Christ-Centered Worship book discussion #1

The Dove Mountain Church Session is reading Bryan Chapell's book, Christ-Centered Worship, and discussing it together. For December, we read the first three chapters and discussed them on the second Wednesday.

Below are the discussion questions that I presented to the elders prior to our discussion; feel free to read the book and make use of these.


Overarching Questions

• In each of the various liturgies, and in our liturgy, how do the liturgical elements account for the "stranger in our midst"— those who are unfamiliar with, or unbelieving toward, the Gospel? How do the elements disregard unbelievers?
  
• What do the liturgies (including ours) — and our congregation's participation in them — communicate about the various elements of worship? How can we employ different forms, styles, and/or modes of these elements to accomplish the same goals?

Chapter 1

• What are some ways that you have seen structure communicate a clear message?
  
• In what ways are we in danger of being ineffective communicators in our worship?
  
• Looking at the chart in chapter 1 (surveying the different liturgical patterns), where do you see similarities in the various traditional liturgies? Where do you see differences?
  
• At this point in our reading, where is our liturgy similar to the various liturgies on that chart? Where is our liturgy different from them?

Chapter 2

• What elements of the Roman Catholic worship liturgy do you see echoes and hold-overs of, in our liturgy? What elements have you seen carried over in other congregations that you have worshipped with?


Chapter 3

• One of Luther's goals in shaping his liturgy was to make worship a more participatory experience, in order to emphasize the communal nature of the church. What are some ways that this goal is met in our congregation's liturgy? What are some ways it could be better met?
  
• Are you surprised to see how much of Luther's liturgy continues the forms of the Roman Catholic liturgy? Why or why not?