Worship by the Book

IntroductionWhat is worship? If worship in our daily lives means a consecrated lifestyle that aims to glorify God, how then should our corporate gatherings look like? And further, what makes our corporate gatherings any more worship than glorifying God in the other six days of the week? Worship by the Book is a compilation of essays that seeks to respond to such issues that concern today's church. By looking back into the past to see how previous generations have done corporate worship aright, the authors look forward into the future to what biblical corporate worship should look like.Edited by D. A. Carson (research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School), this book incorporates a biblical theology of worship in the opening chapter by the editor, which is then followed by three application chapters written by pastors from differing denominational backgrounds who set out to show how they have applied the principles of such a theology of worship in the practices of their local church. In unveiling the varying practices of different church traditions, what arises from the pages is a portrait of what worship by the Book looks like.SummaryChapter 1, "Worship Under The Word," D. A. Carson attempts to provide a theology of worship, despite the fact that there are many challenges in doing so. The author admits that worship has caused much heated debate in the contemporary church (11), that there are many diverse theologies of worship available (13), and that even though the word worship itself is found in Scripture (14), it is still hard to construct a theology of worship when biblical theology and systematic theology may give us different definitions. Be that as it may, Carson endeavors to examine the English word worship (18), as well as the underlying Greek and Hebrew words (19) and then follows with a brief examination of recent scholarship that show the challenges of writing a theology of worship (19). He gives respect to the work of Andrew E. Hill, and most adamantly confesses that the work of David Peterson's Engaging with God is the "volume that most urgently calls for thoughtful evaluation" (23).Sympathetic to and borrowing from much of Peterson's biblical theology of worship, Carson then goes on to finally defining worship, and the rest of the chapter is a full explanation his definition. His attempt at a definition is a long paragraph whose opening sentence is the precursor for its expansion: "Worship is the proper response of all moral, sentient beings to God, ascribing all honor and worth to their Creator-God precisely because he is worthy, delightfully so" (26). Carson's citing of Edmund Clowney's list of corporate worship elements from the New Testament shows that he advocates for certain distinctive elements in corporate worship, though there is no biblical mandate for any particular ordering of these elements (48-52). The author concludes his chapter with some practical implications(58-63): the importance of avoiding misconceptions and hindrances of worship, authenticity for the sake of evangelism, the fact that we cannot incorporate all worship elements into one corporate gathering, and the danger of denominational hindrances to faithful worship.Chapter 2, "Following in Cranmer's Footsteps," Mark Ashton (vicar of the Round Church at St. Andrew the Great in England) provides an overview of the Church of England's effort to remain biblical in all of its corporate worship gatherings, and yet faithful to the tradition that has been handed down through Archbishop Thomas Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer. While this central liturgy book of the Anglicanism has kept the church biblical since the mid-sixteenth century, Ashton confesses that there is no longer just one common Prayer Book in the Anglican Church. "There is an abundance of new liturgy, but no doctrinal consensus at its heart. This has created an identity crisis for Anglicanism" (66). In showing that Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer achieved a rare combination of being biblical, accessible and balanced (70-75), the author consequently calls for a renewal of such legacy and for the church to take responsibility to bring the Bible back to the center of corporate worship. Employing the standard that flowed from Cranmer's work, Ashton exhorts readers to examine if their worship services to see if it they are biblical, accessible, and balanced (80-88). He follows this analysis by looking at various aspects of Anglican worship services (88-103): variety of services, service structure, music, prayers, drama and testimony, leading the service, notices, size of congregation, length of service, and church building, furnishings, clothing, movement, as well as the church year. Ashton then concludes with a brief overview of particular services in Anglicanism, and the need to retain faithful worship in all of them (104-107).Chapter 3, "Free Church Worship: The Challenge of Freedom," R. Kent Hughes (Senior Pastor Emeritus of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois) shows the reader how he came to his Reformed convictions without any denominational ties. He argues for worship that is more than just Sunday - "day-in-day-out living for Christ, the knees and heart perpetually bent in devotion and service" (140) - and how a life of worship enables Christians to worship freely and authentically in the gathered setting. After providing a brief look at the seven distinctives of worship in the Free Church tradition (preaching, Scripture, prayer, singing, sacraments, simplicity, and vestments; 142-46), Ashton then argues for six distinctive aspects of Christian worship that would foster mutual edification: worship is God-centered, Christ-centered, Word-centered, is consecration, is wholehearted, and is reverent (149-166). The author concludes his chapter with a brief how-to about corporate worship music, advocating six important factors: music serves preaching, develops maturity, is everyone's responsibility, that musical selection is important, that musicians must be prepared, and that the congregation is the chief instrument (166-172).Chapter 4, "Reformed Worship in the Global City," by Timothy J. Keller (Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City) takes a detailed look at the worship wars that are plaguing much of evangelicalism today. Keller provides definitions of the two main sides at war, "Contemporary Worship" (194) and "Historic Worship" (195), and then posits that "we forge our corporate best when we consult all three--the Bible, the cultural context of our community, and the historic tradition of our church" (197). This three-pronged approach to worship provides the foundation for Keller's overview of worship in the Reformed tradition, favoring John Calvin's theology and liturgy of worship over and against the large variety of Reformed worship perspectives (199-208). The further author traces Reformed worship to its historical roots: simplicity as its voice, transcendence as its goal, and gospel reenactment as its order (208-217). Keller's three tests of Reformed corporate worship (doxological evangelism, community building, and character of service; 217-221) aim at determining if a corporate worship gathering is well-balanced in being both contemporary and Reformed (221). He also deals with the attitude and heart of those leading corporate worship (223), weekly preparation and planning that is involved (226), and the significance of having a guideline for choosing music for worship services (236).Critical Evaluation"Worship by the Book" is a unique book on Christian worship in that it presents a well-organized analysis of how three different church traditions have sought to put the principles of a biblical worship theology into practice. Each of the three extensive chapters that follows Carson's chapter on worship theology include appendices that give the reader a behind-the-scenes look at how the author's church has planned their corporate worship services, as well as additional articles that are incorporated within the corporate worship gathering. This allows the reader to not only see theology in practice, but it gives worship leaders and music ministers examples of biblically faithful worship liturgies to incorporate into their own church setting.For example, Keller includes liturgies within his chapter that his church has used in the past, ones for classical and contemporary worship services, ones that are more Calvinian in manner and ones that are less; his appendices include a full worship service outline (240-248) and prayers his church has used for leading those not taking the Lord's Supper (249). Hughes' appendices should also be very helpful to readers, as they not only include his Free Church's liturgy and worship service outlines from morning and evening services, but also detailed commentary for each, and three helpful articles on the wonders of worship (189), reading the Word (190-191), and the danger of equating music to worship (192). Mark Ashton's appendices similarly provide extensive commentary to the worship service outlines that he includes (109-135), but from the Anglican church he oversees.While these appendices are the muscles that allow this book to stand out from amongst the plethora of books on worship available today, it would have been more helpful to see a wider range of church traditions represented, like churches from the Baptist tradition, the flourishing Reformed Charismatic family of churches from Sovereign Grace Ministries, or the third-wave Pentecostal Hillsong Church from Australia. Such may extend the length of the book to be too long for one volume, but it would be greatly beneficial to see Carson's theology of worship at work in other diverse church traditions.Of a minor note, Mark Ashton's chapter employed some archaic vocabulary that may be unknown to non-Anglican or lay readers, and British idioms that would be unfamiliar to an American audience. For example: hobby-horses (84), interlopers (86), emendation (91), vetted (94), vestry (96). It would have been beneficial to see those terms edited out or explained, especially Anglican Church terms like "collects" and "notices" which are termed differently in North America.ConclusionIn spite of these minor faux pas, Worship by the Book is both convicting and uplifting. It is a book that will convict senior pastors, music ministers, and worship leaders alike to evaluate and re-examine their corporate worship services for their biblical faithfulness, evangelistic effectiveness and mutually edifying abilities. By providing a theological framework of worship and practical examples of churches that worship by the Book, it uplifts the reader to find hope in and through corporate worship gatherings that center around the Word that became flesh, Jesus Christ. Churches in need of worship recovery, as well as those simply looking to refresh their service liturgies, will find plenty of biblical insight here to sustain them into the twenty-first century.

“Worship by the Book” was written by Mark Ashton, Kent Hughes, and Timothy Keller and edited by D.A.Carson.'What is at stake is authenticity. . . . Sooner or later Christians tire of public meetings that are profoundly inauthentic, regardless of how well (or poorly) arranged, directed, performed. We long to meet, corporately, with the living and majestic God and to offer him the praise that is his due.'---D. A. CarsonEach of the authors bring a different perspective of worship to the book, offering a variety of emphasis; their years of ministry give this book a unique insight of corporate worship.“Worship by the Book” primarily aims at pastor, seminary students, and other church leaders and offers a theology of worship that comes from Scripture and points directly at Christ.As more and more Christians seek deeper worship and begin to turn their backs on anemic worship services and Sunday morning concerts that invite the audience to sing along, “Worship by the Book” brings us back to the purpose (and object) of corporate worship.This book sets itself apart from other “theology of worship” books because of the variety of backgrounds of the authors. One brings liturgy to the table, another a more modern method. But they all point to Jesus.Consistently, the book illustrates a method of worship, along with an explanation about why it points to Jesus.I'm not a pastor, worship leader or seminary student. But for years I longed for deep and meaningful worship. This book helped me to identify why the congregation I'm currently in makes my soul, along with my mouth sing!And the verdict is: Read this book if you lead worship, if you oversee somebody who leads worship, if you sit under a worship leader. Read this book if you want to know why worship works, or why it doesn't.In the end, I chose this rating because it didn't change my life (5/5 stars is a huge thing) but it made an impact on how I understand corporate worship and why it works.Buy this book for your worship leaders and pastors. It would make a great gift, especially if it came with a note that said, “this book explains why I love the way our church worships.”

I have been a churchgoer for over three decades and I don’t remember being ever taught systematically what worship is. It was not a challenge until one year worship forms were experimented on by a new minister who was keen to break through “the staleness of formality”. The variable forms gave me spiritual nausea as I had no idea of what to expect as we stepped into the church each week. This prompted me to ask what worship was and in turn what should be the basic essential elements. The bottom line is changing the worship forms without knowing any guiding principles for worship is disconcerting.I have read and listened around the subject. The effort has led me to this book. It starts by acknowledging that this is a controversial subject and there is no definitive answer to it. Before picking up this book, I was leaning towards the Regulative Principle as a guideline. Yet Don Carson’s chapter has smashed it saying, “In short, both the Hooker principle and the Regulative Principle are plagued by complex debates as to what they mean, today as well as historically. For many of the protagonists, their interpretations are as certain, as immovable, and as inflexible as the Rock of Gibraltar. … it must be frankly admitted that both the Hooker principle and the Regulative Principle have bred staunch traditionalists. … both camps have also bred pastors who are remarkably contemporary… for all their differences, theologically rich and serious services from both camps often have more common content than either side usually acknowledges.” (p.54-55)This conclusion may not be what we are looking for, for sure but it does explain why the terrain is as it is to easily settle on a definitive path. The following three chapters invite contributions from three different denominations to share their thinking, parameters of consideration and some examples. All of them stress God-centredness and one has to wonder why the three are different. The one that gives me least confidence is CoE. Ironically I attend the service of a CoE! Despite the emphasis on God-centredness and Word-centredness, it feels like it is just mentioned in name only while the practice is all about accessibility – not to believers but unbelievers. If our focus is on the unbelievers, what we hear from the pulpit will be forever at an elementary level, milk rather than solid food. Also do unbelievers come to worship? Shouldn’t the believers demonstrate to them how worship of God looks like? I mean true worship is for believers and I am sure for those who are not yet called will recognise the voice of their Lord.The chapter on Free Church tradition is interesting to read as I have had no exposure to it. Its origin was in “the principled beginnings … in early-seventeenth-century England as a protest against the ecclesiastical demand that they us the Book of Common Prayer. The designation “free”, in fact, records the desires of both Separatists and Puritans to be free to order corporate worship according to God’s Word. The name “Puritan” recalls the closely parallel desire to reform Prayer Book worship according to the “pure Word of God”. (p. 142-3) the chapter offers the broad brush strokes on the penetrating critiques offered by Puritan and Free Church leaders in their historical contexts in seven points. The danger is “free-fall to Pragmatism.” Against such tradition, what are the distinctives of ~Christian worship? The author lists: that worship is god-centred, Christ-centred, Word-centred, consecration, wholehearted, and reverent. Music is discussed separately.The chapter to discuss the Presbyterian tradition helpfully summarise Calvin’s teaching on worship forms listing Calvin’s goals as transcendence, ensembles and edification. The notion of “rhythm” of reception and response in faith, of receiving grace and thankful action is interesting. “Calvin saw the entire service, not as a performance for God by the celebrants, but as a rhythm of receiving God’s word of grace and then responding in grateful praise. That is how the gospel operates…. Each service reenacted the reception of the gospel” (p.215). “There are two aspects to worship, God’s address to us and our response to his address” (Footnote 63). The tests of Reformed Corporate Worship are: doxological evangelism, community building and character for service. That part of the chapter is informative as if offers cogently the thinking behind. When applied to the real life, I find the justification of hiring only professional musicians (Christian or not) to play at the worship service is somewhat not convincing because of the danger it poses. The author comes up with four modes: Historical, Reformed Contemporary, Contemporary Reformed, and Contemporary worship.What this book has achieved for me is to an appreciation of how complex the issues are. It is informative to learn how the subject has been debated in history and now. I certainly have gained a few more parameters as legitimate to consider for a worship service. I think all local churches should be able to stand up and give an account of their chosen worship forms and communicate it to the congregants. I am sure it will so enrich church life. As worshippers we should all care about the subject, lest we are passive, lest we unwittingly worship in a way that is an abomination to God who spends a lot of time rebuking His people for exactly that.

Makes you think and think again about how you Worship.

This book is a must read for church leaders. It has helped me understand what worship is both in the day to day sense and in the corporate sense of Sunday morning.