There are so many books on the subject of worship these days that I had better make clear right away what we are trying to accomplish in this volume.
This is not a comprehensive theology of worship. Still less is it a sociological analysis of current trends or a minister’s manual chock full of “how to” instructions. We have not attempted detailed historical analyses of our respective traditions, nor have we devoted much space to interaction with other discussions. Rather, after a preliminary chapter on the biblical theology of worship, the remaining three chapters move from theological reflection to practical implementation of patterns of corporate worship in the local churches we represent. Complete service outlines are included, for many ministers will find the arguments more helpful and fruitful if they are fleshed out in detailed outlines.
Three of us are currently pastors—an Anglican, a Baptist, and a Presbyterian. The fourth teaches at a seminary but has served as pastor in earlier years. What unites us is our strong commitment to the ministry of the Word; our respect for historical rootedness; and our deep commitment, nevertheless, to contemporaneity and solid engagement with unconverted, unchurched people. We are as suspicious of mere traditionalism as we are of cutesy relevance. What we provide is the theological reasoning that shapes our judgments in matters of corporate worship, along with examples that have emerged from our ministries. In each case we have tried to interact with our respective traditions without being padlocked to them.
For reasons of brevity and clarity, we have included relatively few footnotes and interacted with a minimum of the voluminous secondary literature. It will not take long for readers to discover where we disagree with one another. Sometimes the disagreement is over something tied to our respective denominational distinctives; sometimes disagreements reflect the different subcultures in which we serve; sometimes they are mere judgment calls. Nevertheless, the degree of agreement is impressive—partly, I think, because each of us takes biblical theology seriously.
We would be the first to acknowledge that on countless points brothers and sisters in Christ in other cultures may want to “tweak” what we say to better fit their own worlds. For example, Korean patterns of public prayer are rather different from most of what is found in the West, and musical styles in the rising indigenous churches of sub-Saharan black Africa would generate a somewhat different discussion of some points. But we are addressing the worlds we know best from the Word we love best. Our prayer is that this record of our own struggles, reflections, and practices may stimulate others to careful, biblically informed reformation of corporate worship.
I want to record my thanks to Dr. Don Hedges, who efficiently tracked down the copyright holders of the pieces cited on the service sheets, and to my graduate assistant, Sigurd Grindheim, who ably compiled the indexes.
Soli Deo gloria.
D. A. CARSON