What Language Shall I Borrow?: The Bible and Christian Worship (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Liturgical Studies) [Paperback]

Ronald P. Byars (Author)

Book Description

Series: Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Liturgical Studies | Publication Date: January 2008

What language is most appropriate for worship? Should it lean to the colloquial, perhaps targeting those attending worship for the first time? Or should it be a language with deeper roots, the language of a community that already loves the God to whom worship is offered? Ronald Byars here argues that the communal worship speech that truly honors both the majesty and the intimacy of God is, in fact, biblical language. Far from limiting worship, biblical language encompasses a vast range of speech from poetry and prose to parable and narrative. Byars explains how this language pushes us beyond what we already think we know, requiring us to think about death and resurrection, beginnings and endings, and how to hold on to faith. It is the language of relationship, both in community and in worship. Written for both leaders of worship and individual worshipers, What Language Shall I Borrow? offers a richer understanding of communal praise.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (January 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802840140
• ISBN-13: 978-0802840141
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,316,368 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ron Byars grew up in Nebraska. He served as pastor of congregations in Fremont, Allen Park, Okemos, and Birmingham, Michigan; and in Lexington, Kentucky. He has served both as a member and as chair of the Kentucky Commission on Christian Unity. In 1999 he joined the faculty of Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. From a position in Chancel and Pulpit, he moved primarily to a place in the pew. He writes as one whose view has been shaped from the perspective of congregational life. He continues to write in retirement, living now in Lexington, Kentucky.