The Gospel & Our Culture
Two Views
by James Brownson & David Mills
A Reply to David Mills’s “The Devil Is a Good Sociologist”
by James Brownson
There are several aspects to David Mills’s discussion of worship at the Gospel and Our Culture Network (GOCN) meeting last February (Touchstone 7.2, Spring 1994) which I find worrisome. First, there are some unfortunate cheap shots. To characterize the cantor as “a tall, thin, almost gaunt young man with a close-cropped beard and mystic expression” is certainly a caricature of the scene, intended only for dramatic effect as a “zinger” to open the essay. Such half-veiled mockery is inappropriate in an essay designed to stimulate reflection and dialogue regarding worship. Likewise, the suggestion that “we look to the vast weight of inherited wisdom, and they don’t” is heavily adversarial in tone, and simply untrue. That statement would gain little assent from the vast majority of the participants in the conference, I believe. There is an edge to some parts of this essay which sounds more like the venting of spleen than an opening of helpful dialogue.
Second, there is in the essay a reluctance to recognize values in traditions different from those embraced by Mills. In particular, I believe there is a fundamental divide in this country between those who regard worship as the spontaneous expression of the heart toward God, and those who see worship as the joining of the great chorus of praise which has continued from the beginning and which will continue into eternity. Certainly the more liturgical traditions can teach the rest of American Christianity a great deal about this latter set of values, but their lesson will be better heard if they realize the significance that intimacy and spontaneity in worship have for others. There must be some reason why so many at the GOCN conference found something of value in the worship services. Dialogue and mutual learning is possible only when we can realize the significance of the values of those with whom we disagree. One could wish for more of such generosity in this essay, that the same humility which was enjoined upon fellow Episcopalians regarding their own tradition would have been exercised toward those of other traditions.
Third, I am greatly disappointed in the conclusion of the third paragraph of Mills’s essay, that the worship of the conference said something basic about the GOCN movement as a whole. Such generalizing seems unfair. Related to this is the lack of any awareness of the writer that these were seminary students who were leading the worship services, students who were given the freedom to design and lead the services in ways which seemed good to them, without the censorship of some larger and more authoritative body. Certainly there are things which I would have done differently. (Mills’s comments about the “contemporary” statement of faith, for example, were quite apt in my view.) Yet the Gospel and Our Culture Network is not a hierarchical organization which imposes a “politically correct” view (of either the right or left) on its constituents. It exists only because people have found a common set of concerns, and have benefited from collaboration and dialogue, despite their differences on many subjects. If all of us were to have rejected the movement the first time we heard someone say something offensive to us, the movement would not exist today. The very nature of the movement as “network” requires that each of us take what is good and leave behind what is less helpful to us.
Finally, a word should be said about inclusive God-language. This has been, and will probably continue to be, one of the most sticky issues for us in our worship as a network. I don’t know how to resolve it, other than to note that both the presence and absence of masculine God language seems to elicit passionate concern from folks who are part of the network. And yet such people, who differ so deeply and passionately on this issue, nonetheless find that they can learn from each other on these and other questions as they discuss the implications of the gospel for our culture. I suspect that this will continue to be a source of strain for us for some time.
The liturgical traditions have important contributions to make to the GOCN. Many of the concerns expressed in Mills’s essay are concerns which all of us need to hear and to learn from. I must confess to being challenged by his essay as well. I think that we in the GOCN still have not paid enough attention to worship. Those traditions which do most of their theological work through liturgy have something important to say to those of us who tend to be more cerebral and discursive in our orientation. If we paid as much attention to our worship as we did to our lectures (which we have not), our network would be significantly strengthened. I am heartened, moreover, by the way in which Mills clearly has been grasped by some of the same concerns which stir in many of our hearts. My hope and prayer is that we can move past some of our more visceral reactions to each other, that we can find ways of focusing our energies on common concerns which the church as a whole deeply needs to address.
Response to James Brownson
by David Mills
I appreciate Dr. Brownson’s response, but I am afraid that it tends rather to prove than disprove my argument. He seems to think worship an “optional extra,” like tinted glass in a new car, and not an act of the most extraordinary intimacy, for which the most precise knowledge and language is needed. Obedient to the “jealous God” of the Bible, and directed in serving Him by the inherited wisdom, the ecumenically orthodox are unable to accept nearly as much diversity in the content of worship as he does, or as did the meeting of the Gospel and Our Culture Network (GOCN). I will take his points in order.
The Editorial’s Purpose
David Mills has been editor of Touchstone and executive editor of First Things. He edits the opinion page of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
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