Date of Award

1-2011

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Department

Seminary

Abstract

The question addressed in this dissertation may be stated as follows: 1tJ1l1at hope does Anglican Eucharistic Liturgy bring to the future of church planting within the increasingly post-Christian urban centers of the Pacific Northwest? According to our research of a sample zip code of inner-city Portland, Oregon, only one in four people self-identify with Christianity and less than one in five attend church. Churches are shrinking and closing rapidly and our culture is increasingly defined as post-Christian. The plans of the recent church-planting efforts are losing ground. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but there is significant evidence that the Anglican Eucharistic Liturgy will speak today, where other strategies have not.

In Chapter One, the cultural reality of the Pacific Northwest is described in greater detail, including the specifics of our unique and localized research., which shows this spiritual state in shocking detail. Within this context the Anglican Eucharist will also be explained in greater detail and will foreshadow the solution to come.

Chapter Two and Chapter Three lay the global-historical continuity of liturgical worship and forms. Throughout biblical times (Chapter Two) and church history (Chapter Three), by the leading of God, the people of Jehovah have voted again and again, across generations and cultures, that liturgy is meaningful and transcendent. These liturgical forms were defined and solidified from the church's earliest times.

In Chapter Four, the essential dance of contextualization is defined. As the church continues to serve and love into post-Christian culture, it must strive to keep the forms and passions of consistent church history, while incarnating the unique and particular voice of each localized context. Chapter Five provides a critique of existing church planting methods.

Chapter Six contains our solution. It considers the structural viability of birthing Anglicanism in the western United States and follows with a discussion of the Eucharistic Liturgy in light of post-Christian encounter with truth, post-Christian experience of community and post-Christian Spirituality. Conclusion: the liturgy will speak.

Appendix 1 reveals and explains the results of the 97217 survey. Appendix 2 provides creative suggestions for the administration of the Anglican Eucharistic Liturgy in a culture like inner-city Portland, Oregon.

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