Bit of a Church Growth essay by Rydecki.
Well that was a different kind of service, wasn't it? Did somebody make a mistake? I mean, this conference is supposed to be focusing on the liturgy, but I have to be honest, I've attended Lutheran worship every Sunday for 32 years, and I've never heard or sung anything like the music we heard and sang this morning. Are we sure that was the liturgy? Well, did we review the standard gospel truths of the Ordinary? We did. Did we focus on a specific gospel truth through the songs and texts of the Proper? We did. Did we celebrate Christ's meal? We did.
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We can apply similar principles to adapt the liturgy for the multi-generational, multi-cultural situation of our WELS churches in the United States. Not all people crave different or contemporary styles. But some do, both young and old. They don't have to abandon the liturgy to find them. The liturgy can be adapted, even to forms of Jazz or Gospel or folk music, depending on the circumstances.
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So, we're back to the question: What are we going to do with the liturgy? Three choices stand before us. We can keep doing what we're doing right now. We can set the auto-pilot and stay with the orders of service provided in Christian Worship indefinitely. That will work for some churches in some communities for awhile. But in others, it may mean that we'll lose touch with a growing number of members and seekers alike who find especially the music of these services to be limiting or foreign and, therefore, sometimes inadequate styles for communicating the gospel.
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Essay
https://connect.wels.net/AOM/ps/worship/Worship%20and%20Outreach/Plenary-Changing%20Music%20of%20Liturgy-Rydecki.rtf
The essay was linked here
https://connect.wels.net/AOM/ps/worship/Worship%20and%20Outreach/Forms/AllItems.aspx
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GJ - The nature of the "conservative" WELS pastor begins to emerge from the evidence.
Rydecki dared to question the idiocy of The Guilt Factory (aka The Love Shack) and immediately reversed engines. Like the Titantic, he still hit the iceberg, becoming the Peter Wagner Professor of UOJ for the Intrepid Lutherans.
The effluent quoted above is suited for a spirited defense of The BORE in Fox Valley.
Here is a message for all those who are ashamed they are Lutherans. We are also ashamed that you are Lutherans.
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Daniel Baker has left a new comment on your post "The Not-So-Intrepid Rydecki":
To play devil's advocate (because this is legitimately perplexing to me):
What is the purpose of hymns at all? If efficacy of the Word means that we cannot place limitations on it, then why have liturgy and hymns? Would it not simply be effective to read the Gospel and administer the Sacrament? Isn't the filler unnecessary? Some might say that the liturgy serves to portray the Gospel more fully in an orderly way. Fine. But what's the hang up with singing? Are we implying that singing the hymns somehow teaches people better or makes the meaning more applicable to them?
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GJ - Are you dropping the sermon too? The liturgy and hymns teach the Gospel as well. As I recall, the Old Testament has its own hymnal, called The Psalms.
Creeds and hymns are similar - they are man's witness to what is taught in the Scriptures. The historic liturgy is 100% from the Scriptures. The Seeker Services are 100% from Fuller Seminary's entertainment division.
I would drop the announcements. No one listens to them anyway, except to check whether the minister forgot to emphasize one particular agenda item. And did he mispronounce the last name of our charter member - Siegfried Aufdembergesitzimleben?
