Customer Reviews

An Hour on Sunday: Creating Moments of Transformation and Wonder

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Every pastor responsible for planning and leading a worship service should buy this book, read it, and then do two things. First, find an artist in your congregation who will help you understand how important this book is. Let that artist, or better yet several artists, teach you how the arts can assist you in creating moments of transformation and wonder during that hour on Sunday. Second, honestly respond to the "Questions to Explore" at the end of each chapter. Write out your answers. Discuss them with your staff or leadership team. They are outstanding discussion starters for weekly staff or leadership meetings or even for use in a retreat setting. Dealing with these questions will intensify the impact of this entertaining and informative read.

I read this book from the mindset of a Christian educator who fears that an hour on Sunday is what the average Christian invests in their Christian education. Nancy Beach has provided a timely challenge for we who teach to embrace the value of creativity. She writes from her passion and experience as one dedicated to communicating the truth of God's Word to a culture overwhelmed by information and to generations who learn as much by seeing and experiencing as they do by listening. If you want to make the most of an hour on Sunday you'll be well served by this book.

P.S. If you lead creative people, the bovine metaphor on page 80 is worth the price of the book!

This is one of the most delightful "how to" books I have read in a long time! This book will help both ministers and lay leaders in the planning of the Sunday morning service. The suggestions given are sound, biblical, and can apply to both a traditional setting or a more contemporary setting. The reader is challenged to make the worship hour on Sunday morning more meaningful by first examining his own heart and motive. The goal is to have the worshiper leave the church changed in a more positive way than when they first came. The advice of this book is both timely and easy to follow.
Many times "how to" books are dry and boring to read. The delivery of the material in this book is as entertaining as it is enlightening. The use of illustrations and drawings are intermingled with the text, many times becoming the text. For example, when the book discusses music, you find the text in a sheet of music, like the lyrics of a song. Humor is very much a part of this book. In the first part of the book, the author gives you permission to skip to a page later in the book if you feel you don't need to read that particular section. When you skip to the page indicated, you are admonished and told to return to the section you wanted to skip. All in good humor, of course. There are also thought provoking questions at the end of each chapter that enable you to celebrate the good things you are currently doing in your organization and encourage you to explore new ground.

This was a practical book, yet full of moments of hopeful artistry for the soul. It also reveals honestly mistakes made with people, and inner struggles. It was better than I'd hoped for and I"m using it for our Worship Committee as we start on our journey towards trying to create moments of awe in church.

Insightful and challenging. Whether you are a member of a praise band, a media volunteer, or the senior pastor - if you are involved in creating Sunday morning worship, Nancy Beach presents a strong question "Why do we do what we do on Sunday mornings?" And then with humor, real life illustrations and a lot of her own character and spirit, she helps us each to find the answer for ourselves. This book is a "must read" if you are involved in worship ministry. A pleasure to read, but so very challenging! Enjoy this one!

This book is the most intereactive and concise material I have ever read on the subject of worship arts. It was totally refreshing to see the artist/author use her skills to communicate what years of experience has showed her. Praise God, for encouraging us to operate under our spirital giftedness! Buy it! You won't be disappointed!

The potential for moments that matter exists in every church, as we listen for God's guidance, develop our crafts, and pray like crazy for supernatural power to be unleashed, according to Nancy Beach in this book. Nancy is Director of Programming and a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, a church which has been at the forefront of the use of the arts in services over the past 30 years.

In chapter 8 on Excellence, the author says, "I sometimes allow myself to dream about what would happen if the church once again became known as the place where outstanding art was created for God." In chapter 9, on Creativity, she says, "Our aim should be to create services so compelling, so meaningful, and so unexpected, that the time sails by and attenders leave with an enthusiastic desire to talk about their experience.." In chapter 10 on Authenticity, she says, "If I had to choose just one supreme value, I'd pick authenticity over excellence and creativity simply because the door to attenders' hearts and minds will slam shut the instant they pick up on pretense of any kind."

The book, which is whimsically illustrated throughout, is filled with useful hints and information about how to present church services in ways which will fully engage attenders. I found that reading it all the way through took some effort, but the effort was rewarded. It is the most useful book of its kind that I have read, and I highly recommend it.

Excellent book for anyone involved in the planning of worship. Masterfully created by using the artful principles encouraged and putting it into published form.

THANK YOU!

Good book to give you an idea of how to lead and work with artists in worship.