Lutheran Book of Worship: a Gift of the Church.

A Gift of the Church. That positive phrase was the title of the first section of the Guide to introducing Lutheran Book of Worship that congregations used back in 1978. I want to suggest some ways in which the LBW indeed has been a gift to Lutheran congregations across North America.

As we consider the short life span of LBW, I always try to put it in the context of the 2000-year-old conversation that we call the Christian liturgy. Assemblies of Christians around word and sacrament were encountering God in the event of communal worship long before this worship resource appeared, but LBW has served congregations in significant ways in this generation.

In his study of Christian worship, Dom Gregory Dix suggests that deep changes in worship patterns generally take from 70 to 100 years.' In a time that invites constant change, it may serve us well, before we dismiss the LBW, to befriend the treasures of the tradition that it has bequeathed to us and cultivate the seeds that still have potential to bear fruit.

Key things that were emphasized in LBW include the following: baptismal accents in various liturgies; centrality of both word and sacrament each Lord's day; a clear Paschal focus; use of lay assisting ministers; fuller congregational participation; variations that provide a spectrum from a simple rite to a festive and full rite; ecumenical convergence; fuller use of psalms; appeal to all the senses; expanded use of the Bible in liturgy and lectionary; new liturgical music and hymns; a strong use of trinitarian language; more inclusive language; a stress on thanksgiving; a fuller resource for daily prayer; rich rites for Holy Week and the Triduum. (2) These and other aspects of the LBW are gifts for the worship life of the church. Gordon Lathrop writes that "the real intention of the gifts of the LBW is the surprising encounter with God ... in the gospel of the crucified and the life of the Trinity." (3)

Baptismal focus

A stated goal of LBW was "to restore to Holy Baptism the liturgical rank and dignity implied by Lutheran theology, and to draw out the baptismal motifs in such acts as the confession of sin and the burial of the dead."' Various rites in the Occasional Services book such as "Recognition of Ministries in the Congregation" or "Affirmation of Vocation in the World" put in ritual form the Lutheran theological stress on Christian vocation that is given in baptism. This has undergirded the use of lay assisting ministers in shared leadership roles with ordained presiding ministers.

Confession and forgiveness have been more closely tied ritually to baptism. While we have stressed theologically that daily confession and forgiveness reflect the baptismal structure or pattern of our lives in Christ, formerly worshipers did not see the connection in worship. As pastors have done the Brief Order of Confession and Forgiveness from the font and invited people to retrace the sign of the cross over their bodies at the baptismal naming of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the connection is being made. (The connection is even clearer when the lids on fonts are removed and water fills the font or pool. After all, we are not into dry cleaning!)

The recovery of the communal dimension of baptism has moved pastors and congregations to include baptisms within Sunday public worship. Private baptisms tended to make baptisms a biological family affair rather than a congregational act. In addition to family sponsors, some congregations are adding congregational sponsors to stress that this newly baptized person is now part of our community and our responsibility.

As I reflect on some nuances and contributions of the baptism liturgy in LBW, I see several things that have enriched worship life of congregations. More biblical images are put before us in Luther's Flood Prayer and remind the baptized that they are now inserted into that story as they pass through this saving flood. As adults come to faith and seek baptism, the missionary or evangelical character of baptism comes to the fore in making disciples. Congregations are rediscovering their "disciple-making mission" and their call to be catechumenal communities. Lay representatives who give the candle, pour the water, and welcome the baptized, and the whole congregation that witnesses the rite, underline that "in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body" (1 Cor 12:13). The gift of grace in baptism draws us into the self-giving of God as we are swept up into Christ's mission for the world; the welcome at the end of the baptismal liturgy led by a representative of the congregation stresses the vocation of all Christians implicit in baptism. The laying on of hands with the "confirmation prayer" for God to pour out the Spirit on the baptized as a new Pentecost takes seriously the biblical call that we "live by the Spirit" (Gal 5:16) as we "have been born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5). The possibilities for Christian identity are strong as people recall that prophets, royalty, and priests were anointed and that Christ was "the anointed one." As the newly baptized are anointed, they are reminded that they part of "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation" that they "may proclaim the mighty acts" of God (1 Pet 2:9).

All of this prompts a lively awareness of baptism's continuing relevance for Christian life and mission. If I were to say, "I was married," you might assume that I am now divorced or widowed. But while "I was married" on a certain date, I am still married. People are gaining new awareness that not only were they baptized, they are baptized. The various dimensions of the LBW baptismal rite have helped individuals and congregations grasp the rich gifts that God gives the church in Holy Baptism.

Word and Sacrament

Word and Sacrament go together. LBW by its layout suggests that the main Sunday service be a service of both proclamation of the Word and celebration of Holy Communion. I had a professor who said that this was not merely a conjunction but a theological "and." We have seen congregations move from Word and "occasional Sacrament" toward every-Sunday celebration of the Word and Meal. Along with this more frequent celebration of both Word and Sacrament, we are discovering that younger children sense this gift in Communion and are being shaped by this gift of Christ's grace and presence. They get it. They know it is "for you".... and for them!

As this pattern of Word and Sacrament becomes the central focus of our Sunday assemblies, we also find that people of faith seek to have their weddings and funerals of loved ones in the context of a full liturgy of Word and Lord's Supper. The profound pairing of these means of grace is deepening worshipers' encounter with God in Jesus Christ through the power of the Spirit.

Generations were deprived of the life-giving gifts of the mutuality of Word and Communion by the private mass or infrequent communion practice. Now, as in baptismal practice, we are discovering that congregations not only receive the Body of Christ but sense in profound new ways that they are being formed into the Body of Christ for God's mission in the world. That is a gift for the world.

The ELCA's The Use of the Means of Grace continues the trajectory set by the liturgies of LBW and suggests that new worship resources will build on the rich traditions that LBW has passed on from past generations.

Signs of unity

One of the gifts of LBW is its ecumenical vision shared with other Christian churches. Because all churches read the Scriptures and proclaim the Word, they thought that it would be beneficial to work toward a common lectionary. Now the gift to neighbors or co-workers from different denominations is that on Sunday they have likely read the same biblical texts, so conversations during the week can reflect on what God is saying to the churches.

Basic texts for the liturgy were translated by ecumenical committees for use in the various churches. Now when people visit other churches, many of them have similar liturgical texts, patterns for reading the Bible, and patterns for Sunday worship. In a world torn apart by tensions and divided over many issues, worship that provides a sign of unity is certainly a gift. Pastors and lay persons from different denominations can join together in Sunday text studies because they hold those texts in common.

Lay worship leadership

Lutherans along with other Protestants and Roman Catholics have been stressing that worship is the action of the entire Christian community. This was emphasized in a 1979 LWF statement: "We need to regain the concept of an acting assembly presided over by the pastor. For that concept to receive adequate ritual expression, unordained ministers must function in capacities of leadership as a matter of principle, not just to compensate for having only one pastor." (5)

LBW clearly calls for laity to fill assisting minister roles in most of its liturgies. In most congregations lay persons present the first and second lessons. That is a return to the ancient communal leadership model of the early church. However, there are some things we still can do more effectively. Often a lector is simply given a text without any shared study or guidance for how the lector can most effectively proclaim it. I have found that where the pastor or another leader in the congregation meets with the lectors for a liturgical season, new insights are gained, and practicing various ways of presenting the texts makes for snore dynamic communication of the Word.

In one of my classes we work on oral interpretations of the Word with seminarians. One student related an experience in his contextual education parish. He worked on an effective interpretation of the biblical lesson. After the service, a worshiper asked him what version of the Bible he had used. Caught off guard, he said he thought it was the NRSV. She asked if he was certain. He said he was confident that it was. Then she said, "I guess it was the way you read it that made it seem new." That could happen more often with preparation and practice.

The Prayers or the Prayer of the Faithful suggest that a lay assisting minister lead the petitions of the congregation. I find in my travels around the church that fewer pastors invite lay assisting ministers to lead prayers, although some will have them pray prayers preprinted in publishing-house inserts or other sources. There is opportunity here to deepen the congregation's understanding of and practice of prayer. A group of members could be recruited, for example, to serve as the congregation's intercessors for a year and then meet during that year to deepen their understanding and experience of prayer. They could help each other discern what the needs of the congregation are and ways to lift up the world to God in the congregation's communal prayer. This pattern is new for us, and we are still searching for ways to make it more effective. We might find that people ask, echoing Jesus' disciples, "Pastor, teach us to pray."

In the liturgies of Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Prayer at the Close of the Day, lay people can fill all the leadership roles. If preaching is part of those liturgies, that would be the one thing the pastor would do!

In the Baptism liturgy, there is clear involvement of the whole congregation as a baptizing community. It is no longer a private pastoral act done away from the congregation into whose life and mission this person is received. The lay representative who lights the baptismal candle from the Paschal candle is ideally a symbol of the congregation's continuing care for the newly baptized. For an infant, this may be a person teaching Sunday School. The lay representative who welcomes the newly baptized ideally will be an elected officer or council member who represents all the baptized. These are all ways in which the acting assembly at worship shares leadership with the clergy.

God's mission in worship

In The Use of the Means of Grace, the ELCA's 1997 statement on the practice of Word and Sacrament, the last section is titled "The Means of Grace and Christian Mission." (6) The gift that LBW offers includes the dismissal at the end of the Sunday liturgy, which stresses this mission and vocation of the baptized as a lay assisting minister sends the congregation into the new week: "Go in peace. Serve the Lord."

The mission of God in Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit sweeps the worshiping congregation up into that mission as it hears and celebrates the proclaimed Word and Holy Communion. The prayers pay attention to the congregation's call to ministry in the world as they lift up the laments, intercessions, praise and thanksgiving of this mission people.

The baptismal liturgy certainly has added a strong Lutheran baptismal motif in ritually stressing our vocation and mission that arises out God's grace for us. The lay representative says, "Through Baptism God has made these brothers and sisters members of the priesthood we all share in Christ Jesus, that we may proclaim the praise of God and bear his creative and redeeming Word to all the world." Then all the baptized respond: "We welcome you into the Lord's family. We receive you as fellow members of the body of Christ, children of the same heavenly Father, and workers with us in the kingdom of God."

These dimensions of LBW are still shaping us into a more missional people. The liturgy for us is not simply a sixty-minute program to entertain or enlighten us; rather, it draws us more deeply and passionately into the mission of God for us and through us in the world.

LBW's gift of past and future

LBW has served countless assemblies of worshipers throughout North America as they have encountered God through the means of grace. Faith has been given, lives have been strengthened, hope has been renewed, communities have been formed, and mission has been engaged.

More of the gifts of LBW are enumerated in more expansive descriptions of its past gifts and future promise. Several authors collaborated on a book titled Encountering God: The Legacy of Lutheran Book of Worship for the 21st Century, (7) which will reward readers who want to explore more fully the contributions of LBW to the worship life of congregations. Another book that picks up the trajectories of LBW's contributions to congregational worship and mission is one authored by professors of worship from the eight ELCA seminaries and one Canadian seminary. Inside Out. Worship in an Age of Missions (8) reflects how the gifts of LBW have brought us this far by faith and open up a vision of worship appropriate to the twenty-first century.

I have talked positively about gifts of LBW. Some have spoken of its failure for our present time. But I keep wondering whether there is any "perfect" worship resource. I wonder whether such failures are of the LBW (or other resources) or of practice? Can any book renew a congregation or give faith? Or is a worship resource a faithful servant open to serving a congregation that seeks to center its life on the encounter with God through the Spirit-empowered means of grace? In this sense a good liturgy is not in any book or bulletin but rather in the gracious promises of the gospel proclaimed and enacted in the Christian assembly.

Any worship resource is like notes on a music score. It is not music until it is sung and danced. It is not liturgy until the Word is proclaimed and Sacraments rightly administered and the Spirit breathes life into the valley of dry bones. Only then are we graced with the power to raise the dead and give new life. And that is exactly the way that LBW has sought to serve congregations for these twenty-five years. Because lives are deeply shaped by worship, the continuing effects of LBW in the lives of people and congregations will bear fruit for many years to come, even after new worship resources continue the faithful service of LBW. Indeed, this book has been a good and faithful servant! Thanks be to God!

(1) Dom Gregory Dix, The Shape of the Liturgy (London: Dacre, xv.

(2) Encountering God: The Legac1945), of Lutheran Book of Worship for the 21st Century, ed. Ralph Van Loon (Minneapolis: Kirk House, 1998), 6, 43, 49.

(3) Encountering God, 49.

(4) Lutheran Church in America, American Lutheran Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Lutheran Book of Worship (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing; Philadelphia: Board of Publication/LCA, 1978), (8).

(5) A Lutheran Agenda for Worship (Geneva: Department of Studies, Lutheran World Federation, 1979), 29.

(6) Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Use of the Means of Grace: A Statement on the Practice of Word and Sacrament (Chicago: ELCA, 1997), 55.

(7) See note 2.

(8) Inside Out: Warship in an Age of Mission, ed. Thomas Schattauer (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1999).

Mons Teig

Professor of Worship, Luther Seminary

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