LIBERTY UNIVERSITY WHERE TIME AND ETERNITY INTERSECT: THE INTEGRATION OF THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR INTO THE WORSHIP PRACTICES OF THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH A Thesis Project Submitted to Liberty University School of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF WORSHIP STUDIES By Leah Woods August 9, 2018 Advisor/Mentor: James Siddons Reader: Rodney D. Whaley 2 ABSTRACT The liturgical calendar is a historic practice of the Christian church which provides a structure for worship based on the life and teachings of Jesus. This project will examine the historical developments of the use of the liturgical calendar and the value of introducing it to the evangelical church setting. The project will be a case study of several evangelical churches in the Southern Maryland area through analysis of a one year sample of song canon. The song canons will be analyzed for balance in offices of Christ, story focus, and Trinitarian language. 3 Contents ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 6 Statement of the Problem ......................................................................................................... 9 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................... 12 Three Research Questions ...................................................................................................... 12 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................................ 12 Definition of Terms ................................................................................................................. 13 Liturgical church ................................................................................................................... 13 Evangelical church ................................................................................................................ 14 Liturgical Calendar ............................................................................................................... 14 Advent ................................................................................................................................... 15 Epiphany ............................................................................................................................... 15 Lent ....................................................................................................................................... 15 Holy Week ............................................................................................................................ 15 Pentecost ............................................................................................................................... 16 The Time of the Church ........................................................................................................ 16 Assumptions ............................................................................................................................ 16 Limitations ............................................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................................ 18 Liturgical Calendar ................................................................................................................ 18 Liturgy in Evangelical Churches ........................................................................................... 23 Liturgical Renewal .................................................................................................................. 26 Liturgical Year and Worship ................................................................................................. 30 Doctrine in Song ...................................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................... 37 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 37 Liturgical Year ........................................................................................................................ 42 The Time of Christmas ......................................................................................................... 48 The Time of Easter ................................................................................................................ 52 The Time of the Church ........................................................................................................ 57 Offices of Christ ...................................................................................................................... 60 God’s Story and Our Story .................................................................................................... 66 Trinity ...................................................................................................................................... 67 CHAPTER FOUR ....................................................................................................................... 70 Overview .................................................................................................................................. 70 Advent ...................................................................................................................................... 73 Christmas and Epiphany ........................................................................................................ 76 Lent........................................................................................................................................... 79 Holy Week and Easter ............................................................................................................ 82 God’s Story by Season ............................................................................................................ 85 Trinitarian Language by Season ........................................................................................... 87 4 CHAPTER FIVE ........................................................................................................................ 89 Canon as Catechism ................................................................................................................ 89 Balance of Offices .................................................................................................................... 91 Balance of Story ...................................................................................................................... 92 Balance of Trinity ................................................................................................................... 94 Implementation of Liturgical Year ....................................................................................... 95 Areas for Further Inquiry ...................................................................................................... 99 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 101 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 104 Appendix A: Chesapeake Church .......................................................................................... 109 Chart of Song Usage by Sunday .......................................................................................... 109 Chesapeake Church Song Analysis ..................................................................................... 120 Appendix B: Grace Brethren Church .................................................................................... 125 Chart of Song Usage by Sunday .......................................................................................... 125 Grace Brethren Song Analysis ............................................................................................. 132 Appendix C: First Baptist Church ......................................................................................... 136 Chart of Song Usage by Sunday .......................................................................................... 136 First Baptist Song Analysis .................................................................................................. 145 Appendix D: First Lutheran Church ..................................................................................... 150 Chart of Song Usage by Sunday .......................................................................................... 150 First Lutheran Song Analysis .............................................................................................. 161 Appendix E: Tables ................................................................................................................. 171 Table 1: Offices