Scan barcode
Reviews
Preaching and Praying as Though God Matters: In the Post-establishment Church by Ronald P. Byars
drbobcornwall's review
4.0
Whether we like it or not we live in a different era from our spiritual ancestors of even a few decades past. That is especially true of Mainline Protestants who once dominated the social-cultural landscape. That's no longer true. Constantine no longer holds sway. So, how do we navigate this reality so that our preaching and praying in the era of a post-establishment church reveals that God actually matters to us?
Ronald Byars, a retired pastor and professor of preaching and worship at Pittsburg Theological Seminary (affiliated with the PCUSA), seeks to provide us with a word that ties preaching and worship, especially the Lord's Table together. He writes this book not only in the era of the post-establishment church but from within the COVID-19 pandemic that closed down many congregations and forced them (us) to rethink preaching and worship. So, with the end of our established status and in the aftermath of our recent plague, what might our preaching and worship look like? More specifically, where does God fit in all of this? Is God evident in our preaching and our liturgy? What Byars seeks to do in this book is to help us restore theological substance to our preaching and worship. For Byars, the eucharistic prayer will be key to this effort.
Byars believes that the traditional eucharistic prayer, beginning with the Great Thanksgiving, offers Trinitarian substance. Thus, "preaching may become less narrow, less cautious, and offer a grander view when eucharistic prayer models the renewed accent on a cosmic and universal redemption that is exemplified in the eschatological expectation of the reign of Christ, the kingdom of God, the parousia (return of Christ) leading to the basileia, a new heaven and earth" (p. 7). This is not a conservative, traditionalist rant, but it is a call back to theological roots that enable a more progressive vision, especially concerning God's ultimate purposes. In other words, not only does Byars call us back to the Table but he does so with an eschatological vision (something appealing to me).
This is a book about preaching. Thus, he begins in chapter 1 with a conversation about "the challenge of preaching in a post-Establishment church. Central to this reality is growing skepticism as to the benefit of preaching especially among those sitting in pews listening to sermons. From this conversation about the challenges of preaching in this age, we turn to a conversation about preaching and prayer, especially with the Lord's Supper in mind. Here he invites us to recover "an eschatological imagination" and receive a "gift from the East." In other words, he is among a growing number of Protestants who have begun to recognize that there are great theological riches to draw upon from the eastern churches, which offer an eschatological vision. Thus, as we gather for worship, hear preaching, and share the Table, we look forward to the coming realm of God. Here he makes clear that the focus is not on getting to heaven but on experiencing God's realm.
Chapter 3 invites us to consider the gift of The Reformation, which focused our attention on Scripture and its message, which prepares us for heaven and more. The conversation continues in chapter 4 with a word about "the cosmic scope of God's redemption. The message here is a reminder that Jesus' mission is not just about getting us to heaven but a much larger vision of cosmic restoration. Here Byars reflects on the role the Holy Spirit plays in revealing new things and bringing new things into existence. That message includes the healing of creation, which offers a wider vision of God's work than is often conceived.
Byars addresses one of the conundrums of our age, especially in Mainline circles, and that has to do with the Trinitarian nature of Christian faith. While many Mainliners, especially in my circles, are willing to let go of the Trinity, Byars wants to engage the Trinity, especially as it is revealed in the Eucharistic prayer as a key to preaching in this new era. The Prayer of Great Thanksgiving ultimately offers a condensed summation of the Christian faith in three movements. Because it is Trinitarian in essence, preaching and worship will be Christological. That is, it will focus on Jesus through the anamnesis or remembrance of Jesus' life and ministry leading to the possibility of universal restoration. With the Trinity affirmed and Christology engaged, we move to the third aspect of the eucharistic prayer and its relationship to preaching. That has to do with the Holy Spirit and the Messianic Banquet. Here is where reflection on the way in which the Spirit makes Christ present to us in the Eucharist so that the Supper is not a memorial of a dead Jesus but an anticipation of the messianic banquet through the Spirit.
In some circles preaching/Word is preeminent. In others it's the Table. Byars believes they go together, and that in our day it is the Eucharist that can serve to reclaim preaching. But we have that skepticism to deal with and the fact that people aren't listening as perhaps they once did. For Byars preaching is just as sacramental as the Lord's Supper. The two together serve to connect God and the assembled church. So what should we do going forward? Do we continue to minimize God's presence in our worship and in our lives, or do we embrace a second naivete, where we embrace the fullness of God? In other words, in our preaching and worship, does God matter? Byars wants us to reengage with God so that the church lives on not as a social club or activist meeting, but as the locus of divine encounters.
This is not a call to jettison social justice or go back to the good old days. It is, however, a call to engage in preaching and worship such that what happens in these contexts, where the church is no longer established, God matters to our lives.
Ronald Byars, a retired pastor and professor of preaching and worship at Pittsburg Theological Seminary (affiliated with the PCUSA), seeks to provide us with a word that ties preaching and worship, especially the Lord's Table together. He writes this book not only in the era of the post-establishment church but from within the COVID-19 pandemic that closed down many congregations and forced them (us) to rethink preaching and worship. So, with the end of our established status and in the aftermath of our recent plague, what might our preaching and worship look like? More specifically, where does God fit in all of this? Is God evident in our preaching and our liturgy? What Byars seeks to do in this book is to help us restore theological substance to our preaching and worship. For Byars, the eucharistic prayer will be key to this effort.
Byars believes that the traditional eucharistic prayer, beginning with the Great Thanksgiving, offers Trinitarian substance. Thus, "preaching may become less narrow, less cautious, and offer a grander view when eucharistic prayer models the renewed accent on a cosmic and universal redemption that is exemplified in the eschatological expectation of the reign of Christ, the kingdom of God, the parousia (return of Christ) leading to the basileia, a new heaven and earth" (p. 7). This is not a conservative, traditionalist rant, but it is a call back to theological roots that enable a more progressive vision, especially concerning God's ultimate purposes. In other words, not only does Byars call us back to the Table but he does so with an eschatological vision (something appealing to me).
This is a book about preaching. Thus, he begins in chapter 1 with a conversation about "the challenge of preaching in a post-Establishment church. Central to this reality is growing skepticism as to the benefit of preaching especially among those sitting in pews listening to sermons. From this conversation about the challenges of preaching in this age, we turn to a conversation about preaching and prayer, especially with the Lord's Supper in mind. Here he invites us to recover "an eschatological imagination" and receive a "gift from the East." In other words, he is among a growing number of Protestants who have begun to recognize that there are great theological riches to draw upon from the eastern churches, which offer an eschatological vision. Thus, as we gather for worship, hear preaching, and share the Table, we look forward to the coming realm of God. Here he makes clear that the focus is not on getting to heaven but on experiencing God's realm.
Chapter 3 invites us to consider the gift of The Reformation, which focused our attention on Scripture and its message, which prepares us for heaven and more. The conversation continues in chapter 4 with a word about "the cosmic scope of God's redemption. The message here is a reminder that Jesus' mission is not just about getting us to heaven but a much larger vision of cosmic restoration. Here Byars reflects on the role the Holy Spirit plays in revealing new things and bringing new things into existence. That message includes the healing of creation, which offers a wider vision of God's work than is often conceived.
Byars addresses one of the conundrums of our age, especially in Mainline circles, and that has to do with the Trinitarian nature of Christian faith. While many Mainliners, especially in my circles, are willing to let go of the Trinity, Byars wants to engage the Trinity, especially as it is revealed in the Eucharistic prayer as a key to preaching in this new era. The Prayer of Great Thanksgiving ultimately offers a condensed summation of the Christian faith in three movements. Because it is Trinitarian in essence, preaching and worship will be Christological. That is, it will focus on Jesus through the anamnesis or remembrance of Jesus' life and ministry leading to the possibility of universal restoration. With the Trinity affirmed and Christology engaged, we move to the third aspect of the eucharistic prayer and its relationship to preaching. That has to do with the Holy Spirit and the Messianic Banquet. Here is where reflection on the way in which the Spirit makes Christ present to us in the Eucharist so that the Supper is not a memorial of a dead Jesus but an anticipation of the messianic banquet through the Spirit.
In some circles preaching/Word is preeminent. In others it's the Table. Byars believes they go together, and that in our day it is the Eucharist that can serve to reclaim preaching. But we have that skepticism to deal with and the fact that people aren't listening as perhaps they once did. For Byars preaching is just as sacramental as the Lord's Supper. The two together serve to connect God and the assembled church. So what should we do going forward? Do we continue to minimize God's presence in our worship and in our lives, or do we embrace a second naivete, where we embrace the fullness of God? In other words, in our preaching and worship, does God matter? Byars wants us to reengage with God so that the church lives on not as a social club or activist meeting, but as the locus of divine encounters.
This is not a call to jettison social justice or go back to the good old days. It is, however, a call to engage in preaching and worship such that what happens in these contexts, where the church is no longer established, God matters to our lives.
More...