The views expressed in this article are of the author only and do not necessarily represent those of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
Liturgical Mission: The Work of the People for the Life of the World
Winfield Bevins
IVP (2022). 200 pp.
In this accessible volume, Bevins lays out a case for what he coins “missional liturgy.” This is a clever use of language that plays on non-traditional “low church” forms of worship driven by missional and evangelistic impulses, and counters that traditional liturgy has missional impulses as well—if only we have eyes to see it at work. This is not a call to return to ancient forms of worship per se, but a helpful guide for current pastors and leaders to show how traditional church liturgies might provide rich resources to deepen and broaden a church’s impact in their particular missional context.
Bevins divides his book into two parts, each based on the subtitle of the book, which is also his definition of liturgy itself: Part 1, “The Work of the People,” and Part 2, “For the Life of the World.” In part 1, Bevins recounts a particular liturgical movement that caught steam at the end of the nineteenth century led by a Benedictine monk in France named Dom Prosper. He connected this movement to the official “Liturgical Movement” which was reinforced in the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). This council established principles of liturgies that fostered more engagement with the laity, most notably by deciding that services were no longer required to be in Latin. This move broke a barrier between Catholic and Protestant worship styles that eventually culminated with evangelical liturgical converts by the twenty-first century (p.18). Recounting the efforts of Robert Webber (see p. 21), Bevins shows how ancient worship practices found a way into low church cultures. He also shows how this same movement empowered the laity in high church traditions. The remainder of Part One makes the case that liturgy invites congregants into a grand story bigger than themselves. In contrast to the postmodern worldview in which meaning is vanishing, the Christian story roots people in something that is real and ancient (p. 42). Bevins uses the metaphor of a symphony as a way to understand how liturgy can be transformative. Just as a symphony uses several movements to produce a final “wow” moment, so too the different features of a liturgical service aims to produce a growing disciple who is on mission (p. 57).
After part 1, Bevins inserts an interlude before going into part 2. This intermission is a reflection on the Lord’s Prayer. He frames this prayer as a model for missional liturgies (p. 84). Leaning on Karl Barth, he says that to pray the Lord’s Prayer itself is the beginning of an uprising against the kingdom of this world. Also, when you pray the Lord’s Prayer, you never pray alone.
In part 2, Bevins unpacks how liturgies impact the world and a Christian’s posture toward the world. Starting with a trinitarian framework (p. 96), the sending of the people out of the sanctuary ought to have both a unifying dimension (p. 119) and an orientation towards service (p. 137) and justice (p. 150). Liturgy is fundamentally missional in that it “benedicts” the church into the world after every service. Liturgy is mission in that it is fundamentally the work of the people; in other words, an otherwise passive audience is now activated through liturgy to be agents of God’s mission in the world. The final chapter, “Join the Fiesta,” argues that liturgy does not eliminate individual cultures but works in relationship with them for God’s purposes and the good of the people (p. 147).
After reading this book, a couple of questions emerged. Does a mission-focused liturgy have non-Christians or spiritual explorers who might actually be in the church service in mind for the liturgy itself? So much of the liturgy is focused on leaving the church and going out into the world, but the fruit of mission in any church community is that non-Christians actually come to church. Seeker-friendly contemporary worship services often have the experience of this non-church person in mind in their music style, which is missional to the extent it is thoughtful of a non-Christian’s experience in service. Of course, a steady diet of it can lead to shallow worship experiences that Bevins book addresses. However, I was hoping that Bevins would address this real situation in his work and how his vision of liturgy might be experienced by exploring non-Christians who are in a church service. Unfortunately, he does not.
Second, he seems to fall into a way of thinking that liturgical worship is in contrast to the “rock concert” experience of many evangelical churches. What is perplexing is the reality that any good rock concert borrows insights from liturgical practice. In other words, a rock concert is very thoughtful in how the songs are arranged—identical to his symphony illustration in part 1—in order to produce a “wow” moment that sticks with the concert goer. I think issues of music preference and style are more at play here than issues of liturgical process or spiritual depth.
With these issues noted, Bevins work is still an excellent introduction to liturgy and missional formation. I highly recommend it for any church leader who desires worship services to be more thoughtful and intentionally transformative.
Dave Morlan (PhD, Durham University) is the co-founder and Pastor of Fellowship Denver in Denver, CO. He is a member of the St. Anselm Fellowship of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
