Spring 2006/Pasadena
WS813/513
Johnson

WS813/513: HISTORICAL PARADIGMS OF LITURGICAL RENEWAL:
ANCIENT-FUTURE WORSHIP. Todd E. Johnson.


DESCRIPTION: This doctoral seminar will evaluate the paradigm used in the Liturgical Movement for the last century to retrieve practices from the early churches to reform contemporary worship. This seminar will specifically examine the paradigm of Ancient-Future Worship developed by Robert Webber. Our research will evaluate the historical, biblical, theological and cultural foundations of early Christian worship in its context, and then evaluate their use in our contemporary churches by studying both contemporary culture and current worship paradigms.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Where one believes the church "got it right" in terms of worship, will be the point of reference one will use in making liturgical choices. Examination of one of the many paradigms of historical retrieval of liturgical patterns illumines the student's own preferences and the presuppositions which stand behind them. Further it invites the student to consider both the historical and ecumenical implications of liturgical choices, and enlightens the pastoral dimensions of liturgical catechesis.

COURSE FORMAT: The seminar will meet weekly for three-hour sessions. It will have some lectures by the professor, but will be mostly seminar presentations and discussions.

REQUIRED READING:

Bradshaw, Paul. The Search for the Origins of Christian Worship. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, 2002.
Hurtado, Larry. At the Origins of Christian Worship: The Context and Character of Earliest Christian Devotion. Eerdmans, 2000.
Webber, Robert. Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Post-Modern World. Baker, 1999.
Williams, D. H. Evangelicals and Tradition: The Formative Influence of the Early Church. Baker, 2005.

RECOMMENDED READING:
deChant, Dell. The Sacred Santa: Religious Dimensions of Consumer Culture. Pilgrim Press, 2002.
Gibbs, Eddie, and Ryan Bolger. Emerging Churches, Baker, 2005.
Postman, Neil. Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Putnam, Robert. Bowling Alone. Simon & Schuster, 2000.
Sample, Tex. The Spectacle of Worship in a Wired World. Abingdon, 1998.
Webber, Robert. Ancient-Future Evangelism. Baker, 2003.
_________. Ancient-Future Time. Baker, 2004.

ASSIGNMENTS: (1) Completion of assigned readings, attendance and participation in our class discussions. (2) An oral presentation on a "source liturgy" from the early churches with respect to its relationship to its historical context. (3) An oral presentation on a contemporary worship pattern in its current cultural context. (4) A paper in which the student evaluates Robert Webber's paradigm in light of the research from our class. The fourth assignments will be adjusted in both scope and length for master's level students.

PREREQUISITES: This doctoral seminar is open to a limited number of master's level students by special permission. Background in liturgical history or completion of CH507 is expected.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.