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Clerical robes, liturgical seasons, and "canned" Book of Common Prayer type public prayer are Catholic hangovers. "Mid church" (such as seen in some Presbyterian and Reformed churches) and "high church" liturgy (characteristic of some Lutheran and Anglican churches) appear to derive more from Rome than from Scripture. The Regulative Principle of Worship would indicate that public worship should have Biblical precedent. The Catholics at least have reason for their liturgical practices, as their theology empowers their hierarchy and the Pope to "bind and loose" over the life of the church. Reformation theology is based on Sola Scriptura and the priesthood of the believer. With these bases, it would seem inconsistent for public worship to exalt the minister by providing him with peculiar vestments and to engage in worship practices rooted not in the New Testament, but in Greco-Roman and medieval culture.

I am aware that abuses in public worship occur in "low church" environments, such as the ritualistic "altar calls" in many Baptist churches, the babbling and ranting in some Pentecostal churches, etc. Furthermore, "seeker sensitive" worship, with its rock music, mindless praise ditties, and dramatic shows, is in many ways worse than the stale traditionalism of the liturgical churches.

The "bare bones" prayer, Scripture, and sermon centered worship in a "low church" evangelical environment is closer to the Biblical pattern than either high or mid-church pageantry or the not-quite-ready-for-prime time entertainment in seeker sensitive worship.