Book Review: Apologia for Mother Kirk
Add comment March 28th, 2012
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Recovering Mother Kirk: The Case for Liturgy in the Reformed Tradition – D. G. Hart Baker Book House (2003) Topic: Liturgy & Sacraments; Calvinsim/Reformed; Protestantism Summary: Call for the Reformed Churches to return to their historic liturgical practices Rating: 
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Increasingly one hears of Protestant pastors concerned over a trivial approach to worship, an individualistic understanding of doctrine, and an ahistoric perspective of the Church, turning to historic Christianity as the answer. These converts have often sacrificed promising careers in the Protestant ministry for the chance to experience liturgical and doctrinal roots stretching beyond the last few centuries. Less noticed is a move among Protestants who, while agreeing with some of the criticisms of those who left, believe the Reformation was right in its stand for the supremacy of Holy Scripture and other doctrinal positions expressible only within Protestantism. Rather than sacrifice these Protestant distinctives for a richer worship and a more historically rooted theological approach, they sound a call to recapture the ideals that fueled the Reformation and rethink the direction Protestantism has drifted for over a century. This includes the reaffirmation of the traditional Protestant use of liturgy and its understanding of the historic beliefs of the Christian Faith enshrined in the Creeds.
An important entry in this reevaluation of the direction of Protestantism is Recovering Mother Kirk by D. G. Hart. The title indicates the attachment to the Presbyterian cause of the author but this should not dissuade others from benefiting from his well reasoned analysis. The ills of the modern Church are not isolated by denominational boundaries and, although the author is primarily concerned with the Reformed tradition, his points can apply (with appropriate adjustments) to others as well.
Hart begins by noting the neglect of worship in Reformed circles among even those who are sticklers on matters of Reformed belief and practice. Rejecting the current trend to conform to the theology of Evangelical Protestantism, he counters the Reformed Tradition is better placed among the magisterial Protestants (e.g., Lutherans, Anglicans) and the current drift is a marked departure from their heritage. Although the Reformed Tradition emphasizes doctrine, cultural transformation, and piety, none of this can be properly understood without the context of Reformed worship. The importation of revivalist patterns into Reformed settings inevitably cause confusion and a weakening of adherence to Reformed distinctives elsewhere.
The main part of the book consists of essays on five topics (the Church’s commission, the contemporary worship scene, offices and ordinances, ecumenism, and the influence of revivalism on Reformed worship). In each section, Hart presents evidence, both historical and theological, supporting his thesis that the Reformed Tradition properly belongs to the “high church” end of Protestantism but was sidetracked by the importation of revivalist theology. The chief culprit, according to Hart, was the Great Awakenings and its blurring distinctions between evangelistic outreach and worship. This error, he concludes, continues to this day with the “church growth” and other modern manifestations of the same confusion between worship and evangelism.
Hart closely examines historical sources in painting a picture of a Reformed worship centered upon Word and Sacrament. Although it shares many aspects with “high church” liturgical traditions, it is governed by the “regulative principle” of using only that with biblical warrant. Important to this Reformed understanding of worship was the development of liturgies heavily dependent upon Holy Scripture and the singing of the Psalter. The net result is a worship both reverent and austere.
Overall, Hart presents a compelling case for the place of the Reformed tradition in the Church. He roots much of his alignment of the Reformed Tradition as a high church manifestation of Protestantism by pointing to Calvin’s high view of the Church and call for a weekly Eucharist as evidence. As with others who have made related claims (e.g., Michael Horton and Keith Mathison), there is truth in the claims but it may not be quite as simple as its supporters contend.
Unlike the Lutheran and Anglican reforms that reformed (however successfully) existing practices by pruning what was perceived as excess, the Reformed Tradition began more with its own distinctives and constructed its worship from a new template. These changes could often be highly sectarian splits within the movement appeared almost immediately. The force of Calvin’s theology restored more of a sense of historical order, but some points of his program (e.g., a weekly Eucharist) were never implemented even in Geneva. Straddling the boudnary between catholicity and sectarianism has often left the Reformed less agreed on doctrine than attitude. These contradictory visions have left them prone to division and subject to the idiposyncratic interpretations of individual Church leaders. Even the slogan “Reformed, Ever Reforming,” while intending to indicate the submission to Scriptural authority, also hints at an inherent ecclesial and doctrinal instability.
Another issue that can be raised is the application of the regulative principle itself. Although aspects of worship are considered in Holy Scripture, much of it is not explicitly discussed. This is not surprising since much of early Christian worship had already developed a basic form and was not a point of contention in the writing of the New Testament. The restriction to explicitly provided aspects may in fact give us an unbalanced view of the worship of the Apostolic Church. Indeed, the historical research into early Christian worship gives us a picture far different than that implemented by Zwngli, Calvin, et al who were influenced by historical and social currents not relevant in a first century context.
Yet for those in the high church side of the Reformed faith, Recovering Mother Kirk is a powerful presentation of their beliefs. As a blueprint for what Reformed Christianity should be, this book and other recent releases have identified the movement some call “the Catholic Presbyterians” as one to watch closely. If the Reformed continue their assimilation into the Evangelical mainstream (on the right) and the liberal mainstream (on the left), they at least have been shown another way. Thoughtful Reformed Christians like Hart are now asking the right questions. It will be interesting to see how many other Reformed believers disillusioned by current conditions find in this movement their answer.
