Beyond Texts for Common Prayer

By Robin G. Jordan

What should North American Anglicans reasonably expect in a Biblically orthodox, genuinely Anglican Prayer Book intended for use on the North American mission field?

If an Anglican province in North America is faithful to the Scriptures and the Anglican formularies, the forms of worship and other rites in the Prayer Book would express doctrine that clearly comes from the Scriptures or is agreeable to the Scriptures. How and where texts are used in a particular rite would not express or imply doctrine that is inconsistent with the Scriptures.

The forms of worship and other rites in the Prayer Book would be more than Scriptural in content. They would be Scriptural in doctrine. Verses and passages can be lifted from the Bible and used to give expression to doctrine that has no real basis in Scripture. This distinction, when it is not given due attention, can lead to rites that, while they may incorporate words and imagery from the Scriptures, owe more to human tradition than the Word of God.

The liturgical practices—the ceremonies, gestures, and postures—that are a part of the forms of worship and other rites in the Prayer Book would be agreeable to the Scriptures. They also would not express or imply doctrine that is inconsistent with the Scriptures

The texts and rituals used in worship serve a number of functions. One of these functions is catechetical. Through repeated use and regular exposition they shape and reinforce the beliefs of the congregations using them. Therefore it is absolutely essential that they teach what the Scriptures teach.

The doctrine of the forms of worship and other rites in the Prayer Book would not conflict with the doctrine of the Anglican formularies—the long recognized doctrinal standard of Anglicanism. The Anglican formularies are the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion of 1571, The Book of Common Prayer of 1662, and the Ordinal of 1661, and to a lesser extent, the two Books of Homilies, which the Articles commend as containing “a godly and wholesome Doctrine.” Their doctrine supplements the doctrine of the Articles. See Article 11.

As the GAFCON Theological Resource Group points out in Being Faithful: The Shape of Historic Anglicanism Today, “the authority of the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion comes from their agreement with the teaching of Scripture.” The GAFCON Theological Resource Group also points out that “acceptance of their authority is constitutive of Anglican identity.”

If an Anglican province in North America is faithful to the great commission, the forms of worship and other rites in the Prayer Book would be shaped for mission. They would be centered upon the gospel. They would avoid the erection of barriers between the gospel and the unchurched and the spiritually disconnected or distant. Rather they would eliminate such barriers.

The language of the forms of worship and other rites in the Prayer Book would be understandable to the English-speaking population of North America. The Prayer Book would also be translated into Spanish, French, Chinese, Korean, and other languages used by different ethnic groups in North America.

New patterns of worship would be used alongside the traditional services of Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and the Holy Communion. The worship needs of modern day congregations and their ministry target groups would take priority over adherence to a particular form of worship.

The forms of worship and other rites in the Prayer Book would make extensive use of the principle of flexibility. They would offer a wide range of choices, including a large number of elements that were optional and might be left out. Worship planners would be entrusted with broad discretion in what elements might be used in a worship gathering and what might be omitted, enabling them to tailor worship gatherings to local conditions.

Where they occured, the directions to stand, sit, or kneel would be suggestions only.

At the same time the forms of worship and other rites in the Prayer Book would embody a cautious approach toward enrichment.  In the absence of such an approach doctrine that is at variance with the teaching of the Bible and the doctrine of the Anglican formularies can be unintentionally introduced with additions and alterations that are supposed to add beauty to the worship of the Church and to make it richer. So-called textual and ceremonial enrichments have also been deliberately used to make surreptitious changes in the doctrine of the rites in a Prayer Book.

A number of service books used in Anglican and Episcopal churches in North America do not meet these requirements. These service books include those used in churches that otherwise are faithful to the Bible and the Anglican formularies and committed to the great commission.

Among the disadvantages of using such books is that a church becomes so accustomed to using a defective service book that it does not recognize the defects of a new service book proposed for its use. Those promoting the use of the new service book can exploit to their advantage such arguments like the new service book is not much different from the one the church has been using, drawing attention to the similarities between the two books.

When a church changes pastors, the new pastor can use a defective service book to undo the work of his predecessor in teaching sound Biblical doctrine to the congregation. A defective service book can also influence the thinking of a congregation and the clergy using it, even though the clergy preach and teach sound doctrine from the Bible. It can cause them to become more receptive to doctrine and liturgical practices that are at odds with the teaching of the Scriptures and the doctrine of the Anglican formularies.

A church can also become so accustomed to using a defective service book that it does not recognize that its use of that book and the way that it uses the book are erecting barriers between the gospel and the unchurched and the spiritually disconnected or distant in its community.

How does the service book presently used in your church measure up to these requirements?