Johnson, Todd

Normative Pietist Worship (Fall 1998)

“Worship” and “Wars” are often paired these days on the covers of theological journals and ecclesiastical magazines. From low-church Protestant to high-church Catholic and Orthodox, lines are drawn in the liturgical sand over issues of ritual propriety and worship. The Covenant Church is certainly not exempt from this stream of controversy as the recent resolution on baptism and “re”baptism indicates. Ultimately, the search in these debates is for liturgical bedrock–for norms which define the boundaries of a tradition’s worship. Are there such norms for those who claim a pietist heritage?