Evangelical Liturgy

Nevin’s The Anxious Bench brought many valid points against the evangelical practice of the anxious bench and other “alter call” type forms within the church.  Nevin identifies the main issues with the anxious bench not with its newness in the church, but with how it cheapens the work of the minister and brings distraction – and possibly pride and vanity – into the conversion process.  Nevin points to a great hypocrisy of evangelicalism -- anxious bench type rituals have become their own liturgy.

            Though his misunderstanding of catholic, liturgical worship forms hurt his overall argument, on the whole I was happily surprised in the direction Nevin’s argumentation went.  I found myself agreeing with much of what he said, realizing that I had witnessed and experienced such things in the modern church.  I have seen a poorly planned worship service and light sermon followed by an alter call where several vulnerable people came to the alter to the praise and adoration of the congregation.  Early in my own religious journey I had doubts of my own sincerity because I had not “accepted Jesus” at the alter, but at home and in the pew.  With each of Nevin’s major points I was able to recall an experience from my own life that matched his argument against anxious bench like practices.