From Christianity Today back in 2021.
Ties in a bit with my post on judging the movement of the Spirit by whether it’s something “new” we’re experiencing.
The author is a Protestant, and so might be picked apart on historical consistency, but that doesn’t, in my mind, make his point any less sound:
It seems paradoxical to argue that orthodoxy—bounding by its nature—is a path to inquiry, creativity, and freedom. We usually think of freedom as the opposite. Yet church historian Jaroslav Pelikan observed that one of the characteristics of authentic orthodoxy is its acceptance of and dependence upon free and responsible inquiry.
In a 1966 address at Valparaiso University, Pelikan noted the fourth-century debate that resulted in the church’s articulation of the doctrine of the Trinity. “Without such inquiry, neither the Nicene Creed nor the theology of St. Athanasius would have been possible,” he explained. Orthodoxy invites examination and exploration because it expresses truth. “The orthodox tradition, then, has no reason to fear free and responsible inquiry,” he asserted. “It does have reason to fear sentimentality, trivialization, and indifference.”
The freedom that orthodoxy offers is a freedom of constraint. In contrast, our age is an age of unrestrained shouting. It is a modern reenactment of the unproductive project at Babel: voices on every side demanding our attention, allegiance, and action, often contradicting one another. Those who speak the rubric of freedom the loudest often employ such rhetoric to contradict the plain teaching of the Bible.
(And I would add – to force our participation as they work out their own issues.)
Somewhat related, former Southern Baptist teacher, writer and general Christian celebrity Beth Moore wrote a Twitter thread a few years ago about the healing she and her husband had recently found in worshipping in a small liturgical church. I don’t know where they’re at now, but even so, the whole thread is worth reading, and this observation in particular:
“Their liturgy has put words in my mouth that have filled me with so much hope again.”
Words to remember, especially if you’re involved in leading or planning worship. After a few years of it, you may be bored and itching to innovate, but against that temptation, nurture some humility. In every congregation, a variety of women, men and children are gathered, each bringing particular pain, joy and questions.
Trust God to work through the liturgy the Spirit has graced us with through the mysterious working of tradition.
Trust God and don’t hesitate to second-guess the temptation that arises to center your own needs, experiences and agendas in the experiences of those who walk through those church doors, seeking.
Do note, however, that coupled with the spiritual solidity, the living out of Paul’s we do not know how to pray as we ought, was, for Moore and her husband, a profound experience of personal concern and welcoming as well.
Don’t forget that, either.