Jeffrey Truscott, ELCA missionary serving in Singapore

Because of teaching in a theological college (Trinity Theological College, Singapore), I am sometimes invited to preach at the churches of former students. Recently, while preaching at one such church, I was struck by the fact that outside of the preaching text, there was actually very little scripture used in the service. Because it sought to imitate the free-flowing “praise and worship” approach of growth-driven mega-churches, this service relied on the lay worship leader’s ability to pray, encourage, and make transitional statements from one part of the service to the next – all spontaneously, of course! As you could imagine, such “worship leaders” would have to be well-grounded biblically in order to offer a worship experience of substance. (Some of us might wonder why Christians would even want a “style” of worship that puts so much into the hands of one person.)

I would offer two reflections on this worship experience. First, if a church thinks that “formality,” “structure,” and traditional liturgical texts can make a service less than “user-friendly,” and therefore anti-evangelistic, they should also consider that the “spontaneous” approach can leave it scripturally impoverished. Not sharing a biblical message is surely the height of being “unevangelistic.” Second, after worshipping at this church (and at others here in Singapore) I realize how scripturally “rich” our Lutheran liturgy is! Specifically:

• The structure of our liturgy is scriptural. The two liturgical pillars of the service, the sharing of God’s Word and the celebration of Holy Communion, reflect the two ways in which the risen Lord is experienced according to the New Testament: through his word and in the meal of bread and wine. See Luke 24.13-35.
• The main content of our liturgy is Scripture. The normal Sunday service in Lutheran Churches will include three Bible readings and possibly a responsive Psalm. These readings not only familiarize us with the contents of the Bible, but they remind us of who we are as God’s redeemed people.
• The language and theology of our liturgy is scriptural. The hymns, liturgical canticles (e.g., Gloria, Sanctus, Lamb of God, Nunc Dimittis), Prayer of the Day, and Eucharistic Prayer all use the language of the Bible and share the biblical message of salvation in Jesus Christ.

As Lutherans, we are blessed by the liturgy, then, not only because we have predictable patterns and recurring texts, but because the liturgy keeps us biblically grounded. By doing this, our liturgy feeds us with the riches of Christ himself. Would that we helped other Christians realize what great liturgical treasures are available for them – perhaps even in their own worship tradition if they only bothered to look for them.

As it happens, after this recent experience I did share some of my post-preaching reflections on the worship service with my former student. I recommended that she or her church purchase The Worship Sourcebook from the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship. This book is a great ecumenical resource that can biblically enrich the worship of any church, perhaps even a Lutheran Church.

I hope that the worship and preaching of your church is blessing you with the riches of the Bible, just as you enrich me with your prayers and support.