To Think About Questions from The Wonder of Worship
by Keith Drury
Chapter 11: Sunday and the "Christian Week"
1. What new discovery did you make from reading this
chapter about the origin of Sunday worship and weekly fast days?
2. In what ways do you think the fourth commandment
(Sabbath day) applies or doesn't apply to Sunday observance today?
3. If a Jewish person converted to Christianity today
but wanted to continue observing Saturday-Sabbath along with Sunday,
would that be appropriate in your mind? Why or why not?
4. Of the two weekly observances-fasting and Sunday
worship-why is it that modern Christians cling to one but seem to have
easily disposed of the other? If fasting is no longer a "means
of grace" to the modern person, is something else more effective
today?
5. Beyond attending church, what other ways do you personally
observe Sunday differently from other days?
6. What remnants of Sunday observance does the secular
culture still exhibit-at your workplace and in your community?
7. To what extent are all Christians obligated to observe
Sunday? That is, how do you believe all committed Christians should
at the least observe Sunday?
Chapter 12: Easter
1. What new discovery did you make from reading this
chapter on the development of Easter worship and traditions?
2. To what extent does your own church or denomination
customarily celebrate these days of the Easter season:
- Ash Wednesday
- Lent
- Palm Sunday
- Maundy Thursday
- Good Friday
- Easter Sunday
- Ascension Sunday
- Pentecost
3. In your opinion, was the expansion of Easter from
a single day into a multi-day season a good decision or a bad one? What
was gained? Lost?
4. What difference would it have made in our present-day
Easter celebrations if the "date group" had won and the setting
of Easter day was not automatically on Sunday?
5. Why do you think many Christians focus more on the
passion and suffering of Christ in Lent leading up to Easter, than the
joyous celebration of Pentecost season following that day? What theological
emphasis does this reflect? Is it accurate?
6. In what ways could the Easter celebration in your
own church be made more meaningful and tied to the actual historical
events related in the Gospels?
7. How would you compare the Christmas and Easter celebrations
in your local church to those of the secular culture?
8. How can a completely secular person celebrate both
Christmas and Easter without using any religious symbolism or stories,
yet still have great stories to tell?
9. To what extent should the Christian church be free
to celebrate and Christianize secular, political, and pagan days like
Thanksgiving, Father's Day, and national independence days? Where would
you personally draw the line?
Chapter 13: Christmas
1. What new discovery did you make from reading this
chapter about the development of Christmas worship and traditions-something
you didn't know before reading this chapter?
2. If the Christians did indeed adopt December 25 to
purposely compete with a pagan feast, was that wrong or OK? Can you
think of other secular or national holidays the church observes and
adapts to Christian purposes today?
3. How do Christians go about "sanctifying"
secular, national, or pagan feast days? What do we do to accomplish
this?
4. What are the "competing myths" of a totally
secular Christmas today? If the Christians tell stories about the Incarnation,
Jesus' birth, and the Magi, what stories do secular people tell their
children?
5. If Christmas was not celebrated by any of the apostles
or early church, does that mean we shouldn't celebrate it? Are we obligated
to set aside only those days which the apostles and early church observed,
or do we have the freedom to adopt Christian feasts which came later?
Do you lean to being a "strict constructionist" in worship
traditions, or are you more "progressive" in your interpretation
of church traditions?
6. Forgetting the matter of pagan dates, which way do
you lean on the question of including pagan elements in a Christian
holiday-things like Christmas trees as part of a Christian Christmas
celebration?
7. Does it matter that December 25 is not likely the
actual date of Christ's birth? If we actually found out somehow that
the birth was, say, October 15th, what would you suggest we do?
Chapter 14: Church Buildings
1. What new discovery did you make from reading this
chapter about the development of Christian church buildings?
2. Christianity was so effective at evangelism that
in 300 years it turned the Roman Empire into a Christian empire. What
was good about this? What was bad? In what ways does it relate to today's
church?
3. If you had been in one of those early church assemblies
that had grown too big for its house-church, what arguments might you
have heard for splitting into two assemblies? What arguments might have
been offered for taking out a wall and staying together as one church?
In what way do these relate to today's church?
4. In what ways does the history of a church relate
to the kind of building it builds for worship? That is, if a denomination
is 400 years old, how might it tend to build differently than a brand-new
denomination or independent church might build?
5. How might a church's eschatology (its view of the
future, the rapture, the end times) relate to its style of construction?
6. In the last fifty years, "the action" has
moved from downtown to the suburbs, mall areas, and ring roads in many
cities. This chapter observed that many downtown churches assumed that
downtown culture would prevail forever and built their church buildings
accordingly. Are some suburban churches now doing the same thing? What
cultural and sociological shifts could occur in the next fifty years
that might leave the gigantic suburban churches behind?
7. Until modern times, the local church building always
dominated the landscape (and skyline) of every town. What did this announce?
With the development of the safety elevator by Elisha Otis in 1853 came
the possibility of "sky-scrapers" much taller than any church
or cathedral. In 1913, F. W. Woolworth determined to build a "temple
to commerce" as his headquarters in New York, which spurred an
industrial rush that "reached for the sky." These buildings
eventually dwarfed church spires-even those of the largest cathedrals.
Is there anything to the notion that the size of a culture's largest
buildings will reflect that culture's dominant values? If that notion
has some truth in it, what would be your culture's great values?
8. In what ways could the Internet and the cyber culture
relate to church buildings in the future?
9. Thinking only of worship, what was gained and lost
when the early Christians moved from small house-churches to large basilicas?
10. How can a church offer the advantages of both the
large gathering/assembly and the small church in its programming?
Chapter 15: Furnishings in Worship
1. What new discovery did you make after reading this
chapter on furnishings in worship?
2. Are there required furnishings for worship? That
is, do you believe all furnishings in worship are optional, and thus
we are free to dispose of past furnishings and add new ones any time
we want?
3. In order to become seeker friendly, some churches
seek to remove anything that may be confusing or too symbolic for the
unchurched. Some of these churches remove all symbols or Christian objects
from the physical setting. What do you think of this plan? Is it a good
idea or not? What do you think?
4. What connection can you see between the status of
a priest-pastor-minister in the culture and the chancel chairs? Any?
If so, how has your church adapted to the changing role of a pastor
in our culture in your lifetime?
5. Do you prefer a visible baptistery or a hidden one?
A baptistery at a public river or a private one in church? Why? Compare
the advantages of each.
6. What do you think of the notion that modern churches
portray their art by drama and video more than by paintings on the walls?
Is this an equivalent use of art or somehow different? How would you
prefer to see the use of the arts upgraded in your church? What are
the dangers of too little art in churches? Too much art?
7. What is your opinion on displaying national flags,
banners, or emblems of political parties in churches? Is it OK for some
countries and not others? Where would you draw the line?
8. When does the simple setting apart of an object or
furnishing become idolatry? That is, when does a person (or a denomination,
local church) cross the line in venerating an object to a degree that
it becomes idolatry?
9. Can you identify with Stephen's feelings of discomfort
in the beginning story? What kinds of furnishings make you feel at home?
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