I am writing to express gratitude to God for 1,215 remarkable people: the 1,174 writers who have contributed to this print journal since 1986 and the (estimated) 41 people who have commissioned, reviewed, edited, and prepared those contributions for print.
Both in its historic form as a subscription print journal and in its new form as a comprehensive collection of practice-oriented articles and tools, Reformed Worship is primarily a resource ministry—a place to find resources to prompt learning and help with preparation for upcoming worship services.
Growing Leaders
While fulfilling that calling, Reformed Worship also has been a remarkable leadership development ministry. Hundreds of people have had their very first published article appear here—sometimes because an editor reached out to them, sometimes because one of their fellow parishioners recommended their work, and sometimes because they had an idea they couldn’t keep to themselves.
These authors grew through the publishing process. Editors coached them into greater clarity. Their own ministry teams back home reviewed their work and encouraged them to look at their ideas through the lens of other potential readers—an exercise in empathy. In many cases, sprawling 2,709-word musings had to be pruned and pruned again. In others, a 300-word kernel of an insight needed tending to grow into a full flower. The worship service outlines and other practical suggestions published in Reformed Worship needed field testing. Essays on complex or abstract theological themes needed to be explained in ways that a wide audience could grasp and learn to cherish.
Anyone who has published a set of ideas for a worship service in a journal learns new skills and sensitivities along the way that then deepen their other work in their congregations. Anyone who crafts even a brief article on a biblical text or theological theme and receives constructive feedback from an editor or reader brings that insight into their engagement with other texts and themes.
One of the founding insights in our work at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship was that what the church needs most is not another hymnal, a new sound system, a revised prayer book, or another set of published scripts. What the church needs most are discerning, prayerful, joyous people who treat their work as worship planners and leaders as a holy, pastoral calling. This insight came directly out of learning from the discerning, prayerful people who had already been contributing to Reformed Worship. It continues to be altogether true today.
Sharing Knowledge
Reformed Worship has been a space in which these discerning, prayerful, and joyful people have been able to benefit the church. When they edit a hymnal, install a new sound system, revise a liturgy, or prepare scripts or artworks and then write about it, Reformed Worship has been there to pass along their wisdom.
The benefit for readers is immense, and the learning multiplies.
Let us never fail to notice and thank God for the astonishing grace of communication. Think of it: A congregation in Nova Scotia or New Mexico or Nigeria experiences the outpouring of Spirit through a four-week Advent series that pierces the sentimentality and consumerism of the culture. Their leaders write about the series with coaching from a dedicated editorial team, and the liturgies are published. Ten years later, a rookie worship coordinator pulls an old issue of Reformed Worship off the shelves and contextualizes and adapts the series for a congregation that also senses the Holy Spirit’s prompting in new ways. It reminds me of one of my favorite Lord’s Supper prayers from the early church. It expresses thanks to God for the miracle of “transmission of the sound of the voice by means of the tongue striking the air, and for hearing, which cooperates with the air . . . to perceive the speech lighting upon it” (Apostolic Constitutions, Book VII, fourth century).
What an abundance of gifts each of us has received! As a reader of Reformed Worship, I have learned from author-teachers who are pastors, musicians, artists, designers, elders, deacons, teachers, writers, administrators, and deeply engaged worshipers. I have experienced a robust community that transcends the U.S.-Canada border, gaining additional insights from writers from Pakistan, Korea, Indonesia, Argentina, Nigeria, the Netherlands, and more. I have learned from authors in congregations both large and small, both rural and urban, both contemporary and traditional. Through Reformed Worship, I continue to learn from writers who have joined the great cloud of witnesses, noticing how their articles published years ago still help me remember their unique voice. While there are other sources I can consult for higher-profile authors, I can’t think of a better place to go than Reformed Worship to meet faithful writers from such a variety of contexts doing such thoughtful work. I look forward with great anticipation to see how this very same DNA unfolds in Reformed Worship’s continuing ministry online.
Receiving Grace
All this goodness is dependent on a remarkable number of gifted people behind the scenes who have fact-checked articles, cross-checked references, confirmed copyright compliance, edited first, second, and third drafts, organized planning spreadsheets, audited internal finances, coordinated mailing logistics, maintained subscription records, answered phone inquiries, and designed beautiful page layouts. In that way, Reformed Worship is very much like the local church, which often is filled with unsung heroes, too. How beautiful this is! All of it is, in its own way, a symphony of praise in which “[b]elievers one and all, as members of this community, share in Christ and in all his treasures and gifts,” considering “it a duty to use these gifts readily and joyfully for the service and enrichment of the other members” (Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 55).
To close, let me dwell on this catechism answer just a bit longer, attempting to name the graces we’ve received in slightly different terms.
First, Reformed Worship is a ministry of mutual recognition. Here, organists and guitar players learn to notice gifts in each other. Leaders at large and small churches gain not only practical ideas, but also self-awareness about their own unique opportunities and limitations.
Second, Reformed Worship is a ministry of covenantal pluralism. We come here grafted by God’s Holy Spirit into God’s covenant people, bringing into the writing and reading tremendous differences we learn to engage constructively.
Third, Reformed Worship is a ministry of traditioned innovation. We wouldn’t need Reformed Worship if the church didn’t need to respond to changing ministry contexts, or if the church limited its musical repertoire to songs written centuries ago. And if all we cared about was innovation, we wouldn’t need a vehicle to help us think and pray so carefully about the kinds of innovations we affirm.
Fourth, Reformed Worship is a ministry of receptive ecumenism. Here we have learned to notice the charisms in Reformed Christianity that others have affirmed as helpful to their own life as apprentices of Jesus. Here we have explored gifts from other Christian traditions that can be embraced in ways that are entirely consistent with a Reformed theological vision.
Each of these four terms happens to be a key phrase in large and growing bodies of literature in print and online. Each is an attempt to respond to the hyperpolarization in today’s cultural moment. While this is not the place for a nuanced analysis of each, it is worth noting that the way Reformed Worship has embodied a vision of the church over these many years seems perfectly attuned to the urgent need of Christians today. It makes me eagerly anticipate the next 1,215 people who will join the chorus of writing, creating, and editing and the thousands of readers who will be graced by the gifts the Spirit is giving the church through them.