Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice Review

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Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice ReviewI can't believe I am the first to review this book. Perhaps the rest who have read it are still sitting with their mouth open in praise or mental gears grinding or bent knees in repentance or contiuing to experience some Aha moment.
Usually I will express my gratitude to Dr. Chapell privately. As his former student, and one who has read just about everything he has written, sometimes multiple times (Christ Centered Preaching), Christ Centered Worship did not just inch up my favorites list, it pole vaulted to first place.
Being a young pastor, I have learned so much about worship and its importance from many other of my heroes. I have not had the benefit of working as associate pastor and learning that way. It has been most trial and error, with lots of error and confusion (Thank God our church is so gracious), lots of podcasts by Tim Keller, DA Carson, John Piper, and others (thank God for the internet and these pastors who continue to teach me about the Gospel and Worship), and through lots of reading (thank God for kindle though I crashed it three times this morning trying to highlight and make too many notes in this book). I almost copies the whole thing!
One of the things that has been so hard for me as a pastor is to see the historical flow of worship liturgy and its relationship to the gospel and why we do the things we do. Many of these things I learned at Covenant. But after preaching for 8 years, and having them "represented" so clearly pushes understanding and appreciate and freedom deeper and broader.
In so many ways this was very practical. Let me give you three, in my words (not Dr. Chapell's), that will give you some "lived body detail" of the effect this book has had just in its first reading (definitely a re-read).
I was telling our associate pastor who leads worship about this boosk and the movement in the LORD's Supper from Luther to Calvin to Knox. We were talking about the fellowship aspects (In Scotland they sat around tables to share the meal), and greeting one another. In many churches, we often wonder what to do with greeting at the beginning of a worship service before a call to worship. It never occurred to me that a welcome and greeting could take place in worship. We also have a time of testimony in our church. As I was reading about the historical unfolding of these liturgies, I had my own convergence of thoughts applying what I was learning. Would it be possible, after the LORD's prayer, and before the LORD's Supper, to have a time of greeting and welcoming one another in love to a shared meal (the reconciliation that takes place at the cross)? Could this also be a family way of fencing the table? "As you greet one another, if you've got something against a brother or sister, make sure you go to them before coming to the eat from this table of grace."
Another running thought as I read came with Luther's emphasis on celebration, in contrast to Rome, and the reality that Jesus is not recrucified every week, and we do not re-propitiate God in worship or the LORD's Supper. Rather, worship is a gift from God to us, the Sabbath is for us. We don't have to repropitiate God by coming to him in worship assuming he is angry with us for messing up this week. Rather, God has been propitiated in Christ once for all, and invites us to come not to Sinai but to Mount Zion.
Thirdly, just a reorientation to the idea of the "priesthood of all believers." I have mostly thought about that in terms of all vocations being valuable, but mostly my thinking about this has been outside worship. I don't know why. Perhaps it is all the reformed emphasis on worldview. It was very helpful just to consider the participatory implications of the priesthood of all believers on the worship event itself.
These are not all things Dr. Chapell explicitly said in his book. This is just sort of "lived body detail" of the cascading refreshment of this waterfall of worship running through my own heart that this initial reading has had on me. I'm not an academic, just a pastoral practioner wanting to learn how to lead God's people in worship. We will probably not we make quick changes. My current response to the book is to order three additional copies for our worship leaders. We are going to read it together and see what happens. Buy the book! Hope this review is helpful!Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice Overview

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Clouds of Witnesses: Christian Voices from Africa and Asia Review

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Clouds of Witnesses: Christian Voices from Africa and Asia ReviewFor many of us in the West, we are unfamiliar with Christianity outside of our Sunday morning circle. Simply put, our Global Consciousness, or conscience, has yet to be awakened. Sure, there are those times in which natural disasters strike other parts of the world and we selflessly give, but between those times, we often forget that the Christian witness is being played out in those lands, long after our great fleets of air cargo have left. Mark Noll and Carlyn Nystrom has configured a book which reads almost like a devotional and a modern day Foxe's Book of Martyrs in that we meet, in very short and succinct chapters, men and women from far distant lands who have been persecuted and even martyred, and many of them, not too distant in years from us.
Of particular note is the honest, sometimes raw, used to portray these figures. While many of them are from what we call Mainline Denominations, they exhibit often times what we might label as emergent, pentecostal or just plain heterodox beliefs which would have them named outcast in many American churches today. As a matter of fact, at least one faced the Western Church and lost. But, a book like this calls to mind what many Europeans have forgotten. With our liturgies, our prayer books, and our high ceilinged cathedrals we can still have the power of the Spirit of God present and active. In this, there are lessons to be learned from men and women with funny names and different hues of skin. They took their African, Indian or Asian culture and, like Europeans did 1900 years earlier, and allowed it to be transformed by the message of the Gospel. Some of this, I admit, was difficult for me to take, especially with my admittedly stringent views on what should pass or not pass for Christian praxis, but by allowing a little subjective license, the same license that the Europeans once used, we find that these witnesses have set forth the Gospel in their own language, but every bit as beautiful as the Gospel set forth in our language.
Noll and Nystrom tackle various continents, and for the case of Africa, various regions. There is Southern Africa, West Africa and East Africa. India and Korea have mentions as well, but China seems to receive the most attention, which is important for today as China's Christian communities struggle to find hope in the midst of oppression by the Government. We meet Methodists, Anglicans, and Catholics, as well as those who are more mystic than mainline. There are tales of assassinations, miracles, murder, and rebellion, but these men and women served Christ in lands, and through times, which were abused by the West, and Western religion, and still have managed to proclaim Christ and to secure unto Him and the Church, faithful witnesses.
While the book seems to cover only the late 19th to 20th centuries, I was left wanting to hear from Japan, of which the Japanese Martyrs (16th century) come to mind, but in that this book is not exhaustive, what is presented is worth reading, absorbing and in many ways, serving as I said earlier, as a devotional of sorts. Many Christians focus on the Saints of years past, carrying short biographies, or keeping them in prayer books. Here - here is a book for those who seek a different face of the saints of the past. It is also a reminder for those of us in the West to not forget where we have come from, and how much long forgotten ancestral traditions influenced ancient tribes and their reception of Christianity. Perhaps, then, we will not judge the mystic who seems more Islamic or Buddhist than Baptist or Methodist, and understand that these men and women who fought against the dominant religions and native superstitions did so in the name of Christ, and then let us hear the words of Christ,
But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. (Mark 9:39-41 NRS)Clouds of Witnesses: Christian Voices from Africa and Asia Overview

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How Women Help Men Find God Review

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How Women Help Men Find God ReviewI read this book immediately after reading Murrow's previous book on the same topic, Why Men Hate Going to Church.
His message was great, and I recommend it to every believer. You can read the other glowing reviews as to why.
But let me add one recommendation:
You do not need to by BOTH books. 75% (or more) of the content of How Women Help Men Find God is a repeat of the information already presented in Why Men Hate Going To Church. There are a few additional tidbits that would be practical for an individual woman to help the men in her life find God, so if that is you, buy THAT one instead.
I would encourage you to thoughtfully read what David Murrow has to say, but only buy one book or the other, not both!How Women Help Men Find God Overview

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God So Loved, He Gave: Entering the Movement of Divine Generosity Review

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God So Loved, He Gave: Entering the Movement of Divine Generosity ReviewIt is rare to recommend a book without any reservations, but Go So Loved, He Gave is that sort of book. I agree with the litany of glowing endorsements that this is a book that should move to the top of your reading list.
With sparkling prose, Kelly M. Kapic (professor of theology at Covenant College) and Justin Borger (Generosity Content Director for the Maclellan Foundation) describe the biblical story through the lens of generosity, articulating a comprehensive vision supported by compelling expositions of particular passages. At the heart of this story is the triune God who owns all things not through holy hoarding, but through acts of holy generosity. Out of his loving generosity, God created the world, but sinful humans abused this gift by selfishly taking, becoming broken and banished instead of enjoying the bliss of belonging. Astonishingly, God addressed this brokenness not by punishing his rebellious creation, but by giving himself so that his creatures can truly belong to him. Belonging to God means participating in his kingdom inaugurated by the work of Jesus, and living within the movements of divine generosity.
At this point in the book, the narrative slows down and deals in more detail with the nature of God the Father's gift of the Son and the Spirit, as well as the process of believing, experiencing, and living within this gift. The authors do so through unrushed, conversational retellings of Gospel stories, which reveal that faith in Jesus is itself a gift from God while at the same time an urgent demand. The Spirit too is a gift uniting us to Christ as a guarantee, seal, and first-fruit of fully experiencing God's gifts in the kingdom and new creation. In the present, we experience God's gift of salvation in Jesus by producing generous fruit, most notably caring for the poor and needy. Eternal life in God's kingdom is experienced as a gift in the present, generating hope in the full and future experience of triune generosity.
What does it mean practically, however, to "enter into the movement of divine generosity" in the present? For one, Kapic and Borger insist that we live God's gift through word and deed, proclaiming the righteousness of God in Christ and living out this righteousness with particular partiality toward the poor. In this way, we improvisationally imitate the form of Jesus' life, who for our sake became poor, giving up his rights to make us rich in righteousness. Cross-shaped generosity is about giving one's whole person, not just a mere ten percent of income as a tithe. As such, enabled by God's continual giving, Christians should be committed to radically generous and hospitable lifestyles with the goal of witnessing to the cross and resurrection through "worshipful communion in the truth" (196), not winning culture wars or political battles. This is the work of the whole Christian community, who has received much in order to give to others. The missional orientation of the early church is evident in the collections for the poor pursued so passionately by Paul and other church leaders. Kapic and Borger observe that these collections certainly served to relieve poverty, but also to unify the church, participate in God's grace, and prefigure future life with the triune God who "in fairness...favors the fatherless and received the rejected" (212). In short, grateful worship, bold proclamation, embracive hospitality, and generous giving are all fitting ways to participate in the drama of divine generosity.
Several elements make God So Love, He Gave a stunning accomplishment. By drawing on authors as diverse as John Calvin, Pope Benedict, Abraham Kuyper, and Walter Brueggemann, the book soars above stifling provincialism and helps readers hear the voice of the universal church. The book is saturated with Scripture, which can be located with an excellent Scripture index, with particular passages utilized not merely as isolated proof texts, but connected to the comprehensive drama of salvation and divine generosity. Each chapter deals with basic theological topics, but these topics are addressed again and again from creative angles and with both deep theological insight and pastoral wisdom. For example, Kapic and Borger recognize that Christians are not called to imitate the exact career of Jesus, but that we are called to follow the form of his life, a process that bears similarities to the improvisation of jazz musicians who riff within a basic beat. In addition, there is an excellent discussion guide at the end, enabling the reader or groups of readers to reflect on this rich material (also available for download on the website).
Of course, it is impossible for a book of this size to cover everything regarding the divine drama of generosity and our participation within this drama. As such, there is a jump from chapter two and the Fall to chapter three and the coming of the Messiah and King Jesus. Although the Old Testament is discussed in relation to prophesies of the King (49-51), the theme of kingdom generosity would have been more complete with an additional chapter on the Old Testament, while providing more rationale for choosing kingdom as an overarching theme rather than covenant or something else. In addition, it would have been fascinating to see further explanation on the role of imagination as briefly mentioned in chapter ten, as well as how the proposal of this book corresponds or contrasts to generous orthodoxy as originally proposed by Brian McLaren (especially since the authors use the phrase "hospitable orthodoxy," 195). Another fitting conversation partner for this book is Eugene Peterson's Practice Resurrection (Eerdmans, 2010), especially given the three chapters on resurrection faith, work and life.
These last few comments are not weaknesses per se, just ways in which the thesis of this book could be elucidated and expanded. As it stands, God So Loved, He Gave is a magnificent work of theology, both in terms of articulating the truth of the gospel and showing its implications for all of life. Not only that, but the book is carefully constructed and beautiful written, making it a joy to read in every possible way. I wholeheartedly recommend that you read this book to discover the drama of divine generosity and how you can participate in the drama today.
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This Tremendous Lover Review

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This Tremendous Lover ReviewIf you're a Catholic looking for an intelligent and easy-to-read book on how to deepen your appreciation for your faith and for the Church, this is it! Boylan speaks in very eloquent, practical language and convinces you at the end that you just "gotta have" a relationship with this tremendous lover, Jesus the Christ. A priceless classic! Buy it now!This Tremendous Lover Overview

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Whole Life Transformation: Becoming the Change Your Church Needs Review

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Whole Life Transformation: Becoming the Change Your Church Needs ReviewI could not put this book down! Keith writes this book like a graceful invitation to his readers, and the invitation is one for a different kind of life, a life marked by intimacy with God and those around us. From the introduction to the last page I was amazed at how vulnerable, open, and honest this book is written. Keith identifies through his own experience the many ways that people in ministry and life in general get caught up in a kind of life that leaves little room for loving relationships- a fast-paced and restless life, anxiety to perform and produce, and a white-knuckled need to control the outcomes of life. All of these things leave us feeling sapped, but Keith offers his readers helpful real-life ways to learn like disciples the "easy yoke" of Jesus, and bring His change into every area of life.
I would recommend this book to anyone desiring deep and lasting changes in this life under the Lordship of Jesus, I would even recommend this book to those who are curious if such a way of life even exists. One warning: this book is not a quick fix self-help book, it is an invitation to lasting change. And I would not recommend this book to those who are comfortable and content with a reduced forgiveness-only gospel. This is not a book for those waiting to die to go to heaven, it is for those who want a piece of heaven in their life here and now.Whole Life Transformation: Becoming the Change Your Church Needs Overview

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Leading and Managing a Growing Church Review

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Leading and Managing a Growing Church ReviewVery solid, practical insight into applying effective planning and management discipline within a ministry organization. Also provides some excellent tools to help the emerging leader.Leading and Managing a Growing Church Overview

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Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can, Too Review

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Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can, Too ReviewAccording to Leadership journal, "85 percent of churches in the United States have plateaued or declining attendance." That's approximately 340,000 churches. Mine is one of them.

During our heyday in the 1980s, we had two services in an auditorium that seats 760 people. Today, we have one service and an average of 100 people in attendance. We're almost 87-percent empty.

But I'm not worried for two reasons. First, I know that God wants us grow. Second, God has provided plenty of tools to help us grow.

One of those tools is Comeback Churches by Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson. It identifies five crucial issues in revitalizing your church: leadership, vibrant faith, lay ministry, intentional evangelism, and celebrative but orderly worship.

Church revitalization requires strong, change-oriented leadership from pulpit and pew. To make a comeback, your church needs the right people in the right jobs doing the right thing.

But leadership is not everything. Members of comeback churches must also have a faith that is characterized by personal commitment to Jesus and the church's mission, a servant attitude, and strategic prayer.

In revitalized churches, pastors have limited roles, and they invite the laity to exercise their God-given ministries. And the whole church is involved in intentional evangelism, gradually incorporating unbelievers into the community and then into the faith.

Finally, comeback churches have celebrative (but orderly) worship services. More often than not, their musical style is contemporary, and they do everything with excellence.

If, like me, you're the pastor of a church that's seen better days, read Comeback Churches, and discover that your church's best days are still in front of you.Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can, Too Overview

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Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministry to the People of God Review

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Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministry to the People of God ReviewReading this book helped me understand where and how my pastor was leading us and why. I highly recommend this book to others who wonder how the church can be more effective in today's time and culture. I also highly recommend it to the 20% of the church that is doing 80% of the work. We do not need to do it all...Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministry to the People of God Overview

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Journeys to Significance: Charting a Leadership Course from the Life of Paul (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series) Review

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Journeys to Significance: Charting a Leadership Course from the Life of Paul (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series) ReviewThe Apostle Paul is an example of a follower of Christ who demonstrates for us the paths we must all take to finish well, according to Neil Cole in this book. He argues that Paul's leadership abilities and effectiveness increased with each of his missionary journeys, and the book uses the story of those journeys to find leadership lessons applicable to all who are engaged in Christian ministry.
The book helped me to see Paul's story from a new perspective. The natural tendency is to view Paul's missionary journeys as a whole, rather than chronologically, and to assume that Paul applied a consistent level of apostolic excellence throughout. However, as the author points out, if Paul is to be a realistic model for Christians today, we need to discover how he learned and improved throughout his ministry, so that we can do likewise.
The first two chapters describe how Paul's birth, early life, conversion and period of learning and waiting following his conversion prepared him for the mission God had planned. Chapter 3 describes the first journey, in which Paul and Barnabas rapidly covered a lot of territory, making converts and moving on. There was lots of activity, but the churches planted were weak and struggling. Chapter 4 describes the second journey, in which Paul parted company from his mentor Barnabas, underwent suffering, and recruited leaders that he could leave behind at each church plant so that the churches would be stronger.
Chapter 5 describes the third journey, in which Paul lived in Ephesus for 3 years, training and sending out leaders who could multiply the work of church planting, thereby achieving far greater effectiveness than had been achieved on the first two journeys. Chapter 6 describes the fourth journey, to Rome, in which Paul's influence spread to governors, kings and the emperor, with some of his most effective work occurring while imprisoned. Then Paul's final journey to death is described, and how he finished well.
There are many Christian leadership books which offer advice based on cultural and organizational principles. This is not one of them. This book is an extended Bible study of the life of Paul, and all of the leadership advice offered is drawn directly from that study. At times the author strays into conjecture, and some readers will disagree with some of his views on the historical record, but in my opinion this is a very useful and enlightening book for church leaders.
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Zero to Sixty-60 Principles and Practices for Leading a Growing Church Review

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Zero to Sixty-60 Principles and Practices for Leading a Growing Church ReviewOne of the most common barriers to church leadership is a lack of intentional self-development on the part of the pastor. No organization can outgrow its leader.
When a pastor stops growing personally, the sermons are stale, the passion for ministry wanes, the staff and volunteers fall into maintenance mode and the church stops thriving.
Two of the best ways to circumvent this growth barrier are 1) to read books that will stretch you and 2) to seek out mentors you admire.
With Zero To Sixty, Bob has left you no excuse for shirking self-development. Not only is this a book that will challenge you, forcing you to think through the hard issues of day-to-day ministry, but it is written as if Bob were sitting across a table from you, sharing his heartfelt lessons in person. In the following pages, you will gain practical truth and teaching, yes, but you will also gain something you might not expect - a mentor to walk you through those truths and teachings one step at a time.
Here's my advice to you, church leader. Don't simply read this book. Use it. Write in the margins. Note the points that stand out to you. Discuss the lessons and their application with your staff. Invite another church leader to lunch and share what you are learning. Drink this book in.
-- From the Forward by Nelson SearcyZero to Sixty-60 Principles and Practices for Leading a Growing Church Overview

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Transformational Church: Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations Review

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Transformational Church: Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations ReviewEd Stetzer and Thom Rainer have well-deserved reputations as "gurus" of church organization. They have both written prolifically on a variety of church-related topics, and have contributed an impressive body of research over the years to help churches understand what makes ministry tick.
Unlike many in their field, their approach has always been grounded in the authority of Scripture (rather than the latest and greatest cultural trends) and fully cognizant of the fact that God is the author of all spiritual growth within churches regardless of their particular ministry methodology.
Transformational Church, the latest from LifeWay Research President Stetzer and LifeWay Christian Resources President Rainer, proposes that the Church is fundamentally about radical change--death to life, rebellion against God to kingdom service, etc.--and that too many churches are mired in the status quo of apathy or inward-focused activity that does not contribute meaningfully to Christ's mission.
Through case studies of churches around the U.S. (some large, some small, of different denominations, but all following after God), the authors develop what they call the "new scorecard" for measuring the effectiveness of ministry; this is in addition to (not necessarily in contrast with) the "old scorecard" of attendance, giving, and programs/facilities. They build a theory of the "transformational loop" of church development, which is comprised of three categories: discern, embrace, and engage. They break down the categories into seven key elements that active churches should evince: a missionary mentality, vibrant leadership, relational intentionality, prayerful dependence, worship (actively embracing Christ), community (connecting people with people), and mission (showing Jesus through word and deed). Each of the elements is fleshed out in detail through a chapter of the book.
Stetzer and Rainer try to avoid a "do this, get that" systematic approach to church ministry, attempting rather to show churches in action demonstrating the principals they describe ministry. It is impossible for them to completely escape the style that lends itself to their subject matter (measuring performance), but they leave the reader with an encouragement to evaluate churches from a biblical perspective of kingdom mission, not simply from a traditional measure of success.
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The Gift of Church: How God Designed the Local Church to Meet Our Needs as Christians Review

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The Gift of Church: How God Designed the Local Church to Meet Our Needs as Christians ReviewJim Samra has written an excellent book on why Christians need to re-look at their attitudes and involvement with the church. Despite all of the Church's failings, Church is God's idea, His creation, and His primary way of working in this world.
The chapter of the Church being "God in Concert" is beautiful. The entire book shows how God works in and through us being in community - both to be Christ in the earth and to deepen our relationship with God through others. Every excuss used to avoid church is addressed.
There are many things that I would have changed if I wrote the book. I would have emphasized that belonging and actively participating in 'church' isn't optional but a biblical mandate. Samra's book is primarily about what the church does for us instead of what the church means and does for God. However that lens reflects the view of our culture, at least in the Western world. Perhaps that view will motivate more people to go back to church and if so I laud the effort.
Samra gives two extensive chapters on what the church should be and do. He leaves out missions and evangelism completely. Again, I think that omission is because of his effort to appeal to what church does for us instead of what God intends the church to do for others. However those points aside this is a great book to get people thinking about their need to be in church. As Samra said, this is a book of ideas, not practice. This book is a great gift to give to fellow believers who think it is enough to believe or fellowship via a TV program, err TV preacher.The Gift of Church: How God Designed the Local Church to Meet Our Needs as Christians Overview

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Devotions for Ministry Wives Review

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Devotions for Ministry Wives ReviewI am one of the contributors to this book and could hardly wait for the book's release to read what the other women had written. I have been encouraged and helped by them.
Even in a hectic season or life, the 2-page devotionals are accessible and good for any woman who wants to deepen her faith.
I recommend the book especially to ministry women who have been put off by the negative angle that many books have toward our calling, that see our lives mainly from the perspective of difficulties that come our way. The writers of DEVOTIONS FOR MINSTRY WIVES don't gloss over problems, but their outlook is definitely that they are glad to be where God has placed them.
If no one has given this book to you yet, buy it for yourself!Devotions for Ministry Wives Overview

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A Field Guide for the Missional Congregation: Embarking on a Journey of Transformation Review

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A Field Guide for the Missional Congregation: Embarking on a Journey of Transformation ReviewThe book has met my expectations and a valuable resource. The service that I received was timely and without any negative incident.A Field Guide for the Missional Congregation: Embarking on a Journey of Transformation Overview

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The Art of Curating Worship: Reshaping the Role of Worship Leader Review

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The Art of Curating Worship: Reshaping the Role of Worship Leader Review2010 has been a Sparkhouse year. Sparkhouse is an imprint of Augsburg Fortress, and this past year they have published some stellar resources, including my personal favorite, re:form, a confirmation curriculum (they also published a great VBS we used this summer, re:new, and a book on Church in the Inventive Age by Doug Pagitt). I actually think the re:form confirmation curriculum is the best confirmation curriculum I've seen, ever!
When I learned they were also working on a new resource for worship planning (Clayfire), I was thrilled, and immediately ordered the book that I think is launching the series, Mark Pierson's The Art of Curating Worship.
All of this is by way of saying that I was predisposed to be sympathetic to the book, and open to the ideas in it. I'm honestly a fan of resources published by Augsburg Fortress, and a supporter of the innovative directions Sparkhouse is taking as a publishing arm of our church.
So then I actually started reading the book. Here's where I started hitting some major speed-bumps. I am still excited about Pierson's re-thinking worship leadership as worship curation, because it bring greater focus to the environment and space in which worship takes place than other traditional titles such as cantor, preacher, presider, or worship leader. Cantors focus more on the music, preachers on the word, presiders on space but focused on the meal, and worship leaders also typically focus on the content of prayers and music.
The term curator is preferable for a variety of reasons, itemized well in Pierson's book, but I especially like the term because it draws attention to the overall environment, and also has analogies with how curation is done in museums, etc, where the goal is to bring to life that which has gone before.
All of this being said, I realized that as soon as I read two things in the book that really caused me to struggle, I wouldn't be able to read the book with an open heart and mind. Pierson shares in the second chapter of his book that one worship event he curated included communion, but he chose to use water instead of wine for the communion. Is it too finicky of me, or too legalistic, to argue that you simply don't do this, period, anywhere. Communion is bread and wine. To depart from bread and wine is simply not acceptable.
This pointed me back to something he had said earlier that I initially thought was a bit of hyperbole, but now I think it wasn't. Page 25, he says, "Anything goes." Of course, he precedes this by arguing that once we get our definition of church and worship clear, then how we actually design worship, embedded in those answers, can be "anything goes," but it is simply not clear to me how that works.
Here's my concern. T'his book is the first book on worship from a new publishing arm of the Lutheran church, and one of the first if only comments in the book on the sacraments suggests that wine may be replaced with water in the meal.
Now I know that Pierson is a Baptist from New Zealand. We probably have very different approaches to the meal. I also see from what he is up to that he is very creative and experimental in his worship leadership. He creates events, art installations, etc. They seem amazing, and I'd like to see such a worship event in action.
That being said, I just don't see how the book will ultimately be helpful for our worship leaders. This is more than simply thinking outside the box. It's like having left the room and apartment building altogether.
I'm going to continue reading the book, and will post a second reflection upon finishing it, but it does occur to me that we need someone to write a book on worship curation who also reads and adheres to the Lutheran confessions and the Use of the Means of Grace document, among other guiding texts of our tradition.
They say all press is good press, so I hope you'll go out and buy the book and read it. Even if I strongly disagree with parts of it, and disagree even more strongly with the decision that Sparkhouse should be the one to publish it, I do intend to always be in dialogue perhaps especially with those with whom I disagree. The true way to stay immature is to live in an echo-chamber of your own creation.The Art of Curating Worship: Reshaping the Role of Worship Leader Overview

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Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (Gospel & Our Culture) Review

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Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (Gospel & Our Culture) ReviewThis is one of the better books currently available introducing church leaders, pastors and lay ministers to ecclesiology from a missional perspective. Guder and his fellow writers do a worthy job of synthesizing contemporary perspectives on church in post-Christian North America. Especially engaging is the way that the writers articulate the distinctive claims a Canadian culture (as opposed to an United States culture) will make on a missional church. There are valuable lessons here for pastors seeking to become more adept in cultural discernment. What is lacking in this book are concrete examples of what a missional church "looks like" in ways different than what one finds in Christendom. One hopes that this is an absence that will be addressed in the next four volumes. In short, check out this book as a synthesis of ecclesiology from a post-liberal perspective (a la Hauerwas, Yoder, Brueggemann). Also, a note for pastors: Chapter 7, "Missional Leadership: Equipping God's People for Mission," is worth the price of the book.Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (Gospel & Our Culture) Overview

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Faith Begins at Home: The Family Makeover with Christ at the Center Review

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Faith Begins at Home: The Family Makeover with Christ at the Center ReviewDecember 03, 2007
Thoughts from Lou Ann
From The Willow Creek Association Children's Blog
I just read a great book by Mark Holmen.
Building Faith at Home is one of those rare books that not only challenges the way we do ministry, but actually suggests some practical steps to change our church culture - one family at a time.
We know the statistics. We've read Barna; we've been to conferences; we've seen the results of drop-off children's ministry. We're all praying, thinking and dialoging about how to make our ministries more effective and turn the statistics around, and yet - change is painfully slow. Parents still seem apathetic when it comes to assuming responsibility for the faith of their children. In the minds of Christian parents, they're leaving the process of their children's spiritual formation to the professionals - after all, it works with piano lessons, soccer and calculus!
I am determined that things will be different for the kids in my church. I am determined that my kids will have every opportunity to accept Jesus as Savior; I am determined that my kids will become fully devoted followers of Jesus; I am determined that my kids will not walk away from their faith and church when they leave home for college.
That's why I'm so excited about Holmen's book. Holmen advocates taking a different avenue to family ministry. Just as many churches have adopted the phrase, "a church OF small groups" rather than "a church WITH small groups," we must become a church OF family ministry. We must "focus on the home as the primary place for nurturing faith." Everything we do at church - small groups, men's ministry, Bible studies - even sermons - must equip the family to live out their faith at home. And here's where the book gets practical. Already having child dedication Sundays? Meet with the parents of these young children and teach them how to pray over their babies. Already honoring your high school graduates? Use this as an opportunity to equip their parents to prepare their kids for the test of faith called "college."
Holmen suggests having annual "Take It Home" events for every age group - and these events are held on Sunday when families are already at church! Why didn't I think of that? Once a year, parents join their child's small group for a "Take It Home" event. And here's another good idea - with every event, you send home a tool to reinforce your topic.
Strategic curriculum, family productions, family newsletters, making children's ministry the best hour of a kid's week, and now Take It Home - we might just have an impact that can change lives!
[...]Faith Begins at Home: The Family Makeover with Christ at the Center Overview

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The Word of Knowledge in Action : A Practical Guide for the Supernatural Church Review

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The Word of Knowledge in Action : A Practical Guide for the Supernatural Church ReviewI have been working out my salvation with fear and trembling... and was trying to reconcile some of the issues I've had with the Holy Spirit as I've seen Him in Acts... and as He seems to be in the post-modern church. I kind of wondered where He was and what happened to Him... and it was really a stumbling stone to my walk for a long time as I went back and forth between and active and passive God at work in our lives.
This book was a true eye-opener. I think it is amazing how I'd really hoped for a book that could act as a single source in teaching and encouraging me about the Lord - but figured I would have to string that together for myself with bits and pieces of lots of books. Well - I had a hard time putting this one down and finished it in like two days and in the end it just melted away some of the preconceived notions and wrong-minded thinking I had in God.
Art takes a straightforward approach to what the Bible says - and isn't afraid to apply it to his real life and then share the reality that God is very interested in walking with us. Art has a pragmatic approach to difficult problems which make them come across clearly. I really can see God revealing the Holy Spirit anew in this season, and I think Art will be a strong voice in brings this message back to the church, and to the lost.
I believe there is a paradigm in Holy Spirit teaching, and this book will change your perspective on what is possible with God.The Word of Knowledge in Action : A Practical Guide for the Supernatural Church Overview

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The Attractional Church: Growth Through a Refreshing, Relational, and Relevant Church Experience Review

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The Attractional Church: Growth Through a Refreshing, Relational, and Relevant Church Experience ReviewThe first book I've read that paints a positive picture of the Attractional Church! I recommend it for Pastors and Church Planters. Especially if you are looking to be Refreshing, Relational and Relevant!
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