Good Worship: Articulating Standards of Excellence in Worship without Becoming the Liturgy Police

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Notes

Notes

By orandi I mean the words, gestures, actions, and all that make up the particular practices of the church at prayer, often codified in prayer books, etc. Likewise, credendi refers to theological convictions—often articulated in documents (creeds, confessions, etc.) that codify those beliefs. On the use or misuse of lex orandi, lex credendi, see Michael Church, “The Law of Begging: Prosper at the End of the Day,” Worship 73, no. 5 (September, 1999): 442–53.

See James K. A. Smith, Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009).

See Mark Labberton, The Dangerous Act of Worship (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2009).

John Witvliet, “Teaching Worship as a Christian Practice,” in For Life Abundant: Practical Theology, Theological Education and Christian Ministry, eds. Dorothy C. Bass and Craig Dykstra (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006), 144–45.

World Communion of Reformed Churches, “Worshipping the Triune God: Receiving and Sharing Christian Wisdom across Continents and Centuries” (2010), WCRC.ch, http://www.wcrc.ch//sites/default/files/Worshiping_the_Triune_God.pdf, accessed September 27, 2013.

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Ron Rienstra

Ron Rienstra is the assistant professor of preaching and worship arts at Western Theological Seminary. The school is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, in which Ron received his ordination.