Introductions

It's about time!  I've been thinking about starting this thing up for a couple of years now, and nearly have a few times.  But, it's now 2012, and it's time for some follow through!

So .... what's this whole mess going to be about?

Hmmm ...

Well, titles say it all.  I'm calling this place, "The Liturgy Nerd".  My focus will be on what I deal with everyday, and that is getting people together to do the good work of worship.

Let's start, in true nerd fashion, with some definitions!

The Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms defines liturgy as:

liturgy (from Gr. leitourgia, "work of the people") The service of God offered by the people of God in divine worship.

I serve as a Worship Pastor at a wonderful, medium-sized, United Methodist church, in the DFW Metroplex.  Leading worship is a huge passion of mine, from contemporary to traditional, emergent to contemplative, Medieval to 21st century.  As a seminary educated musician, I find all forms of worship to be fascinating, but my main concern in the worship I'm called to lead is that the congregation and worship leadership are always working together to create a space where we experience Emmanuel, God with us.

This is where the term liturgy comes into play.  The path of worship that we follow in any given service is what we often call the "liturgy", with a bulletin or without one.  As a worship service designer, these liturgies are put together to create collaboration in the worship space between leaders and followers, to create something that is alive with the Spirit.

Here in this place I'm going to put forth questions; things that I'm pondering.  Sometimes this "work of the people" blossoms and grows, and other times ... well ... it's not so good.  So I'll post questions, and I invite feedback.  I'll forever be a student, and there's so much to learn.

One of the ways that Webster's Dictionary defines "nerd" is this:

nerd one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits

I'm a nerd for liturgy.  Let's work.