Foundations of Christian Worship
THEO 5120-1I, Fall 2016
North Park Theological Seminary
(3 credit hours, *syllabus subject to minor changes)
Instructor:
Prof. David Bjorlin
Phone: 218-590-2953
Email: [email protected]
Class Description:
An Introduction to Christian Worship examines the history, theology, and practices of
Christian worship from an ecumenical perspective. The main goals of the class are to: (1)
introduce the discipline of liturgical studies; (2) develop foundations and skills for worship
leadership; and (3) foster theological/pastoral reflection and evaluation of the liturgical life
of faith communities.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. demonstrate a theology and practice of Christian worship that is historically, liturgically,
and culturally coherent;
2. observe and constructively critique one’s own tradition of Christian worship on the basis
of the historical, theological, cultural, and practical norms of Christian worship;
3. articulate key issues (historical, theological, ecumenical) pertaining to the sacraments of
baptism and eucharist;
4. describe the theological, historical, and practical connections between word and
sacrament;
5. illustrate the connection between the worshipping life of a church and its theological
beliefs and ethical actions;
6. design a worship service that takes into account historical, theological, social/pastoral, and
cultural factors;
7. analyze the main components of liturgical inculturation and engage the diversity of
Christian worship.
Academic Prerequisites
Before taking Foundations of Christian Worship, students are expected to have passed the
following prerequisite courses:
-Graduate students: Christian Theology (THEO 5110)
-Undergraduate students: Required Biblical and Theological Studies (BTS) courses
Technological Prerequisites
All students taking Foundations of Christian Worship online are expected to demonstrate a
basic technological competency in order to succeed in the online format of this class. Such
competency includes, but may not be limited to: all aspects of Moodle (the basic online
learning platform used by North Park), Microsoft Word (or equivalent), PowerPoint,
sending and receiving e-mail, and viewing YouTube videos. If a student is lacking
competency in any of these areas, it is their responsibility to take the necessary steps
toward competency. If you have any issues with Moodle, feel free to contact North Park’s
Help Desk: https://helpdesk.northpark.edu.
Accommodations
North Park Theological Seminary provides services for students with documented
disabilities to ensure equal access to programs, services, facilities, and activities. Students
with a disability who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to
contact Seminary Academic Services at 773-244-5619 as soon as possible. If desired and
necessary, discussion pertaining to documentation and accommodation can take place at
another suitable location or by telephone. Further information about the American
Disabilities Act Service is found in the Student Academic Handbook by visiting the
following website: http://www.northpark.edu/add.
Academic Honesty
Academic Honesty: In keeping with our Christian heritage and commitment, North Park
University is committed to the highest possible ethical and moral standards. Just as we will
constantly strive to live up to these high standards, we expect our students to do the same.
To that end, cheating of any sort will not be tolerated. Students who are discovered cheating
are subject to discipline up to and including failure of a course and expulsion.
Our definition of cheating includes but is not limited to:
1. Plagiarism – the use of another’s work as one’s own without giving credit to the
individual. This includes using materials from the internet.
2. Copying another’s answers on an examination.
3. Deliberately allowing another to copy one’s answers or work.
4. Signing an attendance roster for another who is not present.
In the special instance of group work, the instructor will make clear his/her expectations
with respect to individual vs. collaborative work. A violation of these expectations may be
considered cheating as well.
For further information on this subject you may refer to the Academic Dishonesty section
of the University’s online catalog.
Required Texts
1. White, James. Introduction to Christian Worship
2. Johnson, Maxwell. Sacraments and Worship: The Sources of Christian Theology
3. Black, Kathy. Worship Across Cultures: A Handbook (On Reserve – not necessary to
purchase)
4. Stookey, Laurence Hull. Calendar: Christ’s Time for the Church
5. Cone, James. Spirituals and the Blues
6. Covenant Book of Worship (or your denomination’s book of worship)
7. One of the following (or another book chosen in conjunction with professor, based on
your choice of culture for the worship inculturation project):
a. Justo Gonzalez, Alabadle!
b. Melva Wilson Costen, African American Christian Worship
c. Russell Yee, Worship on the Way: Exploring Asian North American Christian Experience
8. Other readings as assigned.
Expectations of the Instructor
Apart from urgent messages, I will aspire to answer all e-mail or telephone enquiries related
to the class within 24-48 hours. I will most regularly post on Mondays to give feedback on
Discussion Board material, which will mean that posts made in any particular week (Sunday
through Saturday) should receive any necessary feedback by the following Monday. If this is
not possible for any reason I will notify the class in advance. I will aspire to grade tests,
papers, and projects within one week. Response posts will not be graded each week but
receive a cumulative grade at the end of the term.
Grading
The grading scale for the course will be as follows:
A
100-93%
A92.9-90%
B+
89.9-87
B
86.9-83
B82.9-80%
C+
79.9-77%
C
76.9-73%
C72.9-70%
D+
69.9-67%
D
66.9-63%
D62.9-60%
Late Assignments
Assignments turned in late will be penalized 1/3 of a letter grade (e.g., a B will drop to a B-)
for each day over the deadline.
Assessments:
Online Participation (20%)
Each week’s readings and assignments will become accessible on the Sunday of the week at
12 p.m. (noon). This will ensure that all students are working on the same material for
responses/group discussions. Each week will require reading from textbooks and other
posted materials. Some weeks will require the completion of group projects. You will be
required to write a series of short papers that will be posted for other members of the calls
to read and respond to. You will be divided into groups of three or four depending on the
size of the class to facilitate this process. Once you have posted your own materials, you are
to read and comment on the postings of the other members of your group. You will make
one comment and pose one question. This will, I trust, produce a conversation. I will also
read and comment on each posting. Each week your posts are due by midnight on Saturday to give
your colleagues time to respond by Tuesday at midnight. Part of your learning, as with any class, is
your interaction with one another. Please see the grading rubric below to note how both
initial posts and responses will be graded. All other assignments are due by midnight on the
day indicated on the syllabus.
Initial Posting Rubric
CATEGORY
3 Points
2 Points
1 Point
Key
Principles
Discussion is substantive and
relates to key principles of the
assignment
Reference made to key principles but Inadequate or no reference to key
is not sufficiently integrated
principles; no evidence that student
understood the principles
Examples
Uses relevant examples
Examples are used but not
integrated effectively into response
No examples provided
Timely
Posting
Posted by the deadline
NA
Posted within one day of the
deadline
Only 3 of these are present - Syntax
is appropriate, terminology used
accurately and appropriately,
language is understandable and
concise, organization is logical
Only 2 or fewer are present: Syntax
is appropriate, terminology used
accurately and appropriately,
language is understandable and
concise, organization is logical
Writing Style Syntax is appropriate,
terminology used accurately and
appropriately, language is
understandable and concise,
organization is logical
Response Posting Rubric
CATEGORY
Statements that
Further and/or
Clarify
Statements that
Compliment and/or
Encourage
2 pts - Meets Standards
1 pt - Approaches Standards
Reply includes 2 statements that
further or clarify the discussion such
as
- relating a personal experience
- summarizing the peer’s post
- offering further resources
- making additional tie-ins to course
material
Etc.
Reply includes 2 positive statements
that are compliments or that acted as
encouragement to the peer
Reply includes 1 statement that
furthers or clarifies the discussion
such as
- relating a personal experience
- summarizing the peer’s post
- offering further resources
- making additional tie-ins to course
material
Etc.
Reply includes 1 positive statement
that is a compliment or that acted as
encouragement to the peer
Book Review: Worship, Theology, and Ethics in Cone’s Spirituals and the Blues
(10% - Due)
Write an essay (600-800 words) first presenting the main arguments of James Cone’s
Spirituals and the Blues and then, based on previous class readings and discussion, elaborating
how spirituals might influence the theology and ethics of a church who regularly sung them
in worship and devotion.
Sacraments/Ordinance Essay (15%)
Undergraduate Question (750-1000 words): You are working as a worship leader in a local
church when the pastor calls you into her office. “Three weeks from now we have both
communion and a baptism, so it’s looking like it’s going to be a long service. Let’s throw
them both at the end and try to keep them as short as possible so we don’t run too far over.”
Based on your readings and class discussion, give a written response to your pastor
including: your understanding of the two sacraments and their connection, how they should
be celebrated appropriately in a service, and what adaptations can be made to shorten other
parts of the service.
Graduate Question (1000-1250 words): After a service with both the celebration of a
baptism and the eucharist, an angry parishioner approaches and declares, “I don’t
understand why we do all of this Catholic hocus pocus. We need less empty symbols and
mindless rituals and more biblical preaching!” Based on readings and class discussion, write a
response to this parishioner that includes: a definition of a sacrament (or ordinance, if this is
your tradition), why sacraments/ordinances are important to Christian worship and
formation, and how it is integrally connected to the service of the Word.
Field Observation Report and Worship Design (55%)
Part 1 (15%): Field Observation Report (1500 words maximum)
Choose a Christian worshipping community with which you are quite familiar.
1. Describe the social, cultural and economic makeup of the community.
2. Identify its ecclesiastical affiliation, noting factors from the community’s history that may
have influenced its worship practices.
3. Describe the worship space, drawing upon James White’s analysis. Include photos if
possible.
4. Identify the leaders and their “style” of leadership while presiding, reading, praying,
leading singing, preaching, and celebrating sacraments/ordinances.
5. Describe the principal “non-verbal” languages you find present among the leaders and
within the assembly.
6. Comment upon what you discern to be the “high” and “low” points of the congregation’s
participation.
7. Provide worship bulletins or outlines from at least three services.
Part II (20%): Worship Inculturation and Adaptation
Analyze a cultural worship tradition outside of one’s own tradition through secondary
resource and site visits. In light of your findings on the cultural tradition, adapt the liturgy
described in your field report so that it would help incorporate this tradition into the
liturgical life of your church.
There are three parts to this assignment:
1. Research secondary sources on the worship of your chosen cultural tradition to ascertain
its main characteristics/distinctives. First, choose one of the book choices listed above from
the broad categories: Asian, Latino/a, African American, Euro-American. Then, find articles
on a more specific cultural/ecclesial context (e.g., Korean worship, Mexican Worship,
African-American Catholic worship, etc).
2. Two site visits to worship services from the chosen cultural context.
3. Write a paper (maximum 1500 words) that gives a brief summary of secondary source
research on the chosen culture, compares and contrasts this research with what was
observed during site visits, and explains several adaptations that could be made to the liturgy
(as described in the field observation report) to better represent the worshiping context of
your chosen culture. If it is helpful, imagine that the church of your field report and the
church tradition you visited/studied are in the same neighborhood. The church you visited is
closing, and a large contingent of the population begins attending your church. How would
you adapt your liturgy in light of the new population? (1500 word maximum)
Part III (20%): Worship Service Design with Commentary
Design a complete service of worship for the congregation used for the Field Observation
Report
1. The service will be designed to reflect the readings (Revised Common Lectionary, Year B)
for one Sunday in Ordinary Time (note: you do not have to use all four of the readings!):
a. Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; Psalm 119:137-144; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12; Luke
19:1-10
b. Haggai 1:15b-2:9; Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17; Luke 20:2738
c. Isaiah 65:17-25; Psalm 98; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13; Luke 21:5-19
2. The service will include:
a. one original prayer of confession or opening prayer
b. one original prayer of thanksgiving or prayer of intercession
c. one or more of the readings for the day of the church year selected
d. a one paragraph summary of the sermon focus
3. Provide the complete text of the liturgy as the worship leader(s) would have it (first line
titles and tunes for all hymns/songs, full wording for all other elements). It is not necessary
to type out hymn/song texts, ecumenical creeds, and scripture lessons.
4. In the commentary for the order of service, be sure to discuss:
a. Why a particular element is placed where it is in the order (e.g., How does it relate
to that which precedes and follows? How does it fit into the overall framework of
the service?)
b. Why the content of the element is appropriate to the service (e.g., why a
particular hymn or song was chosen)
c. Why changes were made (if any) from the form currently in use by the
community
Schedule (Bolded – Everyone, Underlined – Seminary students only)
Week 1 – What is Worship?
Objective: Based on the readings and lecture, by the end of the week students
will be able to give a definition of Christian worship that takes into account
biblical, theological, and historical research (Class Objectives 1 & 2).
Read:
-Horace Miner, “Body Rituals among the Nacirema”
-Isaiah 6:1-8; Deuteronomy 26:1-10; Luke 24:13-38; and Acts 2:41-47
-White, 17-46
-Covenant Book of Worship (CBW), 3-11, 15-29
Read/Review:
-Lecture: Homo Adorans and corresponding PowerPoint
-Lecture: Christian Worship and corresponding PowerPoint
Watch (or read): David Foster Wallace Commencement Speech
Due: What is Christian Worship? essay and responses (all weekly essays are
due by Saturday at midnight and responses are due by Tuesday at midnight)
Week 2 – Worship as Theology/Ethics
Objective: Based on the readings and lecture, by the end of the week students
will be able to define lex orandi, lex credendi, and lex vivendi (the law
of prayer, law of belief, and law of living) and analyze a social topic
(e.g., cultural/ethnic diversity, consumerism, poverty, etc.) using these
“lex” categories (Class Objective 5).
Read:
-Chapter 2 of Sacraments and Worship (Athanasius of Alexandria, Sub
Tuum Praesidium, Basil of Caesarea, Prosper of Aquitaine, Nicholas
Cabasilas, Amalarius of Metz, Martin Luther, The Council of Trent, Pope
Pius IX, Odo Casel, Peter Brunner, Alexander Schmemann, Geoffrey
Wainwright, Aidan Kavanaugh, Edward Kilmartin, Gordon Lathrop,
Don Saliers, Robert Taft, David W. Fagerberg, Teresa Berger, Melanie
Ross, Virgil Elizondo, David N. Powers, Nathan Mitchell
-Saliers, “Liturgy and Ethics: Some New Beginnings”
-L. Edward Phillips, “Ethics and Worship)
Read/Review:
-Lecture: Worship and/as Theology and corresponding PowerPoint
-Lecture: Worship and/as Ethics and corresponding PowerPoint
Due: Worship Context Description (Tuesday, September 6 at 11:59 p.m.)
Worship, Theology, and Ethics essay and responses
Week 3 – Liturgical Time
Objective: Based on the readings and lecture, by the end of the week students will
be able to describe the theological and spiritual rationale for following the church
year (Class Objective 1 & 2).
Read:
-Exodus 20:8-11; Exodus 23:10-16; Deuteronomy 5:15; Revelation 1:10
-Stookey, 15-161
-chapter 7 – The Liturgical Year (p. 371ff) – Sacraments and Worship
-Wilkinson, Egeria’s Travels, 151-161
-John Baldovin, “The Liturgical Year: A Calendar for Just Community”
Read/Review:
-Lecture: Liturgical Time and corresponding PowerPoint
Due: Theological Reasons for the Church Year Essay
Week 4 - Worship Inculturation
Objective: Based on the readings and lecture, by the end of the week students will
be able to describe the difference between acculturation, cultural dominance, and
inculturation and give an example of each from their local context. (Class objective
1, 2, & 7)
Read:
-Chupungco, “Liturgy and the Components of Culture”
-“Nairobi Document”
-Hawn, “Praying Globally”
-Phan, “Liturgical Inculturation”
Read/Review:
Lecture: Inculturation and corresponding PowerPoint
Due: Inculturation Essay
Week 5 – Prayer
Objective: Based on the readings and lecture, students will be able to critique their
own practice of public prayer by listing three ways in which it could be strengthened
(Class objective 1 & 2)
Read:
Inculturation
Prayer
-Read: Ephesians 6:12-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18; Luke 18:1-8
-White, 131-149
-Stookey, “Learning a Basic Form for Brief Prayers”
Read/Review:
-Lecture: Prayer and corresponding PowerPoint
Due: Field Observation Report (Tuesday, September 27, 11:59 p.m.)
-Prayer Essay
Week 6 – Service of Word/Music
Objective: Based on the readings and lecture, by the end of the week students will
be able to formulate three different ways in which music can be incorporated into
the service of the word in Christian worship. (Class objective 1 & 6)
Read:
Service of Word
-Read: Luke 4:16-21; Acts 2:42-47
-White, 151-173
-CBW, 33-46
-“Guidelines for Public Scripture Reading”
Music in Worship
-Read: Zephaniah 3:17-18; Psalm 148:1-10; Exodus 15:1-2; 1 Samuel 2:110; Luke 1:46-55; Luke 1:68-79; Philippians 2:5-11
-White, 111-129
-Bjorlin, “Theologies of Church Music”
-Begbie, “A Sixteenth-Century Trio”
Read/Review:
-Lecture: Service of the Word and corresponding PowerPoint
Due: Music in the Service of the Word Essay
Week 7 – Hymnal/Planning Worship
Objective: Based on the readings and lecture, by the end of the week students will
be able to choose a range of hymns appropriate for the particular texts and themes
of a worship service (Class objective 6).
Read:
Hymnals
-Westerfield Tucker, “Have Hymnals Become Dinosaurs?”
Planning Worship
Read: Witvliet, “The Nuts and Bolts of Worship Planning”
Read/Review:
-Lecture: The Case for Hymns and Hymnals and corresponding
PowerPoint
-Lecture: Planning Worship and corresponding PowerPoint
Due: Hymns and Worship Planning Essay
Week 8 – No Classes – Reading Week
Week 9 – Sacraments/Baptism
Objective: Based on the readings and lecture, by the end of the week students will
be able to explain the connection between the sacraments of baptism and the
eucharist and the physical body (Class objective 3 & 4).
Read:
-Cone, Spirituals and the Blues
- Read: Jeremiah 27:1-11; John 9:1-7; Colossians 1:15-29; Revelation
17:5-7
-White, 175-201
-“Symbol, Communication, Presence” in Bernard Cooke, Sacraments and
Sacramentality (Moodle)
-Chapter 1 of Sacraments and Worship: Augustine, Leo I, Hugh of St.
Victor, Peter Lombard, Thomas Aquinas, Council of Florence, Martin
Luther and the Lutheran Reformers, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin,
Council of Trent, The Puritans, Robert Barclay, Society of Friends,
Immanuel Kant, Edward Schillebeeckx, Mark Searle, J.D. Crichton,
Susan Ross, M. Daniel Findikyan, Louis-Marie Chauvet
Read/Review:
-Lecture: Sacraments in General and corresponding PowerPoint
Due: Cone, Spirituals and the Blues review (Tuesday, October 25, 11:59 p.m.)
-Sacraments and the Body Essay
Week 10 – Sacraments: Baptism and Communion
Objective: Based on the readings and lecture, by the end of the week students will
be able to employ their theology of baptism to speculate various responses to
pastoral concerns surrounding baptism (Class objective 3 & 4).
Read:
-Ezekiel 36:24-27; Acts 2:37-41; Acts 8:27-38; Romans 6:1-11; Galatians
3:26-29
-White, 203-228
- Chapter 3 excerpts from Sacraments and Worship: The New
Testament, The Didache, Justin Martyr, Didascalia Apostolorum,
Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, The Apostolic Tradition, John
Chrysostom, Apostolic Constitutions, Cyril of Jerusalem, Egeria, Ambrose
of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, John the Deacon, The Coptic Rite, The
Byzantine Rite, The Gelasian Sacramentary, Confirmation in the Pontifical
of William Durandus, Eusebius Gallicanus, Thomas Aquinas, Council of
Florence, Martin Luther, Menno Simons, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin,
First and Second Prayer Books of Edward VI, Council of Trent, John
Wesley, Aidan Kavanaugh, Mark Searle, Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry
- Christian Scharen, “Baptismal Practices and the Formation of Christians: A
Critical Liturgical Ethics” (Moodle)
Read/Review:
-Lecture: Baptism and corresponding PowerPoint
Due: Part II: Worship Inculturation and Adaptation (Thursday, Nov. 3, 11:59
p.m.)
-Baptism Case Study Essay
Week 11 – Eucharist
Objective: Based on the readings and lecture, by the end of the week students will
be able to formulate a theology of communion using three to four biblical
metaphors/texts (Class objective 3 & 4).
Read:
- Acts 2:42-46; 1 Corinthians 11:20-29; Matthew 26:26-29; Hebrews 9:1114
-White, 229-262
- Chapter 4 excerpts from Sacraments and Worship: Hebrew Bible and
Jewish Prayers, New Testament, The Didache, Letter of Pliny to the
Emperor Trajan, Justin Martyr, Didascalia Apostolorum, Tertullian, The
Anaphora of the Apostolic Tradition, The Anaphora of Addai and Mari,
The Anaphora of St. John Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop Sarapion
of Thmuis, Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, The Roman Canon
Missae, Paschasius Radbertus of Corbie, Berengarius, Fourth Lateran
Council, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, The Augsburg Confession,
Ulrich Zwingli, Marburg Colloquy, John Calvin, Balthasar Hübmaier,
The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, The Book of Common
Prayer, Benjamin Joadly, John Wesley and Charles Wesley, Alexander
Campbell, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Edward Schillebeeckx,
Baptism, Eucharist, and Minstry
-David Noel Power, “The Eucharistic Table: In Communion with the
Hungry”
Read/Review:
-Lecture: Eucharist and corresponding PowerPoint.
Due: Theology of the Eucharist Essay
Week 12 – Liturgical Space
Objective: Based on the readings and lecture, by the end of the week students will
be able to assess the strengths and limitations of their church’s sanctuary on weekly
worship (Class objective 2).
Read:
-White, 81-109
- Toregerson, “Sighting the Unseen: Theological Reflections on Visual
Art and Worship”
Due: Sacrament essay (Thursday, Nov. 17, 11:59 p.m.)
-Worship Space Essay
Week 13 – Passages
Objective: Based on the readings and lecture, by the end of the week students will
be able to develop several strategies for making pastorally-sensitive changes to
worship (Class Objective 6).
Read:
-Willimon, “Ritual and Pastoral Care”
Read/Review:
-Lecture: Worship as Pastoral Care and corresponding lecture
Due: Worship as Pastoral Care Essay
Week 14 – Passages
Objective: Based on the readings and lecture, by the end of the week students will
be able to hypothesize how their theology of marriage should influence the planning
of, and presiding at, a wedding service (Class objective 1 & 6).
Read:
Weddings
-Matthew 19:4-6; John 2:1-2; Ephesians 5:31-32 (included in Sacraments and
Worship reading)
-White, 276-285
-Sacraments and Worship, 292-312
Services for the Sick and Dying
-Numbers 21:4-9; II Kings 5:1-14; Matthew 4:23-25; James 5:13-16
-White, 269-276
-Sacraments and Worship, 286-291
Read/Review:
-Lecture: Weddings and corresponding PowerPoint
-Lecture: Healing and corresponding PowerPoint
Due: Rites of Passage-Wedding Essay
Week 15 – Passages/Children in Worship
Objective: Based on the readings and lecture, by the end of the week students will
be able to describe four ways in which children can be better incorporated into the
regular worshipping life of the church. (Class objective 1 & 6)
Read:
Funerals
-John 7:11-17; John 11:1-44; John 19:38-42; Acts 8:1-2
-White, 295-303
-Sacraments and Worship, 336-341
Children in Worship
-Isaiah 1:12-20; Isaiah 11:1-9; Matthew 19:13-15
-Clifton-Soderstrom and Bjorlin, Incorporating Children in Worship, chap. 6
Due: Children in Worship Essay
Week 16
Objective: By the end of the week, students will design their final worship service
and turn it in for evaluation.
Due - Part 3: Worship Service Design w/ Commentary, Friday, Dec. 16, 11:59
p.m.