Two realities that shape any attempt at generalization about American Baptist churches make it difficult to characterize worship in the American Baptist Churches/USA. First is the fundamental principle of the autonomy of local congregations in matters of governance and practice. Thus the worship practices of each church are created out of its own traditions, needs, and expectations. The one exception is the practice of believer’s baptism and the observance of the Lord’s Supper as ordinances, not as sacraments.
A second reality of life within the ABC/USA as a denomination is a self-conscious and experienced diversity. A 1991 Biennial Statement of Concern stated that
as American Baptists we affirm that God through Jesus Christ calls us to be … an inclusive people who, gifted by a plurality of backgrounds, find unity in diversity and diversity in unity, who embrace a pluralism of race, ethnicity, gender, and theology, who represent individual differences of conviction, and who bring the free church tradition to cooperative and ecumenical Christianity.
Worship practices vary widely according to the tradition of ethnic groups; and denominational statistics for 1990 show that of a total resident membership of 1.2 million in 5,739 churches, 39 percent are African-American, 0.5 percent are Asian American, 57.7 percent are White (Anglo) Americans, 2.4 percent are Hispanic, 0.1 percent are Native Americans, and 0.3 percent are other ethnic and language groups. Theological diversity likewise is a major factor in varieties of worship styles.
Thus worship practices of the churches of ABC/USA can be characterized first of all as diverse and varied. In the November 1990 issue of the denominational magazine, The American Baptist, a survey of services of worship in the churches in the East Bay Area of San Francisco, California, revealed a spectrum of worship styles from formal to spontaneous and of worship orders from those that are liturgical or in some way traditional to innovative designs that vary weekly.
The Centrality of Worship in Congregational Gatherings
Within this diversity, however, a second generalization must focus on the centrality of worship to the life of the gathered people. The 1987 document on denominational identity affirms that as American Baptists, “we are … a worshiping people, who regularly gather to praise God, who receive nourishment by communion with the Risen Christ, who share an open and public confession of faith, and who believe that private worship brings vitality to corporate celebration.”
A survey conducted by the editors of The American Baptist in 1990 shows that 90 percent or more of the respondents rated the following elements as essential or important in worship: preaching (95 percent), giving of tithes and offerings (93 percent), Communion (90 percent), congregational singing (90 percent), music (90 percent), Scripture readings (83 percent), prayers by the worship leader (83 percent), silent prayers (67 percent), altar call or invitation to faith (63 percent), and prayers by the congregation (58 percent).
Worship Renewal
There is an increasing interest in worship renewal. Several areas of concern need to be addressed. One is the limited preparation most American Baptist clergy have had in the field of worship studies, often completing seminary training with little or minimal preparation in the field of worship.
Another is the limited number of printed resources for worship. The most recent denominational hymnbook, Hymnbook for Christian Worship, was published in 1970, and there are no current plans to issue a new one. Ernst Skoglund’s A Manual of Worship, published in 1968 by the denominational publishers Judson Press, had only limited acceptance. No similar American Baptist worship book has been published subsequently, but Judson Press has issued Garth House’s Litanies for All Occasions (1989) and Roy Pearson’s Prayers for All Occasions: For Pastors and Lay Leaders (1990).
However, although no formal denominational documents have been issued with regard to worship renewal, there are signs of hope. For example, in the 1980s one denominational program, in identifying the marks of growing and caring churches, only belatedly admitted worship to the list. But in June 1991, the governing body of the denomination voted to embark upon a program entitled “ABC 2000: Renewed for Mission,” which lists worship first among three foci for renewal. This movement of the place of worship from a peripheral position in the 1980s to a central place for the 1990s is visible evidence of movement in a positive direction.
Another such sign is the organization in 1989 of the American Baptist Fellowship for Liturgical Renewal. Under the leadership of Ronal and Inga Freyer Nicholas this small but growing group publishes an occasional paper called Liturgy and Life and in 1992 led a “Retreat on Worship,” as a retreat and workshop at the American Baptist Assembly at Green Lake, Wisconsin, the national conference center. Reclaiming the heritage of liturgical worship that is part of Baptist history is a priority, along with the development of a holistic approach to worship renewal with a recognition of the need for varieties of structures and style in the expression of the Christian story.
Most encouraging of all is the number of individual pastors and many congregations who have sought worship renewal through greater awareness of the church calendar, through greater use of responsive readings, litanies, and unison prayers, through the introduction of drama, liturgical dance, choral reading groups, and contemporary music forms for congregations and choirs. A number of American Baptist clergy have been influenced by the biblical storytelling movement, bringing creative approaches into preaching. Worship in regional and national gatherings as well as in local congregations reflects these trends toward renewal.
Despite the limited formal evidence, there is nevertheless a sense among many American Baptists that the decade of the 1990s will be a time of significant worship renewal.