Two Books About Worship

Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down:

A Theology of Worship for the Turn-of-the-Century Culture

by Marva Dawn

-and-

Worship Evangelism:

Inviting Unbelievers into the Presence of God

by Sally Morgenthaler

This review by Edwin M. Willmington

The "seeker" movement is a hot topic among church leadership in these past few years. There have been many success stories, and there have been many failures as well. While there is always need for change in the life of the church, balance has not always been near the discussions and/or the resulting changes. These two books attempt to take balanced, thoughtful views of the worship world in the church today. Both would advocate not throwing out everything for the sake of reaching our world for the cause of Christ but rather taking a "repackaging" view of worship for the sake of the "seeker."

Dawn's book spends a lot of time looking at the cultural and societal background of how we got to the point we are currently at, as well as taking a good look at who we are today. She then takes a look at the definition of worship and makes practical suggestions for "putting the baby in fresh clothes" and not "throwing the baby out with the bath water." Her main point is that we have underestimated the "seeker" and therefore have taken a very low, unintelligent — dumbing down — approach to reaching him or her. She contends that we may, in fact, be turning people away from faith in God by this "dumbing down" methodology. Something to think about!

Morgenthaler's book for me was a more practical book. Not only did she set forth a strong, thoughtful premise for worship being able to be evangelistic without compromise, but she also got down to more useable solutions. Her strong point was that "seekers" are interested in God and are interested in observing Christians in their worship of God. Christians will display in their worship what God is like and how their faith expresses itself. The practical suggestion areas for me were two. She conducted extensive interviews with church leaders who had taken a diverse, yet practical, approach to worshipping God with the unbeliever in mind. Their thoughts, joys, and struggles were daily and weekly realities for those in worship ministry — and thereby, very helpful. She also took time to take specific songs and services and analyze them from the standpoint of the "seeker." This I found to also be practical and helpful as well. Much like the preceding author, Morgenthaler made a strong plea for "repackaging" when considering the unbeliever, instead of just throwing all of the past away.

Though all of the ideas contained in these books must be filtered through the grid of each individual situation, anyone who is vitally involved in worship and music ministry should carefully ponder the thoughts presented in these books. They would make good books for your other staff — pastors and lay leaders — to read before and when making decisions relating to worship changes in the church.

Be fruitful with your mind as well as your heart.

EMW

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