Ever Ancient, Ever New
The Allure of Liturgy for a New Generation
- Preaching & Worship
- Publisher: Zondervan Reflective (Zondervan)
- Published: 2019
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Publisher's Description
For many years now, the church in North America has heard figure after figure concerning the steady flow of young people leaving the church. In the midst of these troubling figures, there remains a glimmer of hope for these youth as they transition into young adults. Ever Ancient, Ever New tells the story of a generation of younger Christians from different backgrounds and traditions who are finding a home and a deep connection in the church by embracing a liturgical expression of the faith. Author and teacher Winfield Bevins introduces you to a growing movement among younger Christians who are returning to historic, creedal, and liturgical reflections of Christianity. He unpacks why and how liturgy has beckoned them deeper into their experience of Jesus, and what types of churches and communities foster this "convergence" of old and new. Filled with stories illustrating the excitement and joy many young adults have found in these ancient expressions of Christianity, this book introduces you to practices and principles that may help the church as it seeks to engage our postmodern world.
Endorsements (8)
“Despite all the confident, boisterous pronouncements that old forms of worship are dying or dead, liturgical worship—anchored by ancient prayers, enlivened by historic hymns, and centered on the Eucharist—quietly refuses to disappear. In this personal, journalistic look at some of the young adults finding their way back to it, Winfield Bevins helps explain liturgy’s beguiling persistence. This book chronicles a remarkably hopeful trend in today’s churches.”
“There is a hunger among this generation to recover the historic roots of the Christian faith for discipleship and mission. Winfield Bevins’ new book offers a clear and compelling account of why young adults across North America are embracing liturgy. If you want to learn more about this movement and why it matters, this book is for you.”
“Winfield Bevins is an expert on the mission and renewal of the church, and with the research for this book, he is now well versed in the attitudes and practices of young people regarding liturgy and sacrament. Ever Ancient, Ever New brings together the best of Winfield, yielding something like a field guide to the mix of Gospel, culture, church, young people and liturgy. This is a must-read if you are trying to reach and disciple young people in liturgical forms.”
Bishop. Todd Hunter
“Younger Christians are being spiritually renewed today through ancient Christian worship, community, and spiritual practice. Weaving wide- ranging research with scholarly wisdom, Winfield Bevins tells us their stories, and we find ourselves renewed as well.”
“Young people sometimes discover that worship that aims to be timely can grow stale. Instead, they seek worship that is timeless. In Ever Ancient, Ever New, Winfield Bevins introduces us to the wide array of choices they have discovered in that search. Frederica Mathewes-Green, author of Welcome to the Orthodox Church If you want to know why so many young people in the United States are embracing liturgy, you must read Winfield Bevins’ new book!”
“In the swirling currents of opinions and the changing tides of trends, the church is in need of an anchor and a compass. Winfield Bevins uncovers the heart of historic Christian worship in order to steady us and to guide us. He helps us see that the rise of ancient practices in the church today is not a kind of nostalgia, but rather a response to our amnesia: we have forgotten the gospel-shaped, Christ-centered truth found in the logic and language of the liturgy. This book will beckon you not so much to a return but to a renewal, and I welcome it.”
“Winfield celebrates the wonder, beauty, and richness of liturgy. He is a wise and joyful tour guide and storyteller of the movement among Christians who are returning to historic, creedal, and liturgical reflections of Christianity. The ancient roots of the Christian faith empower spiritual formation and mission. Because Winfield cares deeply about church planting, he not only writes about how liturgy affects worshippers regarding their personal spiritual vitality but also how it shapes churches and Christians for missionary zeal for the world.”
“Bevins has done such a good thing with this book. It is a scholarly accounting of a crucial phenomenon in the present age while, at the same time, a guide to people caught up in this phenomenon. Bevins describes the modern return to ancient practices with a light touch and a generous, fearless love of orthodoxy. He tells many stories in this book, gathered over many years and multiple cultures. I found parts of my story in almost all of them, and I suspect you will, too.”
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