Leaven Leaven Volume 1 Issue 1 Worship Article 14 1-1-1990 Worship Old and New, Robert Webber Worship Old and New, Robert Webber Dwight Robarts Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Robarts, Dwight (1990) "Worship Old and New, Robert Webber," Leaven: Vol. 1 : Iss. 1 , Article 14. Available at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven/vol1/iss1/14 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Religion at Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Leaven by an authorized editor of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].
Transcript
Leaven Leaven
Volume 1 Issue 1 Worship Article 14
1-1-1990
Worship Old and New, Robert Webber Worship Old and New, Robert Webber
Dwight Robarts
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven
Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology
and Philosophy of Religion Commons
Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Robarts, Dwight (1990) "Worship Old and New, Robert Webber," Leaven: Vol. 1 : Iss. 1 , Article 14. Available at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven/vol1/iss1/14
This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Religion at Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Leaven by an authorized editor of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].
I watched my young son in a specialty store recently. He is into cowboy things-hats,boots, guns, holsters, the works. (Not his father's choice of fixations, but not all things can becontrolled). His attention was riveted on a pair of chaps and a leather western vest. Just hissize. His eyes looked at me imploringly. I recognized the look.
It was my look. How many times I had thrown that same look at my wife--or, for thatmatter, she at me. Usually just after figuring the family finances. But, you see, I was just in thebookstore, and there is this book. .. If we only had a little more cash in the account... There areso many books I really need!
I have almost stopped reading book reviews for that reason. I am like a starving man ata Sunday buffet. Everything looks so inviting. Yet, I am convinced.rover the long haul, a bookreview section may be the most valuable part of any journal-if it directs the reader to books onthe cutting edge, seminal works, evocative books that affect the way one sees the world ...andGod in the world. Knowing about those books can make a difference in personal growth andministry.
The reviews in this section are not so much meant to prompt your purchases as to pro-voke your thinking, to provide insights and resources for ministry. In general, they will growout of and support the main topic of each quarterly issue. Often, however, other unrelatedworks will be included because of their value in equipping Christians for specific ministries.(Because of my personal interests and those of many of our readers, helpful resources in preach-ing will often be reviewed here.)
Dwight and Charme Robarts begin these reviews by discussing two very influentialbooks by Wheaton professor Robert Webber. Dr. Doug Brown reminds readers of a great
Christian classic by Soren Kierkegaard, a workthat can re-shape our worship life. I thenreview in brief seven books of or about wor-ship. Finally there is my discussion of arecently published book on preaching.
Jack Reese teaches Homiletics at AbileneChristian University. He has graduatedegrees from AC.U., Oklahoma, and receivedhis Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. Hepreviously served as the Minister for the OakHills Church in San Antonio, Texas.
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Robarts: Worship Old and New, Robert Webber
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Worship Old and New, by ROBERTE. WEBBER. Grand Rapids: Zonder-van, 1982, 256 pp.
Am I wrong or is there a growing rest-lessness over worship in our churches? In everychurch I have been a part of at least one voicehas complained that the worship assembly wastoo boring, too predictable, too formal or infor-mal, too unpredictable, or too unsettling. Ifthevoice became a chorus, the leadership mighttinker with the order of worship -- another songor two here, a prayer there -- but the restlessnesscontinued.
Robert Webber's, Worship Old andNew, is written by one who has a deep concernfor worship. Webber, who teaches at Wheaton,has also written Worship is a Verb (Waco:Word Books, 1985) and Evangelicals on theCanterbury Trail: Why Evengelicals AreAttracted to the Liturgical Church (Waco:Word Books, 1985 -- also reviewed in this issue).
Worship Old and New is a primer onworship. Webber deals with the basic issues ofpublic worship such as the biblical foundation forChristian worship in both testaments, thetheology of worship (a point that seems to me tohave been overlooked to a large extent in ourdiscussions of worship in Churches of Christ)and the role of time, space and sound (which willprobably seem the most distant of his discus-sions). The book concludes with nine proposalsfor improving worship in the local church andsome suggested models for an order of worshipthat reflects a biblical theology ofthe assembly.
The author contends that the restless-ness in many conservative churches over wor-ship is the result of "historical amnesia, theinfiltration of rationalism, emotionalism orentertainment, and a failure to keep a balance inall aspects of church life," including worship,teaching, evangelism, fellowship and compas-sion. Many churches' anti-historical bias pre-vents them from initiating genuine renewal ofworship. Webber says their failure to study howchurches in the past have tried to apply thebiblical teaching about worship imprisons thesechurches in their own culture and cuts them offfrom a helpful resource for worship renewal.While history is helpful Webber believes theprimary resource for worship renewal is theBible.
Webber is not so concerned with what we
All things praise thee, Lord ftUly we 57
in the churches of Christ have called "acts ofworship." His concern is the biblical and theo-logical underpinnings of what the church does inpublic assembly. Webber sees the responses ofworship, such as prayer and the Lord's Supper,as probably arising from a motivation deeperthan just the reproduction of a pattern. Biblicalworship arises from a sense of the majesty andmystery of God. Biblical worship is, according toWebber, focused on Christ who has come to manas a redeemer/savior so that we might bebrought to the Father. Biblical worship is ofnecessity a community event where the church,led by the Spirit of God, remembers the work ofsalvation through such tangible symbols ascommunion and giving.
Webber understands worship as aresponse of trust and obedience that preparesthe church for ministry to the world. It alsolooks beyond the present world to the hope ofGod's people for the future. Such an understand-ing of worship prevents churches from caving into the temptation to entertain instead of growinginto a deeper understanding of the biblicalmeaning of worship. Webber believes a failure tounderstand this prevents worship renewal. This"failure to understand and practice publicworship" requires a "turning away from allshallow and uninformed approaches to worship."
This book would be extremely helpful toelders, preachers and worship committees whostruggle with leading God's people in worshipeach week. It is most valuable in guiding thedevelopment of a framework or context forworship as well as providing direction for arenewal that avoids the resort to quick fixes thatoften characterize attempts to deal with dissatis-faction over worship. Another helpful feature ofthe book is the end notes and the annotatedbibliography which point to more lengthy discus-sions in other sources.
Webber's book serves as a needed calland guide to a deeper understanding of the thrilland peril of our weekly encounter with our holyGod.
Evangelicals on the CanterburyTrail: Why Evangelicals Are At-tracted to the Liturgical Church, byROBERT E. WEBBER. Waco: WordBooks, 1985. 171pp.
"What is truly spiritual is believing whatyou are told. A questioning spiritis a doubtingspirit and a doubting spirit comes from anunbelieving heart." Webber here quotes one ofhis students at Wheaton who was speaking ofpast experience in a fundamentalist college. Theyoung man's statement expresses the mentalitythat stifles religious questioning and in essencepromotes "mouthing faith that lacks integrity."This mentality is at the core of Webber's initia-tive to walk the Canterbury Trail from theevangelical tradition to the Episcopal church.
His book is divided into two parts. Thefirst is a chronicle of his own spiritual journeyand the second contains the testimonies of sixother sojourners. Throughout all, careful atten-tion is given to extol the strengths of evangelical-ism. Webber is particularly sensitive in describ-ing his own pilgrimage with due respect for hisheritage and in fact declares the beauty ofblending the traditions.
Considerable attention is given to thecomfort that attends containing God in a system,thus Webber's deference to those who eitherresist religious change or who seem never toimagine it. His own discomfort with a fixed faithbased on memorization and adherence to institu-tional thought sent him from familial faith intosearching faith and gradually to owned faith. Itis this faith that responds to God in worship, notmerely as weekly event but as life experience.
The rejection of a rationalistic view ofGod gives way to a return to mystery which is atthe heart of Webber's journey. This sense ofmystery refuses to" put God in a box" and thenexpound on him at each assembly. Rather, itwaits for God to reveal himself in the quiet ofworship. Mystery neither intellectualizes noremotionalizes the worship experience.
Participation in the sacraments of thechurch affirms the mystery of God in the uni-verse. For Webber these are signs of God'scontinued activity in the human realm and theyspeak again of the specific work of Christ on ourbehalf. The section dealing with sacrament isparticularly informative and refreshing as itreveals a view of these practices that are often
cast in disdain by those who think rituals bytheir nature can only become empty. Thoughgiven other names in different traditions, anysacrament has potential to become profane.
The great benefit of this book is not tocall us to Webber's odyssey into the Anglicantradition. Rather it is to call us to faithfulness inworship, where God encounters us, is presentwith us -- yet is still God, still mysterious. It isin the dynamic experience of worship that theperson of God can seek healing for the eternalchurch.
Charme RobartsFt. Walton Beach, Florida
Puri ty of Heart is to Will One Thing,by SOREN KIERKEGAARD.
Human beings are reasoning beings, inwhom God has implanted a thirst for eternity(Eccl. 3:11). When this truth has been treated asan adequate expression of our humanity, heresyhas been born. (Heresy, among other things, isthe extreme assertion of some truth). "Dare tothink" created the occasion for such heresywithin the Enlightenment societies, the UnitedStates being but one example. The same distor-tion found a home in theological traditionsranging from Protestant Liberalism to ourRestoration heritage. Worship provides alaboratory within which to observe (and experi-ence) the fruit.
A gifted Danish author spoke propheti-cally against the rationalistic heresy that hadblanketed Copenhagen, including the ChristianChurch. His aim -- "to sting," "to wound frombehind" in order to pry free "solitary individuals"from the religious slumber and lifestyle distrac-tions absorbed from "the crowd" (a "sink ofcowardice"). For them, he wrote some twenty"edifying discourses," Purity of Heart being thefirst translated into English. Alerted to theirepistemological and spiritual distance from God,these tender worshippers received fromKierkegaard prodding "from the wings" designedto enhance the impact of coming before the Lord.
Purity of Heart explores subtle forms ofdouble-mindedness that are easily overlooked.Kierkegaard takes the confessor full circle,beginning and ending with "Man and the Eter-
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nal." From barriers ("the reward disease") toprice ("readiness to suffer all" and "the exposureof evasions") to the question "What then must Ido?" -- he probes the believer's struggle to self-lessly will one thing -- God's kingdom. Theprayer, which shares the book's title, puts thereader in his sights (and permits a taste ofKierkegaard):
Father in heaven! What is a man withoutThee! What is all that he knows, vastaccumulation though it be, but a chippedfragment ifhe does not know Thee! Whatis all his striving, could it even encompassa world, but a half-finished work ifhedoes not know Thee: Thee the One, whoare one thing and who art all! So mayThou give to the intellect, wisdom tocomprehend that one thing: to the heart,sincerity to receive this understanding; tothe will, purity that will only one thing.In prosperity may Thou grant persever-ance to will one thing; amid distractions,collectedness to will one thing. Oh, Thouthat giveth both the beginning and thecompletion, may Thou early, at the dawnof day, give to the young man the resolu-tion to will one thing. As the day wanes,may Thou give to the old man a renewedremeberance of his first resolution, thatthe first may be like the last, the last likethe first, in possession of a life that haswilled only one thing. Alas, but this hasindeed not come to pass. Something hascome in between. The separation of sinlies in between. Each day, and day afterday, something is being placed in be-tween: delay, blockage, interruption,delusion, corruption. So in this time ofrepentance may Thou give the courageonce again to will one thing. True, it is aninterruption of our ordinary tasks; we dolay down our work as though it were a dayofrest, when the penitent (and it is onlyin a time of repentance that the heavy-laden worker may be quiet in the confes-sion of sin) is alone before Thee in self-accusation. This is indeed an interruption=. But it is an interruption that searchesback into its very beginnings that it mightbind up anew that which sin has sepa-rated, that in its grief it might bring tocompletion that which lies before it. Oh,Thou that givest both the beginning andthe completion, give Thou victory in the
All things praise thee, Lord may we 59
day of need so that what neither a man's burningwish nor hid determined resolution may attainto, may be granted unto him in the sorrowing ofrepentance: to will only one thing."
Doug BrownMemphis, Tennessee
In BriefThe reader may find the following books excel-lent resources on worship, (JR)The Service of God: How Worshipand Ethics are Related, by WILLIAMWILLIMON.Nashville: Abingdon,1983. 238 pp.
Few voices over the last decade haveaddressed the subject of Christian worship withas much clarity and insight as Willimon's. Inthis profound and influential book, Willimonemphasizes the power of ritual-not only in itseffect on the individual in assembly, but morespecifically in its effect on a person's ethicalbehavior in the world. He argues for a strength-ening of communal ritual (praying and believing,baptism, the Lord's Supper, preaching, marriageand promise-making, and offering}-rituals thatare a primary determinant of the Christian'sethical life.
Worship and Spirituality, by DON E.SALIERS. Philadelphia: Westminster,1984. 114 pp.
In a rather brief book, Saliers suppliesme with enough new ideas concerning theChristian worship experience to fill a notebooktwice the size. Every page evokes new possibili-ties. According to Saliers, the key to worshipand spirituality is remembrance. It is remem-brance, with all its hebraic nuances, that empow-ers worship during perplexing times. Especiallyhelpful is his discussion of symbol and the"hidden languages," "living" baptism, and theimportance ofremembering God to the world.
Worship: A Searching Examinationof the Liturgical Experience, byJOHN E. BURKHART. Philadelphia:Westminster, 1982. 162 pages.
In a lucid discussion of the nature ofChristian worship, Burkhart examines "theLord's assembly," "the Lord's day," "the Lord'sfeast," "the Lord's service," and "the Lord'swelcome." He provides a rationale for worshipthat is simple, biblical, and suggestive.
Participating in Worship: History,Theory, and Practice, by CRAIGDOUGLAS ERICKSON. Louisville:Westminster/John Knox: 1989. 223pages.
Those reared in a "free church" tradition(like Churches of Christ) will find themselves inunfamiliar territory from the outset of this book.The context and language is that of'mainlineliturgical Protestantism. Yet the call to activecongregational participation in the Sundayassemblies is an important corrective to thepassive audience tendencies of the free churchcongregations. Many will find Erickson's prem-ise and specific worship suggestions fresh. Thebook may evoke a wide range of worship re-sponses that can find an appropriate place in ourassemblies.
Pattern in Early Christian Worship,by ALLEN CABANISS. Macon: Mer-cer University Press, 1989. 112 pages.
For several years in journal articles andhis own Presbyterian tradition, Cabaniss hasbeen arguing for a re-focusing on patterns in con-gregational worship. This book on the liturgy ofthe early church is the culmination of his work.Though at times his writing is disjointed andpedestrian, Cabaniss provides several clearwindows into the world ofthe early church (andeven into the worship life of Israel). Ministersand worship leaders may find some jewelsamidst this rough-hewn rock.
Last Supper and Lord's Supper, by I.HOWARD MARSHALL. Grand Rap-ids: Eerdmans, 1980. 191 pages.
Anyone seriously interested in re-examining the contemporary practices of theLord's Supper service in our churches would dowell to start here. Beginning with a discussion
of religious meals in the ancient world, Marshallexplores with depth and keen scholarship Jesus'last supper with his disciples and its implica-tions in the early church. This is not a popular-level book. Some mayu find it tough reading attimes. But those willing to invest the time willfind in it some surprising conclusions and atreasury of ideas.
Prayers, by MICHEL QUOIST, trans-lated by Agnes M. Forsyth and AnneMarie de Commaille. New York: Sheedand Ward, 1963. 179 pages.
One of the finest devotional works of thelast half of this century, Quoist's Prayers is fastbecoming a classic. The brief prayers, translatedfrom the original French, are at times breathtak-ing. One cannot read them quickly. Everysentence penetrates. His words frolic thendevastate, indict then encourage, words andmetaphors alive with poignant meaning. Theseprayers seize the spirit. Appropriate for privatemeditation or public worship, they carry thepower of one both vulnerable and confidentbefore his God, speaking with terror and boldadoration in the presence of a holy God.
Preaching and the Literary Formsof the Bible, by THOMAS G. LONG.Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989. 144pp.
Two developments in homiletic thoughthave significantly affected the process of sermonconstruction in recent years. One, championedby Fred Craddock, is the use of inductive ratherthan deductive sermon strategies. Worksadvocating inductive models have multipliedrapidly over the last fifteen years. The otherdevelopment, less extensively discussed butequally important, is the study of the form of thebiblical text in determining the form of thesermon. The two developments are not unre-lated. Craddock, for example, discusses the needto pay attention to text form in his earliesthomiletic text, As One Without Authority(1974). But only recently has this issue beenadequately addressed.
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Robarts: Worship Old and New, Robert Webber
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Thomas Long, professor of preaching atPrinceton University, has been at the forefront ofthis concern for several years. In this latest bookhe suggests that inadequate attention has beengiven by preachers not in "whatthe ... texts saybut ... [in] how the texts say what they say" (p.11, emphasis his). Poetry and miracle stories,for example, '''come at' the reader in differentways." One who preaches needs to developsermons "sufficiently nuanced to recognize andemploy these differences in the creation of thesermon itself."
In the first two chapters, Long defines anapproach to sermon construction that is sensitiveto biblical genre. He underscores the relation-ship between the form of a text and its funda-
AI/things praise thee, Lord may we 61
mental meaning. He encourages an awarenessof literary devices employed by biblical writersand the effect they achieve. He leads the readersthrough a process in which the sermon, in a newsetting, says and does what the text says anddoes in its setting. In the remaining chapters hediscusses preaching from several literary genres:the Psalms, Proverbs, narratives, the parables ofJesus, and the epistles.
Preaching and the Literary Forms ofthe Bible is relatively brief and tightly written.It has every indication of being a landmark bookwithin the field of homiletics. And for preacherswhose roots are in a movement concerned with"doing Bible things in Bible ways," this bookcould prove to be invaluable.
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