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Summary:
The revised edition of this book, first published in 1982, comes at a time of self-conscious evaluation by Christians of how they worship on Sunday.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Webber reconsidered
Customer Rating:
Webber is a leading writer on worship with high and present impact. This book is easy to read and comprehensive in scope.
But there's a few concerns.
I found the Biblical material rather light and unsatisfying and prefer David Peterson there.
I'm troubled by his remark on p49 in which he elevates the immediate post-apostolic fathers to having a status nearly equivalent to the Scriptures. Thus, his study of post-apostolic early Christian worship is included under his 'Biblical Foundations' and not under his Brief History of Worship. That's a rather significant placement and shows in the rest of the book as Hipploytus etc become a benchmark.
I'm also troubled by what I see as giving insufficient weight to the discontinuity from OT to NT due to the effect of Jesus' ministry. At times he is quite aware of this but he often over-carries OT elements through into Christian worship. He sure raises the question as to how the coming of Jesus should change our worship actions.
A further area of concern is his notion of worship as a re-enacting event. I know he knows that the whole of life is an act of worship but it comes across that worship really only happens in the intentional church service.
All that being said, this is an important book to read and it offers good correctives to the evangelical community
Amazing
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Seriously, Robert Webber (RIP) writes with great insight and knowledge. He shares with you the history of worship from the Old Testament until our present day.
If you want a book that will teach you and inspire you to learn more about what worship is and how it was practiced, read this please!
GREAT book, easy reading on an intimate topic
Customer Rating:
The book linked old to new in an easy-read formal reading. Very informative and brought light from the past to why we do what we do today in worship. AND.. worship is a participant activity, not meant to be a spectator...
Written with understanding and easy to understand
Customer Rating:
Several years ago I asked a youth minister to define worship. The "worship movement" was taking off, and I was a little bit uneasy about the emphasis of emotion over depth in the songs I was hearing. He didn't give me an answer and seemed a bit offended at the question. Oddly, I had no clear definition of worship myself, other than the stock phrases "to bow down" or "to exalt".
Most evangelicals believe in worship. They understand the vague concept that worship means to put God first. But that is about it. And the pattern of worship in many evangelical churches has shifted with the times. What was once and order of service that emphasized three songs and a sermon is often a pattern today of a half hour of contemporary music and a motivational speech. Reverence and awe in worship have, as a result, been lost. Many evangelicals sense something is missing, but can't put their finger on what it is.
Robert Webber has spent many years researching worship with a very calm, balanced and, yes, evangelical spirit. Though he was once a Bob Jones University student and is now within the Episcopal tradition, this volume can be embraced by Christians of virtually any denominational background.
Webber gives us Biblical basis not only for worship attitudes but worship practices and bolsters that Biblical foundation with historical background. He explains where certain practices came from, how those practices were understood by the early church and how understanding of worship has changed across history. What this allows us to see is that Worship has not been entirely static, yet there has been a consistent pattern, one that should be reclaimed even within Free Church evangelicalism.
And there is a gentle patient spirit to the tone. He critiques some recent trends without demeaning those who have embraced them. And he suggests ways Free Church evangelicals and others can adopt a historical pattern of worship without necessarily abandoning cultural relevance or their denominational roots.
The two keys I found most helpful are his suggestion that historic Christian worship has a simple structure where the people of God gather, participate in the ministry of the Word, celebrate salvation in the ministry of the Lord's table, and then are dismissed to live the gospel. This is a recognizable pattern of worship practiced for 2000 years, but is not a straightjacket that prevents creative ways of keeping the pattern fresh.
Webber also has a brief recounting of the history of the word "sacrament", the sealing of an oath or covenant, and how it gradually changed to sacramentalism in the course of the history of the Roman chruch, a shift which caused Evangelicals to react and reject the word sacrament altogether. His simple description and recounting of the history can help restore a sense of reverence to worship as Evangelicals reconsider God's role in the Lord's table and Baptism. Is there anything objectionable in Evangelical thinking to see the Lord's Supper or baptism in the context of the renewing an oath or covenant between God and man? I certainly hope not. And while it may not solve old conflicts between Protestants and Catholics, it can lead to fruitful discussion of differences.
By taking a look at history and biblical roots of worship, I think Webber has done a great service in gently suggesting there is common ground between denominations based in common practices of the whole church across history, if we take the time to see it. It is a gentle stroke on behalf of deeper faith and greater unity and should be welcomed.
A Practical Introduction to the Theology of Worship
Customer Rating:
I recently watched as a church board wrestled with aspects of worship practice. They were decideing how often to offer communion. They decided to poll their congregation. They were interested in what sort of music to offer. They decided to poll their congregation. They had questions concerning cantatas, special concerts, liturgical dancing, and drama. Each time, they decided to find out what their congregation wanted.
Such a church may become very popular, but it has not discovered what worship is nor why it should be done. Webber's book doesn't ignore historcial or contemporary forms of whorship, but it does try to lay a solid foundation that there is theology in worship.
This book is not the last word on the subject, but it offers a good introduction to worship theology.
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