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Return to Worship: A God-Centered Approach

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Convicting and prophetic, Ron Owens challenges pastors, worship leaders, choirs and congregations to ask hard questions about their worship. Owens writes thirty-seven "letters" addressing key issues facing worshippers today. Return to Worship is unashamedly biblical. Owens calls the reader to keep God absolutely central in worship. Here are some of his more convicting concepts. One of the root problems in worship is: "We don't know our God" (1999:9). "The church today is being shaped more by our culture than by the cross" (1999:21). "...How we respond to what comes to us each day most clearly reveals whether we are worshippers at heart" (1999:42). "There is no redemption without an attitude of worship" (1999:47). "We cannot claim for ourselves the glory that belongs to God alone and expect our worship to be acceptable to Him" (1999:54). "Some pastors view their responsibility as: "to keep everybody happy rather than pointing the people to God and teaching them to be holy" (1999:58). "No revival in history has begun with a self-satisfied people" (1999:68). "He who will not serve does not worship" (1999:71). "Research has shown that much of the growth of our larger churches has been at the expense of smaller churches" (1999:79). "Often the only scripture read during the gathering is the few verses read by a pastor before he preaches" (1999:99). "Use the choruses but don't deny this generation the riches of its past" (1999:107). "We are not called to be entertainers of the people; we are called to be ministers of the gospel" (1999:137). Additionally, in Appendix 3, Owens includes a 19th century list of 24 questions to ask in preparation for the Lord's Supper. This book brims full of wisdom and insight. I highly recommend it.

This diverse collection of letters by Ron Owens to the church and various individuals and leaders of worship is challenging, gut-honest, and inspiring. Owens takes an honest look at worship in the church of America today and is calling the church to a higher standard. He helps us look beneath the surface issues of worship styles and music programs to the heart of worship.

Owen's fundamental starting points are that God alone is worthy of our worship, and that we were created to worship God. Worship begins and ends with the sovereign Lord. We must learn to come to God on his terms and embody this worship in our everyday lives.

While the letters in part one of this book address the church and its worship, the letters in part two are addressed to worship leaders. These letters take on a more practical tone and offer great wisdom regarding worship issues ranging from how we should understand and practice baptism and communion to the appropriate place of applause in worship.

This book is a wonderful resource for worship leaders not only for personal and professional challenge, but for use with worship boards, teams, and choirs. These letters are thought-provoking and convicting and could inspire tremendous change in the hearts of readers willing to make changes in their worship of God.

In "Return to Worship" Owens writes thirty-seven "letters" to the church, worship leaders, pastors, and ministers of music. The letters express a deep love and passion for worship and addresses concerns facing the church today in relation to worship. Owens' letter-writing style creates a sense of personal identification. It is as if the author addressed these letters to me! Owens calls the church to focus upon God and forms of worship must not cloud that focus. In fact, Owens confronts the issue of music in worship and says, "to many, worship is music, and music is worship, and many worship music" (1999:6).

Broad ranges of issues are addressed including music, audiovisuals, sacraments, applause in worship and many others. In addition to raising these practical concerns for worship Owens concludes with four helpful appendixes (a choir covenant, a checklist for worship leaders, twenty-four questions to ask yourself in preparation for the Lord's Supper, and an article entitled "When Church Was Just Church: Worship Center or Theatre?").

"Return to Worship" is a wonderfully practical book; a must-read for pastors and those responsible for providing worship leadership in the local church.

Finally, some instruction on worship that is scripture based rather than based on style, performance, music, surveys, or popularity. For a generation that has lost sight of what scripture says concerning worship (and scripture has MUCH to say about worship), this book is a must read for ministers and layman alike, whether or not they are involved in worship leadership. Please read this book and be re-oriented to biblical worship.

I have read many books on worship over the past years and find Owen's work to be a breath of fresh air. Returning to biblical worship should be the goal of every Christian in a day where 'anything goes' in many churches. Read slowly, carefully and thoughfully and you will either be challenged to your core or affirmed in your understanding of coming before God on His terms as His people.This book should be in every pastor's study.

I was consistently impressed with the way Ron Owens used Scripture and example to explain how the people of God are supposed to worship. He directs almost the first half of the book to Christians in general. The second half offers a Biblically based discussion on how to lead and prepare for worship. This is a must read for anyone involved in worship.

I wanted to know and understand...biblically...what IS true worship...and this book spoke truth. This is not a humdrum book about worship. This book leads to conviction of who God is, why He alone deserves to be worshiped and what true worship is of our majestic and holy God. I'm not the most eloquent with words but I have found this to be the best book about worship. I was NOT disappointed at all. I couldn't put the book down and even called my Pastor to suggest the staff should read the book. If you REALLY want to understand what a life of worship is...quietly read this book...alone, without any distractions and ask God to open your eyes and heart to truth. If you want what the world today calls worship...well don't read this book. Just go to any mainstream church in America and they will indoctrinate you to a show of their version of worship.

Our group will now be going through the Worship Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby and Ron Owens which is a great follow up to Return to Worship.

Introduction

Return to WorshipWorship is something that is hard to define, even as we try to seek out a theology of worship from the Scriptures. There are many worship leaders today who are leading churches into corporate worship even though they have spent little time trying to understand what they are doing, never mind what Scripture itself prescribes. It may be a tedious task to ask ourselves what it is we do every Sunday, and further, to ponder how our corporate gatherings of worship are any different than our daily life worship. Nevertheless, this is something that we all must do as a preliminary step before we actually do worship.

Return to Worship by Ron Owens is a helpful tool for worship leaders and church leaders alike. Addressing theological and practical issues concerning worship, Owens presents an encouraging yet brief volume on God-centered worship that is organized as a series of letters addressed to the church and to worship leaders. What results is a unique book that confronts contemporary worship issues head on.

Summary

The book is divided into two sections. The first section contains 15 letters that are addressed to the church. Owens begins by declaring that worship is defined by Scripture alone and our need thus is to search God's Word in order to rightly worship Him. He explains that worship depends on a reverent and awe-filled view of God for who He is and what He's done. While using the illustration of God's Word as the Christian's "plumb line" or standard, the author reminds us that that our understanding of who He is affects how we think of Him in worship. As Owens writes, "the fundamental issue today is not the `how' of worship, but it is the `Who' of worship. [...] Instead of spending all our time discussing `how' we worship, we need to be asking God to help us change the way we think about Him" (14).

Owens then continues with four letters that directly address the worship of God from the first four commandments of the 10 Commandments. He explains that we must never worship other gods or little idols like Mammon, but that we should rather be present a biblical image of God to the world. Our worship should honor His name, never using God's name in vain. Furthermore, Owens reminds us of the sanctity in observing the Christian Sabbath - the Lord's Day - as a testimony to the world about the God that we worship and as a sign of our covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ. "How we keep that covenant will reveal what is really important to us. It will show what or Whom we truly worship" (37).

Owens suggests that worship is about a lifestyle of praise, for how we respond to God everyday of our lives reveals our true heart of worship. He also advocates that believers are born, namely re-born to worship God - worship that entails giving God glory rather than man's own efforts. Hence, Owens stresses the necessity of acknowledging God's authority and sovereignty over all things, and worshiping Him as the eternal God of not only creation but also redemption. Worship is also a matter of humility, namely giving up our rights to Jesus as Lord. For Owens concedes that "humbling precedes the offering of prayers that are acceptable to Him" and "no revival in history has begun with a self-satisfied people" (68).

Consequently, such genuine worship culminates in service, as God is not worshipped if His people will not serve Him. Worship contains not only receiving but also giving. Acceptable worship requires a living sacrifice, for all sincere offering is worship.

In the second section of the book, Owens addresses letters 16 through 47 to worship leaders. He begins by explaining that the gathering for corporate worship is for the purpose of going, that is, for edifying and equipping Christians to go out into the world. The Pastor of the church should be the principal worship leader in the church, giving oversight to all those involved in planning worship services. Owens rightly advocates that the worship time should be infused with times of prayer, a priority that has been lost in today's churches. Furthermore, the author commands that prominence should be given again to the public reading of Scripture, as well as preaching. Just as Owens writes, "As important as it is for [people] to have time to express themselves to God, it is more important that they hear God express Himself to them" (103).

Turning to the issue music's place in the church, Owens explains that our music should glorify God and edify others while not neglecting the great heritage of hymns in favor of choruses. At the same time, silence should also be restored in our services so that people can have time to pause and think quietly about what has been expressed in the corporate gathering. Furthermore, the author suggests that giving of tithes and offerings should not be put off to the side of worship services, but rather, its should be restored as a time of meaningful worship where people can search their hearts concerning the purpose of giving to God what is already His.

Owens also takes time in the book to address the ordinances of the Lord's Supper and baptism. He suggests that the Lord's Supper should be revived with a higher place in services, so that it can be a time of quiet reflection, honest evaluation and self-humbling in order to recall what our Lord said at the Last Supper. Similarly, baptism should never be tacked onto a service, but we must make appropriate time for it, ensuring that candidates are certain of the meaning of such an important sacrament. For the baptism of new believers is a very appropriate time "to ritualize His victory over death and the grave, to bow before the Savior in humble adoration, to thank Him for His incomparable gift" (131).

Speaking directly to music leaders, Owens gives a timely reminder that they are not to be entertainers, but instead be ministers of the gospel who use their talents to display God. The author then shows that music itself is a language that has great psychological, learning-reasoning, emotional and behavioral effects; music that matches biblical text should thus be chosen with careful discernment. Because of the adrenaline high that can be had from repetitive singing, worship leaders must employ spiritual discernment to see how necessary it is to repeat certain lines in songs. Owen warns us of the dangers of playing with peoples emotions through music: "The tragedy is that they have been led to believe that what they are experiencing is the Holy Spirit, when it is nothing more than an intense emotional response" (147). For those who lead worship, Owens advocates that no unbelievers should be invited to such a ministry, for such would be defiling the holy and making it common. Applause in our services should be reserved for God, and he suggests that pastors and worship leaders much teach the congregation appropriate ways of responding to music presentations.

Further, Owens emphasizes the importance of preparing for the worship time, for both those who lead and for those coming to the service, providing a description of numerous ways that churches can help worshippers prepare their hearts during the pre-service time (162-163). Building continuity in worship is also important and must not be neglected so that there may be a good flow to the service.

Owens concludes with exhortations to specific people involved with music ministry. He calls for all those involved in the ministry to serve and worship with grateful hearts, boasting only in the cross. Even AV technicians are exhorted for their important, behind-the-scenes role. Owens appropriately ends the book by stressing that returning to worship involves removing things that aren't honoring to God, restoring the alter of prayer, and leading people to covenant with God. Such a change in the church must begin with the leaders, not the congregation.

Critical Evaluation

I found this book to be thought-provoking and heart-warming. At least three strong points distinguish this book from others in the field of worship. Firstly, the book is unique in its format. Just like the epistles that the Apostle Paul wrote to the New Testament churches, Owens organized this book in the format of letters to both the congregation and to pastors/worship leaders. This format allowed the author to be frank and honest with each group of people, and further extends the intended audience of this book. To the congregation member who knows little about worship theology and the things that go on into planning worship services, this book gives them a glimpse into the world behind the curtain and on the stage. To pastors and worship leaders, such worship planners are given explicit reminders of the follies in modern church worship. Owens is confrontational and yet humbly so, convicting church leaders of various areas of failure, but at the same time convincing them of the grace of God that is available to them also. He provides helpful suggestions in the planning and preparation of worship services (e.g. 162-163), as well as pointers in recovering the ordinances of the Lord's Supper (letter 24) and Baptism (letter 25).

Secondly, this book is stellar in its applicability. While there are letters that do address the theology of worship, Owens is also very helpful in giving practical suggestions to music directors and pastors. This shows Owens own theology of worship at work - after addressing Who it is that we are to worship, Owens then address how we ought to worship God in the church. As Owens wrote, "worship is and always has been a matter of the heart" (67). What is to be conducted in corporate worship is addressed in letters 18 through 25 (prayer, 92; Scripture reading, 99; preaching, 102; music, 105; silence, 112; offering, 115; Lord's Supper, 118; baptism, 126). Furthermore, Owens also writes directly to specific people who serve on the musical side of things (choir, 168; soloist, 178; audiovisual ministers, 182).

Lastly, Owens' Appendix contains four additional resources that will be tremendously helpful for worship leaders and worshippers themselves. Owens provides: an example of a Choir Covenant (189) that can be a template for further use; a Checklist for Worship Leaders (191) to remind pastors and directors of music of their own need for self-examination before getting on stage; a list of twenty-four questions to examine ourselves with before partaking in the Lord's Supper (193); and a fascination article about consumerism and the entertainment mindset that has infiltrated the church (196). All together, these appendices add even greater prowess to an already fascinating book.
Conclusion

In Return to Worship, Owens addresses key issues in regard to the practical aspects of worship that are applicable to pastors, worship leaders, as well as worshippers in the pew. While not a complete biblical theology of worship, it is an easy yet challenging read for those in music ministry. It is a worthwhile book for those looking to revive worship in their hearts and in the church.

I cannot fully express how powerful this writing has been in my life. It is a honest, brave, and thought provoking work on the whole topic of Worship. As Ron states, it is not just about music. I am eternally grateful to Ron for bringing my life of worship 10 leaps forward by the inspiring message he gave to me through his writing. Thank you.

In "Return to Worship" Owens writes thirty-seven "letters" to the church, worship leaders, pastors, and ministers of music. The letters express a deep love and passion for worship and addresses concerns facing the church today in relation to worship. Owens' letter-writing style creates a sense of personal identification. It is as if the author addressed these letters to me! Owens calls the church to focus upon God and forms of worship must not cloud that focus. In fact, Owens confronts the issue of music in worship and says, "to many, worship is music, and music is worship, and many worship music" (1999:6).

Broad ranges of issues are addressed including music, audiovisuals, sacraments, applause in worship and many others. In addition to raising these practical concerns for worship Owens concludes with four helpful appendixes (a choir covenant, a checklist for worship leaders, twenty-four questions to ask yourself in preparation for the Lord's Supper, and an article entitled "When Church Was Just Church: Worship Center or Theatre?").

"Return to Worship" is a wonderfully practical book; a must-read for pastors and those responsible for providing worship leadership in the local church.