What is the Video “With the Whole Church”?

 

   If Renewing Worship is approved at this summer’s Churchwide Assembly, a seven minute video by the name of “With the Whole Church” will become official study material for the ELCA.  The final paragraph of the Renewing Worship motion to be voted on at the 2005 Churchwide Assembly reads:

 

“…to invite study together of With the Whole Church as a resource for deepening awareness of the significance of worship in the life of each believer,” (2005 CWA Pre-Assembly Report, Section IV, p. 17).

 

   This video was shown at most of this year’s synod assemblies.  Pastor Norman Olsen offers the following description & review of the video:

 

“With The Whole Church,” a brief DVD promotional piece for Renewing Worship, featuring Michael Burk, Director For Worship, ELCA, tries to sell the vision of “the whole church” (worldwide or just the ELCA?) caught up in the excitement of the soon-to-be-released Renewing Worship resources and hymnal.  But the intended audience and prospective customers (they're us ) readily see through the commercialism to the poor product.  “The church,” says Michael Burk, “is moving us to a new generation of worship resources.”  But just what “church” is doing that?  The leaders at Higgins Road?  I thought the “church” was the people (the ecclesia).

Conrad Bergendoff, a leader in the Augustana Synod for many years, once said that the Lutheran Church is NOT a liturgical church; it is a confessional church that happens to have a liturgy.  But that's not the message of this promotional video, with pastors robed in layers of brocaded finery, smoldering incense, worshippers sprinkled with holy water, and strange new hymns to replace our hearty Lutheran hymn singing.

Pastor Burk tells us, “We are grounded in baptism.”  I thought we were grounded in the Word.  Again we're told that Renewing Worship “…gives us what we need to worship faithfully and well.”  I remember Jesus saying that we needed to worship “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23), not pomp and circumstance.  And we're told about our rich “diversity” that has “much in common,” while we look at worship practices on the DVD we never “held in common” before, such as the afore mentioned burning incense, sprinkling with holy water, and heavily vested pastors in multi-layered and extravagant vestments.  This is definitely a “return to Rome” liturgy that leaves behind our own rich, confessing and teaching liturgy.  In fact, it's probably more Roman than Rome, or more Episcopal than Roman.  Obviously there is no one on the Renewing Worship committee to bring the much vaunted “diversity” to this undertaking!  The select committee was closed to those who would definitely disagree with the finished material.

Judging from this DVD, the focus of Renewing Worship is on what WE are doing for God rather than on what GOD is doing for us. Again we're told that Renewing Worship is “the church at work.”  (And how busy we worshippers are!)  I thought we were supposed to be the church at worship, not work; to listen like Mary instead of busying ourselves like Martha while in His Presence.  The name of Jesus Christ is not even mentioned in the video, as I recall, as the object of our worship.  Nor is there any scene, or word, showing the worshippers confessing sin in a mood of repentance.  What comes through instead is the celebration of our “diversity” amid our “common practices.”  Luther said that worship is nothing else but this, that God comes to us and we respond with prayer and praise.

I believe this promotional piece accurately conveys what Renewing Worship is all about, and why it is not ready for use in our churches.  Hopefully approval of it will be postponed by our Churchwide Assembly, to allow for further study and input... with the whole church!