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(More customer reviews)Marva Dawn asks how can the Church reach out, without losing its powerful message? Having attended many churches, I believe the Christian message is often "dumbed down" to fill pews. Dawn confronts our long-held views of worship. Worship, she says, is about God, not us. Christ, not entertainment value, is its meaning. Dawn reinforced my current beliefs, though I wish I had read her book earlier. I attended a "contemporary" church (she points out that it is more like an 80's church; if truly "contemporary" it would use trendier music), and found little depth. As I was discovering the riches of Christian tradition, my old church was proudly ignoring the past. Ultimately, she says we practice idolatry when we mimic empty secular culture, instead of transcending it.
Contrary to popular notions, "contemporary" churches don't appeal to all young persons. Dawn tells about a college student who left a "contemporary" service saying his intelligence was insulted. Many tire of being entertained, especially when their lives become rough and upbeat songs don't cut it, and the power-point presentations become indistinguishable from any other self-help seminar. Worship should subvert culture. Since the true gospel is shocking, it is not something that is able to be mass-marketed.
Dawn is not an old-timer. She believes that some traditionalists have let the liturgy become stale. The idolatry of "doing things as they always have been done" is no better than embracing secular society. She is not a future-fearing hidebound; she wants us to engage Christianity's rich history, but not just follow it blindly. She believes that liturgy, "the work of the people," should indeed be the people's work, not just the pastor's. The meaning of the liturgy should be taught so we can understand its fullness: confession, thanks, prayer, etc. Memorized forms, e.g. creeds and prayers, are important, because they create a solid believing community, rather than a fragmented loose association.
Yes, some of her arguments are forced, but I do hope her ideas will challenge us to worship God in Word and Sacrament (instead of being entertained), and build community (instead of just numbers). I want to share a few excerpts. Dawn discusses Youth Sunday at her Church. Everyone expected the youth to design a contemporary service. However, the youth did a traditional service, and chose old, deep hymns! I too have found that most youth want something deep, but are usually forced to endure hype-heavy study materials (which to the teen are patronizing). I was a teen 4 years ago, and the belief that teens only want contemporary is a myth. Another point Dawn makes is that worship services rarely convert anyone (friends do this). Conversion services are based on a false premise. All in all, she wants us to abandon both stagnant traditionalism and the business-church, and worship God as a tight-knit community with character, grounded in our living tradition.
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