Customer Reviews

Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I 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!

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:
[...]

Why do we do what we do in our collective church services? Why do we sing x amount of songs, pray at this time, or preach at this time? Where does it come from? Who decides? And, what are their decisions based on?

These are good questions that thinking Christians ask themselves and others. It is important to know the `why' as well as the `what' when we are thinking about worship.

As 21st Century `navely' orientated folks, often times we look to ourselves and our lives for answers. The traditions we know. The experiences we've had.

When we do this we truncate our Christian history. And, we have a rich Christian history.

Enter Bryan Chapell. Chapell is pastoral, theological, and historical. He has the credentials to help people think through these things. He has the ability to write clearly and get our focus off of our collective evangelical navels and to look up, beyond the horizon, at the rich Christian history of worship.

In his book Christ-Centered Worship Chapell starts with the centerpiece of Christianity, the gospel. He shows how the gospel shapes everything. He labors to show that it must shape everything. He shows us that the gospel is to structure the corporate gathering of believers.

Then he walks us through a rich history lesson. He takes us through the years of the Roman Catholic Church and then on to the Reformation. It is fascinating reading as he contrasts Luther and Calvin's respective convictions and practices with their liturgy (order of service). Both had the same overt goals but went after them slightly different. He then moves on to the time of the Westminster Divines and how things changed but yet stayed the same. Finally, Chapell intersects a bit with what has happened in the last couple of hundred years regarding the corporate gatherings of Christians. It is just fascinating stuff.

Pivoting out of history, Chapell shows the importantance of "representing" Christ's story (the gospel) in our worship. He does his best to gather together the necessary wood to kindle and sustain Christ-Centered worship.

Pastors, in particular, with find the second half of the book very helpful. In it Chapell gives many examples of various elements of the worship gathering. He gives Scriptural and historical helps for the Call to Worship, Affirmation of Faith, Confession of Sin, etc. From a resource standpoint this is outstanding.

I have always enjoyed Chapell's writing because he is so Christo-centric. This earns trust from me. I want to read and hear more because we are shooting at the same target. Even though Chapell is Presbyterian and I am more Baptistic he is a very helpful guide. I am always challenged and encouraged by his books. This is no different.

If you combine Christ-Centered Worship with his other book Christ-Centered Preaching you will be greatly aided in ministry. I still say that his preaching book is a top-5 in terms of everyday ministerial impact. His book on worship continues to help as well.

There are numerous books on worship printed; most of which take a side in the continuing and often heated discussion about worship. Having read many of these books, it is obvious that most conversations about worship center on style. Even well-meaning theologians try to back up personal preference with scripture. The reality is that worship is not about style, it is and should be about the story of God and how we have been invited to participate.

In Christ Centered Worship by Bryon Chapell, a well-known theologian, we are taken on a journey to investigate the worship practices and service outlines from church history. It is through this investigation that Chapell shows us that from the earliest inception of the organized church there has been a common story to tell in worship; the story of God. He points out that corporate worship is a model of our personal journey, a continuation of our daily conversation with God that is brought to a grander scale when believers gather.

In one area of the book Chapell writes that worship can be seen in two simple words and how we respond to these words. The words: Glory and Grace. God reveals His glory, we are given the chance to respond. God reveals His grace, we are given the chance to accept and then respond through a surrendered life.

As I read through the first part of the book I was waiting for the `shoe to drop.' As Chapell exposes history I was waiting for him to say we needed to get back to the old ways, follow the liturgy of the historical church, including the songs and style of days gone by. The `shoe never fell.'

Chapell simply stated that it is not about style but about the story of God and how we expose the pieces of the story in worship and allow our congregations to respond. Chapell even gives examples of how contemporary songs and other elements can be used in the telling of the story.

If I were teaching young worship leaders I would use this book as a required text book. We learn from the history and we are challenged to begin the worship planning process by asking the question: `how will we tell the story of God, The Gospel, in this service.

The book is laid out in two main parts. The first section discusses, as it were, the doctrine of Christ-centered worship. An honest discussion of liturgy begins at the outset and flows into an in-depth analysis of historical liturgy from the Catholic Church (pre 1570) to Luther to Calvin to Westminster and eventually to the Modern Church. I must confess that, as a Baptist, I found the topic of liturgy and the discussion of what seemed to me as rigid worship forms to be quite disconcerting. Was Chapell, a staunch Presbyterian, going to advocate a strict, super-formal liturgy to be used in all churches? Chapell's conclusion to the historical analysis, however, did not demand such a liturgy. Chapell uses the historic forms of church worship to demonstrate patterns and then applies these patterns to the church. He does not seek to impose a specific order of service, but rather presents the basis for elements that were used in the past and should continue to be used in modern worship. Full explanation of these elements will have to wait, though, because Chapell quickly turns to a biblical theology of liturgy. What does the Bible say about liturgy? How is liturgy practiced in the Old Testament and New Testament? What about corporate and individual worship? All of these questions are answered in this chapter. Having established a further, biblical, basis for the elements he has thus far presented, Chapell now moves to explain their purpose. The purpose of Christ-centered worship is to re-present the Gospel. In other words, every worship service should retell the story of the Gospel. But I thought worship was all about the glory of God? Chapell counters with a two-fold response: (1) The Gospel is the means by which God receives His greatest glory. (2) A proper reading of passages such as Colossians 3:16 would demand that worship is both for God's glory and man's good. Without glorifying God through the Gospel, we have failed to truly worship. Without ministering to the needs of the saved and the lost in the worship, we have failed to truly worship. True worship demands both sides of the coin. In the following chapter, Chapell plays further on the theme of worshipping for the good of others by describing the mission of Christ-centered worship. Christ-centered worship ends the struggle of worship wars because it focuses on the true substance of worship rather than its style. The writer envisions the worship of the Lamb (Rev. 7) by all nations from all time. Their worship is unified, not by their nationalities, cultures, or race, but by the Christ whom they worship. After reading this chapter, I was suddenly asking myself, should believers find unity with other believers based on the style of their worship or the substance, or should I say, focus, of their worship? Now Chapell is ready to rekindle his initial presentation of central components of worship. He begins his ascent by demonstrating that our values determine our worship. If we value the traditional, we risk losing relevance. If we value the subjective, we may lose focus on presenting objective truth. If our value is solely doxological, we may soon find that God's people no longer delight to praise Him. If we valuable accessible worship, we may soon stop demonstrating the transcendence of God. If our concern is simply for a solemn worship service, we will soon let go of the joy of worshipping our Father. If we pit the excellent against the common, we may lose focus on the substance of worship. True worship moves beyond these debates, recognizing that there is biblical merit for all of them. Biblical, Christ-centered worship values the glory of God and the good of man and therefore serves both. Christ-centered worship is not seeker-sensitive; however, it is seeker-oriented. Christ-centered worship does not focus its worship on the unbeliever, but does not forget them in the process. A true focus on the Gospel moves beyond these worship wars to the core components of worship: (1) Adoration, (2) Confession, (3) Assurance, (4)Thanksgiving, (5) Petition and Intercession, (6)Instruction, (7)Communion/Fellowship, and (8) Charge and Blessing.

The second section continues by developing the practice of Christ-centered worship. The writer describes how "traditional" and "contemporary" churches (terms which the author expresses some distaste for) might carry out each of these elements in their worship. Chapell also includes a section on the communion which is quite insightful as well as a section on musical styles, which serves to reemphasize points made in the first section of the book. The book closes with a number of worship resources on the internet, which will be quite helpful to the music pastor or worship leader of any church.

The purpose of the book is best stated by the author himself: "My intention has not been to take sides in the traditional/contemporary worship debate or to try to mandate a liturgy for all churches. Rather my goal has been to encourage church leaders to identify their churches' specific calling as the basis for making decisions about worship approaches and resources that may be traditional, contemporary, or something even better." (154)

Christ-Centered Worship is just as revolutionary, if not more so, than Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon. The book is also just as practical as the author's inspirational title Holiness by Grace: Delighting in the Joy That Is Our Strength. The book serves as an academic, yet practical look at worship and liturgy. The writer's conclusions are able to be implemented in churches regardless of worship style and serve only to strengthen the substance of their worship. If truly implemented across the breadth of evangelical Christianity, what has been a major barrier to fellowship would fall and would actually become a bridge to fellowship. Truly the reader, regardless of worship background, baggage, and convictions will not be disappointed as Chapell's insights do not fail to instruct and guide the attentive reader to, as he states: "something better."

Dr. Chapell has given us a gift, the gift is this thoughtful book on why The Church worships the way it does and what importance each element of the worship experience has for us. My son had the privilege of attending Covenant Seminary and taking courses from Dr. Chapell. He told me about this book as well as Christ Centered Preaching. I have had this book on my shelf for about a year and just now got around to reading it (partly at the encouragement of our new lead pastor).

Dr. Chapell takes Part 1 of the book to explore the history of liturgy and how The Church has structured its worship services for 2,000 years. He compares the Roman Catholic church with the movements by Martin Luther and John Calvin. It is interesting to note how liturgy is not that different from one church structure to the next. Dr. Chapell points out that Martin Luther was not trying to re-write the Catholic Church, but he was trying to improve on it through the structure of the worship experience. But as he did that he came to realize that he had a difference of opinion with the Catholic's on doctrine and theology. That then shaped the Protestant movement where a major difference in theology took place. But surprisingly enough there was not a major shift in the order and style of liturgy.

From here Dr. Chapell then explains the Westminster Catechism and it's liturgical style as well as that formed by Robert Rayburn during the 1980's. What is amazing is that over the period of 2,000 years liturgy has not evolved in a way that it looks totally different today than when the early church started to meet. The main elements are still the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Upper Room. These two elements are easily defined as the ministry of the sermon and the ordinance of the Lord's Supper.

But as Dr. Chapell points out many times people are confused about our worship services. They think that the time of singing, prayer, reading of scripture and moments of testimony are just the preliminary work leading up to the real work of the Sermon. But as each of major liturgies show our time of the Liturgy of the Word starts from the opening call to worship and music until the end of the service with the Benediction. All of the time is "worship" and important for our relationship with the Lord.

In Part 2 of the book Dr. Chapell moves on to "Gospel Worship Resources." He gives examples for each of the different aspects of our worship experience. He explains the ins and outs of how to plan a worship experience and the importance of the flow of the service to help the church of God fully worship and express their adoration and love for God.

From the opening invocation to the expression of our sinful state and nature to our expression of adoration and thanksgiving to the ministry of the word Dr. Chapell gives us good outlines, structure and examples that will help us to plan and lead our congregations into meaningful worship experiences.

This book will be a valuable tool for every worship leader and preaching pastor who wants to guide their flock into Christ Centered Worship experiences. While the book is expressly a textbook it doesn't read like a boring textbook. Instead it reads as a great review of our historical roots and an expression of how we, The Church, has not truly changed at all from it's structural roots of worship. Instead we hold to the true tradition of worship and help our current culture learn how the Lord is relevant even in today's community.

This book will be a great help for laymen as well as pastors to learn how we can best express our worship to God and gain meaningful insight through the process.

Enjoy!

Bryan Chapell as always brings us a work of solid scholarship, mind expanding knowledege and heart warming truths.

Fantastic book. Very well written, researched, and laid out. Extremely helpful. I'm very grateful for authors like Chapel, that God uses to convey such incredibly important, confusing, yet controversial topics in Biblically sound and clear manners.