(Thesis) Chapter 1: Researching Baptist Worship in Aotearoa

Gathering in Aotearoa: Understanding the Collective Spirituality of Baptists in New Zealand Dale Campbell Carey Graduate School 2017 A Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Master of Applied Theology.
No other source has been used for this Thesis except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text. Abstract This thesis follows the method of British Baptist liturgical theologian Christopher Ellis, applying it to the gathered worship of Aotearoa Baptists. The first chapter establishes the project as a ‘liturgical theology’ as opposed to a ‘theology of worship’, while at the same time acknowledging the critical step that Ellis adds to the method of Orthodox liturgical theologian Alexander Schmemann. It also clarifies the project’s methodological approach, tools, aim and scope. The second chapter uses the framework of Transplanting, Trending and Tending to provide a summary of the key developments in Aotearoa Baptist worship, from the first baptistic worship in the Nelson region to the present diverse nation-wide expression. Chapters 3-7 discuss five broad areas of Aotearoa Baptist worship: ‘Sharing’ (offered as a new category for description of Baptist worship), Prayer, Singing, Scripture and Sacraments. Following the first three steps of the method of Ellis, each chapter first outlines the variety of data for each grouping of activity, clarifying the meaning of that activity and discerns its wider liturgical value. The final chapter, representing the final step of Ellis, seeks opportunities for the development of Aotearoa Baptist worship for each category of activity. 2 Acknowledgements Highest thanks to Father, Son and Spirit, who has saved me from “all my fears and failures”, and whose answer to my ‘Kyrie’ is swift, kind and unfailing. Tender gratitude to my partner, leader and friend, Diane, who embodies daily the wisdom and mercy of God, and spurs me ever onward to be who I am becoming. Deep admiration to my buddy, my son, my boy, Thomas, who beautifully and humorously resembles his parents, and returns their love with honest delight. Sincere love to my family: Dad, Mom, Clint and Sherri, who put up with me being a world away at the ends of the earth, and whose love I am always conscious of. To Dr. George Wieland, I count myself blessed for your accompaniment, challenge and encouragement along this journey. To Charles Hewlett, I am deeply grateful for your kindness, passion and humility; and for your inspiration for this project. To the rest of Carey Baptist College, staff and students, you have been a uniquely special context for learning, and every moment I’ve been influenced by you has been to my benefit. To Northcote Baptist Church in general, and pastor Peter Eaton in particular, I cannot explain my gratitude for your support of my study over nearly ten years with you, your patience with my liturgical curiosities and arrogances, and the blessing of being part of a community so committed to the gospel of Scripture. To the Cedar Centre, Anglican Parish of Beachhaven, especially vicar Craig Harris, thank you for reaching out to us, welcoming us, waiting with us, and encouraging us. Faithful administration of the Sacraments, clear biblical teaching, warm fellowship, and wise pastoral care have been crucial in our journey. To the Revd Dr. Christopher Ellis, thank you for your example in leading the way in Baptist liturgical research, and your encouragement and interest in this project. To faithful friends and fellows who know and still love me: Mat, Jason, Wayne, Dan, Frank, Malcolm, Graeme, Rob, Richard, and Bruce. You are trustworthy friends, and worth your weight in gold. May God continue his work in us. Dale Campbell Christ the King Sunday, 2017 3 Contents Abstract Acknowledgements Contents 1. METHOD: Researching Baptist Worship in Aotearoa 6 2. CONTEXT: Locating Baptist Worship in Aotearoa 12 3. Baptist ‘SHARING’ in Aotearoa 28 4. Baptist PRAYER in Aotearoa 38 5. Baptist SINGING in Aotearoa 51 6. Baptist use of SCRIPTURE in Aotearoa 61 7. Baptist SACRAMENTS in Aotearoa 70 8. CONCLUSIONS: Opportunities for Baptist Worship in Aotearoa 81 Bibliography 4 5 1. Method: Researching Baptist Worship in Aotearoa “[A]ttempts to reflect on the theology of Free Church worship are distinctly thin on the ground. Indeed … there is a need to develop ways of understanding the free worship of the Free Churches.” (Christopher J. Ellis, Gathering, 7-8) Introduction: “Gathering in Aotearoa” Sunday by Sunday, throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, 243 Baptist congregations gather into church buildings, rented halls, homes or other spaces, to engage in ‘worship’. Just what do these Aotearoa Baptists tend to do, or indeed intend to do, in those gatherings? What similarities and differences might be discovered across the congregations of Aotearoa Baptist churches? Existing studies of worship as a whole have tended to neglect Baptists, being dominated by the more liturgical traditions such as Orthodox, Catholic, and Episcopal/Anglican. On the other hand, treatments of Baptist worship are often focused on one specific aspect at a time, such as the chapters of Rodney Wallace Kennedy and Derek C. Hatch’s excellent recent edited volume, Gathering Together: Baptists at Work in Worship, written from a United States context but probing global themes.1 In 2004, British Baptist and liturgical theologian Christopher J. Ellis published Gathering: A Theology and Spirituality of Worship in the Free Church Tradition, setting forth what arguably remains the formative exploration of, as he calls it, “the free worship of the Free Churches.”2 In addition to its treatment of historical development and its engagement with neighbouring liturgical traditions and theologies, his study drew upon the results of a questionnaire and survey concerning the worship practices and attitudes of British Baptist churches, published in 1999 under the title Baptist Worship Today.3 Locally, discussions of Baptist worship in Aotearoa are even more sparse. The most sustained academic treatment is Steven O’Connor’s 2001 thesis, which observed the worship practices of participating congregations 1 Rodney Kennedy and Derek Christopher Hatch, Gathering Together: Baptists at Work in Worship (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2013). 2 Christopher J. Ellis, Gathering: A Theology and Spirituality of Worship in Free Church Tradition (SCM Press, 2004), 8; see also his later chapter based on the same research, “Worship at the Heart of Life,” in Currents in Baptistic Theology of Worship Today, ed. Keith G. Jones and Parush R. Parushev (Praha 6, Czech Republic: International Baptist Theological Seminary of the European Baptist Federation, 2007), 41–58. 3 Christopher J. Ellis, Baptist Worship Today (Didcot: The Baptist Union of Great Britain, 1999). 6 and sought to discern from them “the Liturgy and Theology of New Zealand Baptists.”4 No academic treatment since has reflected on the extent to which the theology and practice of Aotearoa Baptist worship has been shaped by subsequent cultural developments, either local or global. As reflected in our title, this research project aims to follow the lead of Ellis’s Gathering. Although we shall see that in recent decades, Aotearoa Baptist worship patterns have been shaped more by global trends than its historic link with English Baptist patterns, the influence of those patterns remain, and make it fitting to link our study with that of Ellis. It is hoped that this research may be useful to both local denominational leadership and worship planners as well as others interested in Free Church liturgical theology or Baptist Worship. Theological Methodology: “Understanding…” Worship has been studied using a range of approaches and methods: prescriptive and descriptive, quantitative and qualitative. In constructing our picture of Aotearoa Baptist worship, both past and present, it is worth noting the challenges and limitations of the task of liturgical theology. Is liturgical theology able to rise up and regulate liturgical practice, in ‘top down’ fashion, with clear biblical and theological warrant? Or must liturgical theologians be content only to critique by comparison and contrast, working their way ‘bottom up’ to their theological understandings? The approaches of O’Connor and Ellis study may be illustrative. On the one hand, O’Connor’s thesis, whilst engaging in description, goes further than merely unearthing the theology (lex credendi) inherent in the liturgical practices (lex orandi) of Baptists in Aotearoa. Whilst O’Connor was not aiming at a once-for-all theology of worship for all traditions, his aim was to offer a normative vision for current Baptists in Aotearoa; namely to provide “solutions” to the “discrepancies between the historically continuous Baptist vision of the church and current New Zealand Baptist worship practices.”5 His method was to bring together insights from i) a descriptive historical analysis, ii) a treatment of historic values unique to Baptists and thus Baptist worship, and iii) a section outlining ways in which George Lindbeck’s ‘culturallinguistic’ understanding of Christian doctrine might endorse liturgical actions which display Christian culture and language. From those he developed his normative vision, set forth in his 4 Steven B. O’Connor, “Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi: An Investigation into the Liturgy and Theology of New Zealand Baptists” (Th.M. diss., University of Auckland, 2001); see also Steven B. O’Connor, “Worship in New Zealand Baptist Church Life: Dynamic Centre or Means to an End?,” NZJBR 7 (2002): 15–35; “Worship: Revealing What We Really Believe,” NZJBR 8 (2003): 52–76. 5 Steven B. O’Connor, “Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi,” 105. 7 section “Liturgy for Life – How Then Should We Worship”; its prescriptive aim being evident in the word ‘should’.6 Ellis, on the other hand, takes a less prescriptive or ‘top down’ approach. Early on in Gathering, he distinguishes between a ‘theology of worship’ and a ‘liturgical theology’.7 Whereas a ‘theology of worship’ tends to see theology as the normative regulator for the practice of worship, a ‘liturgical theology’ tends to see theology as a posterior reflection on prior acts of worship. Two points about the relationship between theology and liturgy emerge from the discussion. The first is historical: liturgy precedes theology, which is to say that liturgical action is historically prior to theology. Long before there was ever anything resembling ‘eucharistic theology’, believers broke bread together. Indeed, there will be prior theological convictions, informal or highly developed, which of course find expression in any liturgical action; however, any formal ‘theology of worship’ will be entirely dependent upon existing liturgical events for the data from which it seeks to formulate liturgical norms. The second point is critical, liturgy needs theology. Worship practices cannot simply be affirmed as they stand and claimed as ‘tradition’ via a merely descriptive ‘liturgical theology’. Like all other areas of the Christian life, they must remain open to the critique of Scripture and theology. For Ellis, although “worship embodies a theology… that theology also needs to bear the same scrutiny which any other theological endeavours may properly face.”8 This scrutiny constitutes the final step which Ellis adds to the three-step method of Orthodox liturgical theologian Alexander Schmemann, forming the fourfold method he employs in his Gathering: 1. 2. 3. 4. Establish the liturgical facts Theological analysis of the liturgical facts Synthesis of the inherent theological meaning Liturgical meaning exposed to theological scrutiny This project will thus be a ‘liturgical theology’ in the vein of Ellis’ Gathering. Chapter 2 will tell the general story of Aotearoa Baptist worship. Chapters 3-7 will focus on understanding the data from our current study. For each of these chapters, a first major section will ‘establish the liturgical facts’ (step 1 of the method of Ellis and Schmemann), and a final section will both explore the theology inherent within these practices, and appreciate the place they have in relation to other practices (steps 2 and 3; Ellis and Schmemann). Finally, in chapter 8, these practices will be evaluated, outlining various opportunities for development (step 4; Ellis). 6 Ibid., 105–23. Ellis, Gathering, 15–24. 8 Ibid., 24. 7 8 In his use of Schmemann’s step of ‘establishing the liturgical facts’, Ellis is well aware of the difficulties in describing Free Church worship.9 Less, if any, use of stable textual content (lectionary or prayer book) makes services “different, using an infinitely variable mixture of hymns and extempore or specially written prayers.”10 Like Ellis, we shall attempt to reconstruct our pictures of past and present Aotearoa Baptist worship using what limited resources we have available. As we shall see, some of those resources, such as past records of specific worship actions and present orders of service and the information contained within then, will lend some degree of objectivity to our study. Focus: “Collective Spirituality…” The object of our study is gathered worship, or ‘collective spirituality’. This focus need not be taken to imply a dualism or hierarchy with respect to ‘public’ and ‘private’ worship. Whilst ‘gathered’ worship is routinely contrasted with ‘scattered’ mission, the intent here is to acknowledge both that mode of worship (both public and private) which occurs as a local body of believers are ‘scattered’ into the world, and that mode of worship (both shared and personal) which occurs as they are ‘gathered’ into one body (‘corpus’).11 Thus, it is not an arbitrary amalgamation of individual worshippers, but is a shared expression of spiritual devotion; as Ellis writes, “the gathering for worship is itself an expression of communal spirituality.”12 What are the standard components of collective spirituality? Free Church worship knows no authoritative listing of constitutive elements, but Ellis nonetheless divided his study of Free Church ‘embodied spirituality’ into five areas: prayer, preaching, singing, the Lord’s Supper, and baptism. For Ellis, this order does not imply a Baptist ordo, or standard sequence of worship acts in a service, but rather signals the chief actions that express baptistic worship values. Our study will again follow the lead of Ellis, and take a themed approach for analysis in separate chapters. Our study will reframe Ellis’ categories as ‘prayer’, ‘singing’ and ‘Scripture’, and will condense ‘Lord’s Supper’ and ‘baptism’ into ‘Sacraments’. Additionally, and significantly, a further category, which we will call ‘Sharing’ will be introduced, which will describe and understand the unique role that activities such as celebrations, announcements, and testimonies have in Baptist Worship. 9 Ibid., 7. Ibid., 29. 11 See discussion in Alexander Schmemann, “The Task and Method of Liturgical Theology,” in Primary Sources of Liturgical Theology: A Reader, ed. Dwight W. Vogel, EBL edition. (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2016), chapter 6. 12 Ellis, Gathering, 15. 10 9 Scope: “Baptists in New Zealand” The scope of our study is denominationally and geographically selective: churches within the ‘Baptist Union of New Zealand’, a clearly defined population.13 This population will be studied by means of both secondary and primary data. The secondary data will outline historical development of worship, incorporating relevant descriptions and assessments of Aotearoa Baptist worship from the past. The sources for these descriptions include biographical accounts and opinions found in articles, celebratory documents (e.g.. church anniversary booklets) and other places. These accounts will assist in our efforts to re-tell the story of Baptist Worship in Aotearoa. The primary data, collected specifically for the purpose of this research, will provide a snapshot of the present. Of the 243 member churches at the time which were invited to participate, 71 churches (comprising a total of 78 services) responded to form our sample.14 The responding churches included both urban and rural, established and newly-planted, a range of cultural mixes from multicultural to mono-cultural, and a range of congregation sizes. A survey gathered basic data about each church, making space for supplementary comments, and a document collection request sought to obtain a copy of each congregation’s ‘order of service’ for a single date: 6 September 2015. Two factors are worth quickly noting. First, this was the first Sunday of the month, on which some if not many Baptist (and other) churches have traditionally chosen to celebrate the Lord’s Supper or communion. Second, Father’s Day fell on this particular Sunday, which, as we shall see in the data chapters, resulted in the ‘Father’ theme affecting the patterning of worship to varying degrees. This coincidence provided an opportunity to witness the unique tendency for Free Churches to improvise and adapt the content of their gatherings. 13 This study is thus exclusive of both a) global Baptists outside of Aotearoa New Zealand, and b) local baptistic congregations not affiliated with the ‘Baptist Union of New Zealand’. 14 This includes orders of service that were repeated for different congregations in the same church community, as well as church communities that had different orders of service for different congregations, which at times reflected a shared approach to worship planning. 10 11