Reformed worship is, by definition, liturgical. Presbyterians, by definition, cannot be evangelicals. Presbyterianism is a churchly tradition, believing that such things as church membership, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and corporate worship are central, not ancillary, to the Christian faith.
These are the contentions of Westminster Seminary (California) Church History professor Darryl Hart in his book Recovering Mother Kirk: The Case for Liturgy in the Reformed Tradition. Hart presents the connection between Reformed theology, worship, and polity, and explains how Presbyterianism in the U.S. became enamored of revivalism (beginning with Whitefield), a courtship which, ultimately, left Presbyterians with worship that no longer flowed from either their theology or their polity. The fact that Hart’s main points, as outlined in the opening paragraph of this review, will raise eyebrows if not vehement denials from many Presbyterians today, only proves Hart’s thesis.

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