Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice

The book is laid out in two main parts. The first section discusses, as it were, the doctrine of Christ-centered worship. An honest discussion of liturgy begins at the outset and flows into an in-depth analysis of historical liturgy from the Catholic Church (pre 1570) to Luther to Calvin to Westminster and eventually to the Modern Church. I must confess that, as a Baptist, I found the topic of liturgy and the discussion of what seemed to me as rigid worship forms to be quite disconcerting. Was Chapell, a staunch Presbyterian, going to advocate a strict, super-formal liturgy to be used in all churches? Chapell's conclusion to the historical analysis, however, did not demand such a liturgy. Chapell uses the historic forms of church worship to demonstrate patterns and then applies these patterns to the church. He does not seek to impose a specific order of service, but rather presents the basis for elements that were used in the past and should continue to be used in modern worship. Full explanation of these elements will have to wait, though, because Chapell quickly turns to a biblical theology of liturgy. What does the Bible say about liturgy? How is liturgy practiced in the Old Testament and New Testament? What about corporate and individual worship? All of these questions are answered in this chapter. Having established a further, biblical, basis for the elements he has thus far presented, Chapell now moves to explain their purpose. The purpose of Christ-centered worship is to re-present the Gospel. In other words, every worship service should retell the story of the Gospel. But I thought worship was all about the glory of God? Chapell counters with a two-fold response: (1) The Gospel is the means by which God receives His greatest glory. (2) A proper reading of passages such as Colossians 3:16 would demand that worship is both for God's glory and man's good. Without glorifying God through the Gospel, we have failed to truly worship. Without ministering to the needs of the saved and the lost in the worship, we have failed to truly worship. True worship demands both sides of the coin. In the following chapter, Chapell plays further on the theme of worshipping for the good of others by describing the mission of Christ-centered worship. Christ-centered worship ends the struggle of worship wars because it focuses on the true substance of worship rather than its style. The writer envisions the worship of the Lamb (Rev. 7) by all nations from all time. Their worship is unified, not by their nationalities, cultures, or race, but by the Christ whom they worship. After reading this chapter, I was suddenly asking myself, should believers find unity with other believers based on the style of their worship or the substance, or should I say, focus, of their worship? Now Chapell is ready to rekindle his initial presentation of central components of worship. He begins his ascent by demonstrating that our values determine our worship. If we value the traditional, we risk losing relevance. If we value the subjective, we may lose focus on presenting objective truth. If our value is solely doxological, we may soon find that God's people no longer delight to praise Him. If we valuable accessible worship, we may soon stop demonstrating the transcendence of God. If our concern is simply for a solemn worship service, we will soon let go of the joy of worshipping our Father. If we pit the excellent against the common, we may lose focus on the substance of worship. True worship moves beyond these debates, recognizing that there is biblical merit for all of them. Biblical, Christ-centered worship values the glory of God and the good of man and therefore serves both. Christ-centered worship is not seeker-sensitive; however, it is seeker-oriented. Christ-centered worship does not focus its worship on the unbeliever, but does not forget them in the process. A true focus on the Gospel moves beyond these worship wars to the core components of worship: (1) Adoration, (2) Confession, (3) Assurance, (4)Thanksgiving, (5) Petition and Intercession, (6)Instruction, (7)Communion/Fellowship, and (8) Charge and Blessing.The second section continues by developing the practice of Christ-centered worship. The writer describes how "traditional" and "contemporary" churches (terms which the author expresses some distaste for) might carry out each of these elements in their worship. Chapell also includes a section on the communion which is quite insightful as well as a section on musical styles, which serves to reemphasize points made in the first section of the book. The book closes with a number of worship resources on the internet, which will be quite helpful to the music pastor or worship leader of any church.The purpose of the book is best stated by the author himself: "My intention has not been to take sides in the traditional/contemporary worship debate or to try to mandate a liturgy for all churches. Rather my goal has been to encourage church leaders to identify their churches' specific calling as the basis for making decisions about worship approaches and resources that may be traditional, contemporary, or something even better." (154)Christ-Centered Worship is just as revolutionary, if not more so, than  Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon . The book is also just as practical as the author's inspirational title  Holiness by Grace: Delighting in the Joy That Is Our Strength . The book serves as an academic, yet practical look at worship and liturgy. The writer's conclusions are able to be implemented in churches regardless of worship style and serve only to strengthen the substance of their worship. If truly implemented across the breadth of evangelical Christianity, what has been a major barrier to fellowship would fall and would actually become a bridge to fellowship. Truly the reader, regardless of worship background, baggage, and convictions will not be disappointed as Chapell's insights do not fail to instruct and guide the attentive reader to, as he states: "something better."

Fascinating two-part book on church worship. The first half looks at worship in church history (this overview is amazing!! best part of book), and the second half gives super-practical ways of worship within the church life and church service. One of the Top 2 worship books I've ever read (and I've read a good handful, other Top 2 book is "Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship" edited by Ryken, Thomas, and Duncan III)

The book looks at worship from the perspective of the gospel and history through the lens of Covenant Theology. Some great nuggets of truth and food for thought. Although he said he allowed for contours and divergence but example after example it didn't feel that way.

A LITTLE TO COMPLICATED

Great perspective on keeping Christ at the center of your worship services. Written by a pastor and preacher. Get a copy and give it to your pastor! I also enjoyed Capell's "Christ Centered Preaching" text.

People in my generation and down are prone to exaggeration. It's part of our cultural ethos. "That was the awesomest thing I've ever seen." "That was the nastiest thing I've ever tasted." "That was like a million times worse than anything I've experienced before." So in light of my generation's over-indulgence in superlatives, I preface what I am about to say by pointing out that this is one of those times when my superlatives actually should be taken at face value.Bryan Chapell's Christ-Centered Worship is one of the best books on worship I have ever read. It now rests firmly in my top three (not sure what the other two are, but I'm giving myself some wiggle room). Some may not want to read the lengthy review which follows, so I'll start with overall bullet points that I hope will be helpful to people. * Pastors, worship leaders, and worshipers who cherish a robust understanding and experience of the gospel should read this book. * Evangelical worshipers interested in incorporating "liturgy" into their worship should start with this book. * Evangelical worshipers not interested at all in liturgy should still read this book because it will wake them up to something profound about their worship practice. * Liturgical worshipers interested in understanding the basis for their liturgy should start with this book. * Liturgical worshipers who think they know all the what's and why's of their liturgy should still read this book, because I bet you'll be hit with at least one profound "aha" moment. * The book is split into two parts, and the first part (pages 1-155) is the book's meat and potatoes. * If you didn't get much out of Chapell's Christ-Centered Preaching (I'm one of those), don't count this book out. This book's "Christ-centeredness" has a whole new approach. * The book is not angry and critical, but embracing and critical. * The book's subtitle "Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice" is actually an excellent summary of the entire book. * Though Chapell is the President of a major Reformed seminary, the book does not express worship from a necessarily Reformed angle. It is a book about and for Christian worship at large.Overall CommentsChrist-Centered Worship is unifying, ecumenical, and irenic in spirit as it straddles various worship traditions. But the remarkable thing is that it does so without going down the road of theological liberalism. Its ecumenism arrives not by compromising theological distinctives but by observing the core of every truly Christian worship expression--the gospel. Since the dawn of Tim Keller and like-minded gospel preachers, I have longed to see how such radical and biblical views of the gospel as the good news of God for everyone (non-Christians and Christians) informs Christian worship and practice. I have found it in this book. If you're familiar with Keller's teaching on the gospel, you will then know what I'm implying when I say that this book could easily be titled "Gospel-Centered Worship."Now, I am no Bryan Chapell crony. In fact, I was hoping that his previous book, Christ-Centered Preaching would be along those same Keller-lines (i.e. preaching the gospel in every sermon). Some believe Chapell succeeded in that former work in doing so, but I found myself disappointed. If you're in that same boat about Christ-Centered Preaching, trust me, don't count out Christ-Centered Worship.My final overall observation is a word of appreciation for how obviously hard Chapell was trying to be peaceable. I scoured footnotes, just waiting for him to take a jab at a tradition with which I knew he would not fully agree. I could not find a single place. Even in his penetrating remarks about contemporary worship, the usual traditionalist vitriol is utterly absent. In this sense Chapell walks the talk of the gospel. Peacableness, in general, is not all that refreshing in modern writing, as I think the "PC-ness" of modern culture has made our writing and argumentation too limp-wristed. But from a Reformed writer like Chapell, and writing on a topic such as worship, a peaceable spirit is extremely refreshing. Coming just off the heels of reading a 1997 article on worship by one Presbyterian ripping into another, dripping with arrogance and condescension, Chapell was a shocking contrast. Hey, Reformed folk can be nice! :)Walk-Through and CommentsThe book is split into two parts. Part 1, "Gospel Worship," is Chapell's building of his case. Part 2, "Gospel Worship Resources" is Chapell's helpful application of his case. It's easy to see that the 150 pages of Part 1 should be where one spends the bulk of their time, while viewing Part 2 as a resource to turn to at various later points. Because Part 1 comprises the main material, that's where I'll spend my time...The rest of this review can be found at:[...]

A very useful historical guide answering the question 'how did we get here?' in terms of church liturgy and worship. A great reminder to us all that we stand on the shoulders of faithful generations of believers in all ages.

It is such a balanced book on the topic of biblical worship. It is very practical and at the same time it sticks fast to the gospel!

Really helpful...explanation of the developement of worship over the last 2000 years....I really like liturgy in services and this adds to my appreciation