Can we learn from ancient prayer books?

Posted on July 3, 2018 
Filed under Resources

“Why would a 21st century evangelical be interested in liturgy?, asked Mark Earngey as he began his talk at Wycliffe Hall (on 11 June).

An extrovert Australian, Mark is definitely not a nerdy academic, fascinated by church history for its own sake. His time in Oxford working on a DPhil and a book (both just completed) hasn’t affected his accent, his regular use of words like ‘mate’ and ‘ripper’, or his commitment to see the church reflect Christ better.

Born into a Sydney Anglican churchgoing family, as a young man Mark rebelled against the Christian faith, returned to the Lord through a Pentecostal fellowship, and then found his way back to Anglicanism. Liturgy for him used to be associated with older generations, and an inauthentic expression of faith with repetition of words by rote replacing heart worship.

Like many evangelicals he believed that liturgy creates a barrier to mission, an extra layer of weirdness for newcomers. But on reflection he realised that every church develops a worship pattern or liturgy, even if it’s not written down. What matters is preparation, engagement, and worship in the Spirit, irrespective of the form of words…”

– Anglican Mainstream’s Andrew Symes outlines a recent talk given in Oxford by Mark Earngey.

See also:

(Ripper picture of Mark Earngey and Dominic Steele from the GAFCON livestream.)