People in my generation and down are prone to exaggeration. It's part of our cultural ethos. "That was the awesomest thing I've ever seen." "That was the nastiest thing I've ever tasted." "That was like a million times worse than anything I've experienced before." So in light of my generation's over-indulgence in superlatives, I preface what I am about to say by pointing out that this is one of those times when my superlatives actually should be taken at face value.
Bryan Chapell's Christ-Centered Worship is one of the best books on worship I have ever read. It now rests firmly in my top three (not sure what the other two are, but I'm giving myself some wiggle room). Some may not want to read the lengthy review which follows, so I'll start with overall bullet points that I hope will be helpful to people.
* Pastors, worship leaders, and worshipers who cherish a robust understanding and experience of the gospel should read this book.
* Evangelical worshipers interested in incorporating "liturgy" into their worship should start with this book.
* Evangelical worshipers not interested at all in liturgy should still read this book because it will wake them up to something profound about their worship practice.
* Liturgical worshipers interested in understanding the basis for their liturgy should start with this book.
* Liturgical worshipers who think they know all the what's and why's of their liturgy should still read this book, because I bet you'll be hit with at least one profound "aha" moment.
* The book is split into two parts, and the first part (pages 1-155) is the book's meat and potatoes.
* If you didn't get much out of Chapell's Christ-Centered Preaching (I'm one of those), don't count this book out. This book's "Christ-centeredness" has a whole new approach.
* The book is not angry and critical, but embracing and critical.
* The book's subtitle "Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice" is actually an excellent summary of the entire book.
* Though Chapell is the President of a major Reformed seminary, the book does not express worship from a necessarily Reformed angle. It is a book about and for Christian worship at large.
Overall Comments
Christ-Centered Worship is unifying, ecumenical, and irenic in spirit as it straddles various worship traditions. But the remarkable thing is that it does so without going down the road of theological liberalism. Its ecumenism arrives not by compromising theological distinctives but by observing the core of every truly Christian worship expression--the gospel. Since the dawn of Tim Keller and like-minded gospel preachers, I have longed to see how such radical and biblical views of the gospel as the good news of God for everyone (non-Christians and Christians) informs Christian worship and practice. I have found it in this book. If you're familiar with Keller's teaching on the gospel, you will then know what I'm implying when I say that this book could easily be titled "Gospel-Centered Worship."
Now, I am no Bryan Chapell crony. In fact, I was hoping that his previous book, Christ-Centered Preaching would be along those same Keller-lines (i.e. preaching the gospel in every sermon). Some believe Chapell succeeded in that former work in doing so, but I found myself disappointed. If you're in that same boat about Christ-Centered Preaching, trust me, don't count out Christ-Centered Worship.
My final overall observation is a word of appreciation for how obviously hard Chapell was trying to be peaceable. I scoured footnotes, just waiting for him to take a jab at a tradition with which I knew he would not fully agree. I could not find a single place. Even in his penetrating remarks about contemporary worship, the usual traditionalist vitriol is utterly absent. In this sense Chapell walks the talk of the gospel. Peacableness, in general, is not all that refreshing in modern writing, as I think the "PC-ness" of modern culture has made our writing and argumentation too limp-wristed. But from a Reformed writer like Chapell, and writing on a topic such as worship, a peaceable spirit is extremely refreshing. Coming just off the heels of reading a 1997 article on worship by one Presbyterian ripping into another, dripping with arrogance and condescension, Chapell was a shocking contrast. Hey, Reformed folk can be nice! :)
Walk-Through and Comments
The book is split into two parts. Part 1, "Gospel Worship," is Chapell's building of his case. Part 2, "Gospel Worship Resources" is Chapell's helpful application of his case. It's easy to see that the 150 pages of Part 1 should be where one spends the bulk of their time, while viewing Part 2 as a resource to turn to at various later points. Because Part 1 comprises the main material, that's where I'll spend my time...
The rest of this review can be found at:
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