Chapter 3: The Order of Worship
In this chapter, Viola traces the history of the order of worship from the Catholic mass through the Reformer's and Revivalists. He points out that an 'order OF worship' has no biblical basis and is not the same thing as order IN worship. He does a much better job in this chapter, in my opinion, of actually making an argument that the 'order of worship' often interferes with the headship of Jesus Christ in Christian gatherings. Essentially, "Protestant liturgy cripples the body of Christ. It turns it into one huge tongue (the pastor) and many little ears (the congregation)."
His points are that the 'order of worship'
1) Represses participation/silencing members
2) Strangles the headship of Jesus Christ
3) Makes gatherings boring and predictable
4) Encourages passivity and 'weekend worship'
Reaction: This was my favorite chapter so far. I agreed with most of what Viola was saying. I've long attempted to make our church gatherings less formal and more participatory. But, to be honest, I've largely succeeded in this despite Viola's claims that such is basically impossible within the institutional church.
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