has largely ignored the role of Latter Rain Pentecostals and the IWS. Instead, scholars have constructed a music-industrial history of Praise and Worship that focuses primarily on musical style and attributes Praise and Worship’s origins to the Jesus People Movement of the late 1960s and 1970s. I argue that is actually Pentecostals affiliated with the Latter Rain Revival of 1948, including those who originated and led the IWS, who were most critical to the construction and mainstream dissemination of Praise and Worship during the critical period of development, which was the 1980s. In addition to focusing on the wrong people and the wrong time period, scholars have often overlooked the underlying liturgical theology of Praise and Worship, which is, I suggest, the most critical element in its historical development. Thus, the dissertation offers liturgical history as a productive frame for engaging musicological and ethnomusicological research on present-day sites while expanding the scholarship of liturgical history on the Latter Rain stream of Pentecostal worship that has contributed to contemporary transformations in global Protestant worship today.

ABSTRACT

In this dissertation I examine Calvin's trinitarian theology as it intersects his theology of materiality in order to argue for a positive theological account of the liturgical arts. I do so believing that Calvin's theology of materiality not only offers itself as a rich resource for thinking about the nature of Christian worship, it also opens up a trinitarian grammar by which we might understand the theological purposes of the arts in public worship.

Using Calvin's commentary on musical instruments as a case study, generally representative of his thinking on all the liturgical arts, I identify four emphases: that the church's worship should be (i) devoid of the "figures and shadows" which marked Israel's praise and that it emphasize instead a (ii) "spiritual," (iii) "simple," and (iv) "articulate" worship suitable to a new covenantal era. A common feature of these emphases is an anxiety over the capacity of materiality to occlude or distort the public worship of God and to mislead the worship of the faithful in idolatrous or superstitious ways. While a more narrowly patrological argument dominates Calvin's thinking on the arts in worship, I contend that it is in his thinking on creation, the resurrected body of Christ, the material symbols of worship, and the material elements of the Lord's Supper, that a distinctly trinitarian pattern of thought becomes conspicuous. Here materiality discovers its telos in the economy of God by way of its participation in the dynamic activities of Christ and the Spirit.

Taking the first three emphases in turn, while setting aside his concern for "articulate" worship as an issue more directly related to the question of metaphor rather than materiality, I argue, sometimes against Calvin, sometimes with and beyond Calvin, for a more integral role for materiality in public worship, even if this means following the logic of Calvin's theology to conclusions which he himself did not imagine. I contend that just as the triune God appropriates these distinctive material things to form and feed the church, so he takes the liturgical arts, as material artifacts, to form and feed the church in their own way, even if not on their own terms.

This dissertation is a theological exploration of liturgical prayer based on a congregational case study, one that focuses on the actual prayers of a specific worshiping community. The analysis of the prayers at The Summit Church, a congregation in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, leads to an initial conclusion: prayer times at these worship services were relatively short, focusing almost exclusively on matters related to the congregation’s mission and outreach efforts. People at Summit say that they pray a great deal, and they do—but not during corporate worship.

This dissertation interprets this seeming contradiction by drawing on two sources of cultural history. The first looks at the local history of Summit and its adoption of contemporary worship forms. The Summit Church is paradigmatic in its blending of two liturgical theologies and their sets of practices—one from the Pentecostal revival of the mid-twentieth century and the other from the Church Growth movement of about the same period. The convergence of these commitments can explain the reduction of prayer time in light of pragmatic considerations aimed at increasing service attendance.

The analysis of the congregation’s transcribed prayers reveals further connections among the prayer acts themselves and both sources of liturgical theology. The primary way God’s presence is sensed in worship is through the conversion of non-Christians, and so prayers are devoted almost exclusively to that end. The prayers themselves affirm the importance of the congregation’s commitment to mission—and its desire to increase the number of baptized Christians by proclaiming the gospel to those who have not yet accepted it—in decisions about how the church prays.

A second source of cultural history helps explain why Summit and other similar congregations have made such proclamations—and the corresponding propositional claims about God—the centerpiece of their liturgies. Catherine Pickstock’s historical reading of shifts in sacramental theology reveals that all liturgical acts, including prayer, have been altered by modern-era philosophical commitments. Specifically, Pickstock foregrounds a series of liturgical changes that have subordinated the role of the gathered body of Christ in the Western church’s imagination since the late Middle Ages. This change signals a loss of an ancient understanding of Christ’s body as comprising three mutually constitutive components: his incarnate historical body, the sacramental body, and the ecclesial body. Certain segments of Protestantism have prioritized claims about the historical body, and this has led to the kind of mission-focused liturgical praying seen at Summit.

The final section of the dissertation applies an Augustinian theology of the body to liturgical prayer. Saint Augustine’s theology of totus Christus, treated most thoroughly in his Expositions on the Psalms, offers corrections to a Western church that has lost a robust theology of the gathered body. Augustine suggests a different way of looking at the church’s role in prayer by working with the multiple interactions that the body of Christ has with its head and priest, i.e., Jesus Christ. The questions raised by looking at Summit Church thus open a way into a renewed imagination for liturgical prayers for all churches, not only Protestant, evangelical, or free church congregations. Adding an Augustinian liturgical theology to a missional emphasis like Summit’s—that is, teaching the church to pray for converts so that more voices will praise Christ and will be prayed through by Christ—is a way to enrich the prayers of the people of God.

Abstract

The Lord’s Supper has long held a position of high esteem in doctrinal statements of the United Methodist Church and the Methodist movement. John Wesley advocated for “constant communion,” and expected Band Society members to, “be at church, and at the Lord’s table, every week.” Yet, across the denomination today, despite the official position since 2004 encouraging the weekly celebration of Holy Communion, many do not partake of Holy Communion on a frequent basis. Congregational practices vary, with some celebrating Communion once per month, and others quarterly or even less frequently. While infrequent celebration does not necessarily imply a lower view of Holy Communion, I am interested in discovering the prevailing attitudes and views of today’s United Methodists regarding the Eucharist, with a focus on the Wesleyan understanding of the Christ’s Presence.

After The United Methodist Church approved an official interpretive document on baptism, a survey conducted by the General Board of Discipleship concluded that a similar resource for Holy Communion was needed. The result was This Holy Mystery: a comprehensive document adopted in 2004 with the goal of enhancing the appreciation of Holy Communion among United Methodists. The document acknowledges that many United Methodist churches have, “strayed far away from the rich liturgical and sacramental heritage of Christian tradition.” The intention of my research is to identify current “on the ground” understandings and regard for Holy Communion in comparison to a Wesleyan understanding of the Eucharist.

It is not enough for the General Conference to issue a document stating what the United Methodist Church believes about Holy Communion. This Holy Mystery is subtitled, “A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion.” And, indeed, this document articulates the doctrinal standards for Holy Communion through an exploration of principle, background, and recommended practice. However, it does not articulate the principles and practices of the people in the pews, which are not always congruent with official doctrinal standards. In order to draw United Methodists into a richer sacramental life in line with our rich Wesleyan heritage, we must understand how they view the sacraments. It is not enough to explore history and official documents; it is also necessary to include human research, interacting with today’s United Methodists. My research will be designed to answer three questions: How do United Methodists understand Christ’s Presence in the Eucharist? How did they come to their beliefs? And, what impact do these beliefs regarding his presence have on the way they value Holy Communion? I believe answering these three questions will be vital in moving toward a Eucharistic renewal in United Methodism.

In United Methodism, there seems to be a wide disconnect between contemporary understandings and practices regarding Holy Communion. While I have seen speculative articles and anecdotal accounts of why Methodists may not view Holy Communion as an essential element of worship, I have not uncovered any documented qualitative or quantitative research. If the church is serious about enhancing “appreciation of the sacrament of Holy Communion,” then it is important to understand how Methodists understand the Christ’s Presence, and to develop a better understanding of how that collective understanding has been shaped.

In order to determine what United Methodists believe about the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, how they came to their beliefs, and how that affects their perception of value in Holy Communion, I conducted an ethnographic study based on qualitative interviewing techniques, and a quantitative survey that served as a comparative backdrop to those interviewed. I found United Methodist have an understanding of Christ’s presence that illuminates their perceived value of Holy Communion, and that their understanding has been shaped primarily by experience.

As many theologians and pastors have pointed out, there is much fertile ground to be discovered in combining worship with intentional pastoral care and vice versa. This concept of pastoral care being integrated into worship is rooted in the theology of an incarnational God who is intimately involved with our daily lives. When we worship God, we encounter God’s presence, which is inherently full of grace, mercy, and love. There are times in our lives when this encounter is desperately needed for what we refer to as “healing.” Unlike physical healing, spiritual and mental healing often requires that which goes beyond the body, yet involves the body. Worship services can offer this.

As a pastor, I have taken vows to walk with people through life, to care for and nurture them spiritually. A large part of this responsibility is leading them in worship and helping them make sense of their lives, as well as helping them find words to express their life experiences as they commune with God.

This thesis will explore how the Protestant Church has ministered to congregants (or failed to minister to them) through two specific life experiences: miscarriage and sexual abuse. Through surveys and interviews, I will share real stories and examples of how these individuals felt cared for (or uncared for). Finally, I will offer new liturgy for worship services that might offer pastoral care to people in similar situations. Each service will include liturgy, suggested music, Scripture passages recommended for a sermon, and ideas for interactive elements that will allow people to acknowledge their feelings and stand together in community while turning to God for hope and healing.

This thesis provides a hip-hop based curriculum that the black church can use to engage young black men in spiritual formation. Due to the negative lyrics heard in hip-hop music, many churches have rejected this style of music in their church, sometimes even demonizing those who identify with the genre. I argue that there is precedence for the church to utilize hip-hop music because the church has a history of utilizing popular culture, in particular music, to attract and engage young people in church. Moreover, individuals are formed and gain identity from more than just church music, and being aware of popular culture helps the church develop healthy relationships with young people because it tells young people that the church recognizes their music is more than just a fad, but an essential piece of their identity. My thesis expands on the historical moments where the church has used secular music to evangelize young people while offering portraits of two churches, The Tribe in New York City and Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis, that currently use a genre of popular music as a tool for helping young people gain a closer relationship with God. In addition, this thesis argues for the use of curriculum, a pedagogical approach, for engaging young black males in spiritual formation. In order to create this curriculum, I listened to a large selection of hip-hop music, past and current, and evaluated

the lyrics and themes of each song to select the songs I thought would lead to great dialogue among the participants. This thesis concludes with the creation of a Christian curriculum that uses hip-hop music as its foundation.

Since the 1990s, the Pentecostal theological guild has emerged with the aim of re-envisioning all the theological subdisciplines through the distinctive Pentecostal experience. Alongside this increase in Pentecostal theological scholarship, there has been a corollary increase in Pentecostal liturgical scholarship. Reflecting the aims and ethos of its broader context in Pentecostal theology, Pentecostal liturgical scholarship has re-envisioned Pentecostal worship by retrieving the distinctive practices and theologies of the first five-ten years of Pentecostalism (ressourcement) and reconceptualizing that history through dialogue with systematic theology and other liturgical traditions (aggiornamento). However, this approach has left a critical lacuna in the scholarship: consideration of the lived reality of Pentecostal worship either in the intervening century since early Pentecostalism or in its current expression. Little of the scholarship has tried to understand the relationship between the pentecostal-charismatic rule of belief (lex credendi) and their rule of prayer (lex orandi) as actually lived by Pentecostals across time. This lacuna constitutes a grave absence of liturgical history for Pentecostalism.In response to this lacuna, the dissertation presents two historical case studies on the worship of pentecostal-charismatic organizations that emerged after the early Pentecostal period. Both organizations—the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOPKC) and 24-7 Prayer—are prominent leaders in the 24/7 worship movement that emerged at the end of the twentieth century. In both case studies, the history starts by describing the theology of worship that each organization has held and how this theology shaped their respective practice of worship. Despite emerging in a similar timeframe and from a similar historical tradition, not only have both organizations appealed to different biblical motifs in understanding Christian worship but they have also approached the task of theologizing about worship in different ways. The dissertation, therefore, proceeds to uncover the deeper theological influences that placed these organizations’ worship upon different trajectories. IHOPKC’s theology of worship was built on an early Pentecostal theological method that has also incorporated later biblical ideas that arose within the 1948 Latter Rain revival. By contrast, 24-7 Prayer’s theology of worship reflected the biblical and methodological consensus that emerged in the wake of the Third Wave movement of the 1980s and its transformation of British Evangelical and Charismatic Christianity. Together, the case studies demonstrate both the diversity of pentecostal-charismatic worship and the explicit and implicit ways in which distinct theological and historical ecosystems have given shape to pentecostal-charismatic worship. The dissertation concludes that such liturgical history as was outlined in the case studies is indispensable for the work of Pentecostal liturgical theology. With particular reference to Pentecostal theologian Simon Chan, the dissertation argues how liturgical history should shape and inform Pentecostal liturgical scholarship. Ultimately, liturgical history describes the actual lived context this scholarship should serve. Thus, to theologize for this ecclesial context should necessitate its consideration as a methodological starting place.