This misdirected call to worship, occasionally heard in congregations and seminary
chapels, consists of six words, but is symptomatic of a profound problem in
our perception of who is the host in our assemblies. The Bible does not provide
a set of specific directions about exactly how our services should look, but both Old and
New Testaments make it clear that it is God who does the calling, and we are those called
to enter “into something that is not primarily of our own making” but instead “into a
company, space, and action bigger than human imagination.”
Edith M. Humphrey, Orr Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Seminary, began
her career as an officer in the Salvation Army in Canada, then became a member of the
Anglican Church, and more recently has become Orthodox. “Grand Entrance” is neither
a conversion narrative nor a polemic. Rather, it is a tour of biblical images, invitations and
narratives that point to the God who calls us into a more spacious place.
The author reviews the history of the development of the church’s public worship in
both East and West, noting how both share a vision of worship as “‘grand entrance’ into
the mysterious presence of the Holy Trinity.” Presbyterians share the heritage of the whole
church, of course, which did not begin to worship for the first time at the Reformation, or
during the Puritan period, or during the heyday of revivalism; nor did it begin to worship
only day before yesterday, when the Church Growth folks persuaded us desperate pastors
that worship was basically about marketing and packaging. Congregations need for those
who plan or lead public worship to have been exposed both to the biblical roots and the
historical development of Christian worship. Forebears in the communion of saints can
put their arms around our shoulders and show us how and why Scripture, history, theology
and piety led to the ecumenical shape of worship as gracious union of
word and table. They can also gently point out temptations and pitfalls!
One of the most important lessons our forebears might hand on is
that “worship is for believers.” Despite the lingering legacy of the revival
tradition, worship is not about atmospherics, manipulating emotions,
instruction, appeals and exhortations. While there may be a role for
extraordinary assemblies intended to introduce the gospel to “seekers,”
the church’s worship does not have a utilitarian purpose, but gathers us
around “the weighty glory of God-among-us … .”
Humphrey has visited services in a broad spectrum of traditions,
generously observing that the sense of entry into a spacious place can
be manifest in more than one way, but may also easily be obscured. She
provides Web links to relevant documents not otherwise easily found.
Each chapter closes with questions for discussion. “Grand Entrance” is a
work both substantial and useful.
RONAL D P. BYARS is a professor emeritus at Union Presbyterian
Seminary, Richmond, Va.
