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Video entitled “The Liturgy of Christ Church, Moscow, Idaho in 10 minutes.” The confession begins at 1:18 and the Assurance of Pardon at 2:15.
Context
The video is a condensed version of a church service at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho on April 11, 2012, led by Pastor Douglas Wilson.
Note: Divine Order Christian nationalism is often less overt than the other forms this site seeks to identify and describe. We will focus especially on the confession briefly highlighted in the video. The arc of the worship service may seem the closest to a “traditional” liturgical service out of the three types of Christian nationalism.
Transcript
1:18 “As you are able please kneel before the Lord as we confess our sins together.”
Next begins the on behalf of the Nation portion of the confession: “We have sinned and committed iniquity. We have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from your precepts and your judgements […] and we confess, as a nation, our bloodguilt.”
Here begins the on behalf of the Church portion of the confession: “We know, Father, that if we in the church regard iniquity in our own midst or in our own hearts this prayer will be ineffectual. Father, we confess that we in the church have not defined sin in reference to your law. […] Help us now we pray and please forgive us.”
Finally, there is a time of silence (Selah) so members can confess individual sins: “We acknowledge our individual sins to you now, and Selah.”
Liturgical Description
The service that is shown in the video broadly follows a liturgical form that could be considered traditional by many American Protestant Christians. The video, as highlighted by its timestamps, shows a standard progression of the service that draws the people into communal prayer, confession, singing, and the reading of scripture. In this service there is also commissioning, ordination of elders, and both adult and infant baptism. Across the spectrum of Protestantism, all of the elements of this liturgy could be considered good and faithful. The three-fold confession that is present in the liturgy is perhaps the only overt expression of Christian nationalism on display.
The confession “on behalf of the Nation” opening the time of confession is noteworthy. At minimum, this confession appears to be the church acknowledging that the United States is a nation that was Christian and has departed in some way from this by their actions and now holds some kind of “bloodguilt” that is demanding of a collective repentance by the people of the nation. There is an implication that there was a time, perhaps at the founding of the country, that people of the United States were doing an adequate job of following the “precepts and judgments of God.” The confession continues with portions addressing the church’s corporate sins as well as individual sins. The confession about the church having not properly defined sin seems bound up in this departure from the proper precepts of God set for the nation. The culmination of these sins placing a “bloodguilt” upon the individuals, the church, and the United States weighs heavily. Wilson states in the Assurance of Pardon (2:15), “As a minister of the strong gospel, I declare to you your sins are forgiven through Christ.” Regardless of the varying definitions of sin and its practical implications, it is good and admirable that forgiveness in Jesus Christ is proclaimed in the liturgy.
Societal Aspirations
The reclaiming and preserving of the “Divine Order” for the purpose of securing God’s blessing and provision is at the center of this church’s aspirations. It is clear in the organization of worship and in the preaching of this church that they believe the United States is a nation that has strayed from the way which God has ordained human society to function. Provision and blessing are handed down through family units with fathers at the head. Consider the commissioning of the members who were going to plant a church. It seems like this was something that the couple would be doing together, but only the man was commissioned by the laying on of hands from the elders.
It is implicit in the worship and culture of Divine Order Christian nationalism that current society is a threat to what God has ordained nations to be. Nations as a whole ought to be accountable to the Lordship of Christ. These nations have incurred their “bloodguilt,” per the confession, due to how they order life and their collective societies. These sins demand corporate and public repentance to avoid judgment and punishment from God. Again, this all must take place on the level of the entire nation. This is something that needs to either be fixed by those who understand the divine order or possibly broken away from entirely to form a better nation in which the divine order is at the foundation.
Appraisal: The Four Theologies of Worship
Read more about the four theologies of worship →
Dynamic Worship Narrative
The worship is well ordered and certainly points to the belief that we humans are tied up in the ongoing story of God. There is great responsibility placed upon the individual Christian and each ascending unit (family, church, society) to take a faithful and active part in God’s ultimate plan. There is no inherent joy in this work; rather, divine responsibility that should be soberly approached. Worship here is the home base of the mission that has been given to the church.
The probing question: Is worship the main thing that humans were designed for, or is it supplemental to what God wants humans to do?
Eschatological
The worship is tied up in the eschaton, as the church is certain there is a finite amount of time left to the work of mending the divine order that God wants the world to operate under. Sin is prevalent and needs more immediate attention so that true amendment of life can happen for the whole world. The Great Commission is something that should guide the work of the church and be pursued relentlessly.
The probing question: How much of God’s ultimate plan for the world relies on humanity?
Trinitarian
The worship is strongly Trinitarian and within the confines of how most Protestants would expect to see it expressed. The triune God is called out to and called upon as the beginning and end of all things. It is this God who is pained by a disordered society and who society needs to get right with and return to.
The probing question: Is the Trinity at all a divine mystery, or is it just something to be used to mobilize the body of Christ on Earth?
Christological
The worship clearly understands that the saving power of Jesus Christ is the only hope for the individual and for the world. The Christians of this nation have work to do to bring about the full plan that Jesus started in his ministry here on Earth. Jesus’ maleness is a key part of what has been done and how the ongoing work ought to be carried out.
The probing question: What exactly has been accomplished in Jesus Christ, and to whom does it extend?
For Consideration & Discernment
Is the basis of this congregation’s Gospel that true religion is a matter of “us versus them”? If so, who is who, and where does that leave Jesus? A reasonable impression from this worship is that there is no room for anyone considered outside the very narrow norms that are set up and described as being ordained by God. The arc of the worship and the tone of the sermon seem to border on militaristic in what they demand of the Christian to be part of the “us” who are “in.” What’s more, this nation had better repent and get it right or else blessing and provision from God will cease. Overall, a great deal of work is being taken off the back of Jesus and placed onto the back of the human, notwithstanding how this church would say it is promoting the Gospel of grace.
Reflection & Discussion Questions
Should congregations make confessions of sin for the nations in which they happen to be found? What are the responsibilities of modern nation-states to God? Upon what basis will these nation-states be judged by God: the Old Testament law, the pronouncements of Old Testament prophets, or perhaps the teachings of Jesus?