Worship Architect

M. Cherry Constance

Description

Worship professor and practitioner Constance Cherry shows how to create services that are faithful to Scripture, historically conscious, relevant to God, Christ-centered, and engaging for worshipers of all ages in the twenty-first century. More than 150 colleges and seminaries have used or currently use the first edition as a required text. In this new edition, each chapter has been substantially updated and revised, including illustrations, key terms, examples, technological references, and suggested resources for further reading. A new chapter on global worship and a new appendix on live-streamed worship are included.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian worship

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 17 août 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781493432189
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

“This book is widely used in Hong Kong seminaries. In the past few years, I have witnessed numerous worship practitioners, seminary students, and church pastors from different denominations being stimulated, challenged, inspired, equipped, and shaped by this book to plan biblically faithful services and nurture the congregations in their local churches. God as the Master Architect has called us to be worship architects, and readers will surely be deeply encouraged by this theologically grounded and effectively applicable book.”
— Cazaria Ho Heung Choi , Evangel Seminary, Hong Kong
“The expertise, wisdom, and pastoral sensibilities of Constance Cherry shine through in her masterful work, The Worship Architect . Her experience in leading and teaching worship, which few can match, has given her the tools to produce an accessible blueprint for leaders who desire to place the gospel at the center of their worship gatherings. Having taught from the book numerous times, I can attest to its ability to reach across denominational and cultural boundaries, as well as to the positive outcomes elicited by immersion in its theological and practical depths. During this time when many churches are seeking substance over style, The Worship Architect remains a foundational resource for worship renewal.”
— Dinelle Frankland , The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies
“In a world that is becoming alarmingly deprived of sound worship theology, The Worship Architect is a welcome and much-needed guide for all Christian worshipers. In this book, Cherry has combined rich insights and robust theology of Christian worship with years of field experience as a minister and a trained musician, producing a work that deserves to be in the hands of every Christian serving in worship. Comprehensive in scope yet readily accessible, The Worship Architect is my top recommendation when asked about primary resources for worship leaders, planners, and team members. Cherry is an able mentor and a gentle guide who walks readers through various components of biblical worship. Whether one is a seasoned worship minister or simply desiring to gain a deeper understanding of corporate worship, this book will help educate, inspire, and fuel readers to wholeheartedly serve God through worship.”
— Matt Wonjoon Lee , SaRang Global Academy, School of Worship, South Korea
“Both learned and wise, practical and pastorally sensitive, Cherry’s book is a tremendous gift to teachers and pastors and an invaluable aid to worship leaders as well. It is a book that I return to repeatedly for guidance and grounding in my own thinking, teaching, and practice of worship. I highly recommend it.”
— W. David O. Taylor , Fuller Theological Seminary

© 2010, 2021 by Constance M. Cherry
Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com
Ebook edition created 2021
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4934-3218-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version ® . NIV ® . Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture quotations labeled NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
This book is dedicated in loving memory of
Robert E. Webber (1933–2007),
mentor and friend
Contents
Cover
Endorsements
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Why a Book about Worship Design?
Phase One Laying the Foundations for Worship
1. Establishing the Foundation: Biblical Worship
2. Setting the Cornerstone: Worship Is Centered in Jesus Christ
Phase Two Raising the Structure for Worship
3. Four Rooms for Encountering God: The Gospel Order of Worship
4. The First Room: The Gathering
5. The Second Room: The Word
6. The Third Room: The Table of the Lord
7. The Third Room: The Alternative Response to the Word
8. The Fourth Room: The Sending
Phase Three Installing Windows for Encountering God
9. Encountering God in Prayer: Capturing the Heart of Worship
10. Encountering God in Music: Singing the Church’s Song
11. Encountering God in Music: Offering “Sound” Musical Leadership
12. Encountering God in the Christian Year: Remembering the Whole Narrative
Phase Four Welcoming Worshipers for Authentic Engagement
13. Engaging Style: Expressing Worship in an Authentic Voice
14. Global Worship: Open the Doors and See All the People
15. The Hospitable Worship Leader: Engaging Worshipers as Participants
Appendix A: A Definition of Christian Worship
Appendix B: Ten Basic Steps in Designing Vital Worship
Appendix C: Checklist for Designing Vital Worship
Appendix D: Seven Tips for Engaging with Livestreamed Worship
Notes
Index
Back Cover
Acknowledgments
Around thirty-five years ago I stumbled across a book that changed my life. I picked it up as a random read, but providentially it turned out to be far more. The book was Worship: Rediscovering the Missing Jewel by Ronald Allen and Gordon Borror. I couldn’t put it down. I was already well launched into full-time music ministry with two music degrees completed. I knew music, but I didn’t know worship. I had not been introduced to the world of worship as its own domain, centuries rich in biblical, historical, theological, and liturgical studies. This book helped me see that worship was much more than I had perceived. I became deeply moved and ravenously hungry to learn more about the worship of the church. I owe a debt of gratitude to two authors I never met for changing the trajectory of my vocational journey. I have pursued worship studies ever since.
I am a worshiper because of my parents, Harold and Ruby Cherry. They took my three brothers and me to church from infancy, teaching us by example how to cherish Sunday worship. Their parents did the same for them when they were infants too. God has blessed me with a rich heritage of family members spanning multiple generations who unknowingly discipled me in worship as I witnessed their deep devotion to God, not only in church but in their daily lives. Both of my parents are now worshiping in the presence of God. I am thankful for their intentional care in raising me to love the church.
The influence of Robert E. Webber on my understanding of worship cannot be overestimated. In 1998 I was in the first class of graduates who received the doctor of ministry in Christian worship degree from Northern Seminary, a program designed and led by Dr. Webber. As his student in the classroom, and then as he supervised my doctoral thesis, I was deeply shaped by his philosophy of Christian worship. On the day I graduated, Bob approached me about serving on the faculty of a school he was forming, the Institute for Worship Studies (now the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies), which was still at the concept stage. I gladly accepted his offer and grew even more under his leadership. Over the years until his death, he continued to do what good mentors do: shape my thinking, affirm my gifts, challenge me to take my scholarship to the next level, and open doors for expanded influence. A few weeks before Bob died, I had a surprise phone call from him in which he voluntarily offered an endorsement for the first edition of The Worship Architect , even though it had not yet been submitted to any publisher. For all of these things and more, I am eternally indebted to him.
I give God thanks for the people in the many churches at which I have ministered over the past forty-five years (and counting) of vocational ministry. All of them have contributed to my developing leadership abilities through their prayers and support. The deep friendships I have gained are priceless.
I am thankful for my hundreds of students, past and present, who keep me on my toes in the classroom and on my knees in prayer for wisdom as I teach. They make me think and laugh and remember not to take myself too seriously. Special thanks to one of them, Ben Snoek, for creating the book’s graphics and for his prayerful encouragement in the process of its writing.
Last, but not least, I express my appreciation to Robert Hosack for his expert guidance through our fourth book project together with Baker Academic. I sincerely appreciate his consistent encouragement for my work. Thank you.
Introduction
Why a Book about Worship Design?
Worship has changed so much in the past seventy years in westernized cultures. The end of the Second World War created a big postwar boom in industry, population, universities, and churches in America. In terms of worship, it was a turning point that played itself out in notable ways. One thing led to another: the swelling of church attendance, the rise of numerous parachurch organizations, and several significant worship renewal movements of the mid-twentieth century such as the Jesus movement on the West Coast, the transdenominational charismatic renewal movement, and the sweeping liturgical changes of the Second Vatican Council. On the heels of these phenomena, the church growth