A Revival Model Of Worship: Charles G. Finney

No orders of service from either of Charles G. Finney's pastorates are extant. However, orders of service from the First Church in Oberlin, Ohio, are available from the pastorate of Finney's successor, James Brand, dating from the 1890s-a full twenty-five years after Finney's retirement. In addition, sermon notes (c. 1850) from Finney's son-in-law, James Monroe, containing order-of-service outlines, are also available. The orders of service described in Monroe's notes correspond to the orders of service observed at First Church of Oberlin nearly a half-century later. We can, therefore, have a certain amount of confidence that the order of service given below (a hybrid developed from Monroe's notes and the First Church orders) is similar to the liturgy employed during Finney's tenure. There is nothing different or new about this order of service; it resembles that of many American churches with nonliturgical, low-church traditions. (Finney's own religious background was Presbyterian. …