By Bradford Winters
Undoubtedly, such a hybrid form of worship would be every bit as difficult to implement as it is to pronounce. Episcopentecostalianism. Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. But as a dissatisfied Christian for whom church remains an experience of longings unmet and clubby divisions on the traditional or charismatic side of the line, it’s exactly what I want.
A card-carrying member of the “frozen chosen” who grew up in the Episcopal church and can’t grow out of it as much as I’ve tried at times, I know all too well, and often agree with, the charges levied against it from the other side of that line: it’s mechanical, dry, regurgitative, and uninspired. And for all its rote maneuvers, they still don’t know when to stand or sit!
Fair enough. Been there, done that, still there and still doing it. And at times it drives me crazy.
But I’ve also spent some time in the opposite camp, dating back to my spiritual walkabout during and after college, when a brief fling with Transcendental Meditation in Palo Alto left me game for my foray into a Full Gospel fellowship in New York City once I graduated. And while I won’t lend unqualified assent to the kinds of charges laid against this side—it’s exhibitionist, fear-based, and overly emotive—I will say that I’ve seen enough evidence of each to determine that the Holy Spirit is often needed as much to temper the “raving saved” as to excite the “frozen chosen.”
To be sure, many in the more tradition-minded camps need a very serious reckoning with the type of church Jesus himself had in mind, as expressed in the last chapter of Mark:
And wonders will follow those who believe these things. In my name they will cast out demons; and they will speak with new tongues...and they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.
The implication is clear—no wonders, no belief—and it goes without saying that Jesus would have hardly settled for a life of predictable, buttoned-up worship services followed by coffee hour.
So why do we?
Over 30 years in the Episcopal church, and not once have I seen a demon cast out, a new tongue spoken, or a sickness healed by the laying on of hands. And if I were to conduct an informal poll of all the other Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox that I know, I’m quite sure I’d find the same answer time and again: a big, fat—or little, scrawny—No.
To be just as sure, though, many in the more charismatic-minded camps could use a healthy dose of ancient leadership that the traditional liturgy affords, which, if properly absorbed in spite of whatever stultifying customs go with it, never fails to be a humbling and centering anchor in the Word.
Be it the Collect or Nicene Creed, the scheduled readings from the lectionary or the Confession of Sin, the tethering effect of this weekly ritual—spiritually, historically, bodily and Bodily—is not to be underestimated.
So what does one do in a position like mine? For the time being, at least, probably continue attending my neighborhood Episcopal church, while often turning my iPod or DirecTV to talks and conferences that have a more charismatic bent.
But allow me for a moment (and for better or worse) to imagine a Sunday service in which I get to have the best of both worlds, where the Book of Common Prayer meets the spirit of uncommon church:
THE HOLY EUCHARIST: RITE III
THE WORD OF GOD
Let the call to worship begin as scripted in the Book of Common Prayer, but thread the doxologies with sufficient moments of silence or appropriate music (one key, please, not the whole organ and choir) to tune the ear.
The Collect of the Day
It’s probably asking too much, but I’d love a trumpet to signal these priceless invocations that I used to ignore.
The Lessons
Don’t give “pastor’s choice” on the Old Testament or Epistles just to save time; it’s both plus a Gospel passage for good and revelatory reason, and it’s up to the pastor to thread the three together. Make it “parishioner’s choice” as to whether (s)he can bear to spare the extra few minutes to hear three readings instead of two.
The Sermon
You’d think that sometimes Yahweh has something different to say come Sunday than what the pastor prepared between Tuesday and Saturday. Both sides of the pulpit should allow for unwavering spontaneity and sovereign movements of the Holy Spirit. Needless to say, pastor must be attuned to said movements.
The Nicene Creed
Written in 325 AD, it still reads like front-page news.
The Prayers of the People
As scripted in BCP, but can we also stoke the atmosphere with something truly corporate and of the moment? Can we allow more than the usual five seconds for “additional petitions and thanksgivings,” and encourage a setting like that on Pentecost in the Book of Acts? (As traditional as it gets.) Waiting and silence are to be honored, then testimonies and tongues to be invited; this may bring about healings and deliverances.
Confession of Sin
As scripted, since you or I can’t say it any better. If healings and deliverances haven’t yet transpired, the time is now.
The Peace
All the more so if it’s been preceded by the outpourings noted above.
THE HOLY COMMUNION
The Offertory plates are to be rimmed with glass eyes. Just kidding.
The Great Thanksgiving
As scripted.
The Breaking of the Bread
I have my problems with the “baptized Christians only” stricture, having felt painfully excluded at times by the “baptized Catholics only” one, not to mention the company in which Jesus often broke bread. But I’m aware there are valid problems with my problems, so we’ll cross that bridge if we get there.
Unfortunately, at this point my Episcopentecostal church remains a congregation of one.
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Which is a good thing, because the deficits of The Church of the Terribly Tasteful are manifold. Most parishioners know astonishingly little about the Bible, though they hear great swaths of it each week. Kids expect to "opt out" of church school at age 12, because it's always been done this way.
So why stay? I'm blessed to be a part of a very small Episcopal church, where things often go awry and make us laugh at ourselves. There might be smells and bells AND a kid running up the aisle in a Superman cape, or a fire alarm from across the street. Or the ADD-diagnosed priest loses a place in the liturgy and folks shout directions from the choir. I stay because I never know what will happen next.
I DO miss singing-without-paper, and praying-without-paper. My church makes the most God-awful mess of gospel singing, making every note as square and pale as it could possibly be. Although they love songs in Swahili and songs requiring exotic instruments, they would DIE rather than let an electric guitar in the sanctuary.
I miss fresh and spontaneous styles of worship, but I can't imagine leaving the liturgy behind for something more "exciting." I like your suggestions to slow down, to ask more of a form that allows for participation. Sometimes we do. Sometimes we lay on hands and pray for the sick to be healed. Sometimes we say "come Holy Spirit" and we mean it. I pray for more of those times.
The concerns you raise seem heartily valid--Kierkegaard knew what he was talking about when he spoke about the difficulty of becoming a Christian when one is already a Christian (e.g. a baptized member).
Here's a quotation from his Concluding Scientific Postscript:
A childish orthodoxy, a pusillanimous Bible interpretation, a foolish and un-Christian defense of Christianity, and the defender's bad conscience about their own relation to it are among the things that in our time contribute their part to prompting passionate and demented attacks upon Christianity.
A commitment to more of the spirit seems the best of directions, so here's to Episcopentecostalianism.
Personally, I want them all. It took me 35 years to find them all in the same church, but I'm thankful to have found them. Good luck in your search.
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