Worship Seeking Understanding: Windows into Christian Practice by John Witvliet is one of the only books on the market that offers a look at Christian worship from so many angles – biblical, theological, historical, musical, and pastoral. Witvliet, director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, brings his extensive knowledge of worship and tradition to bear in this book of essays that examine the current state of Christian worship in light on biblical and historical practice.
The book succeeds in providing several different perspectives from which to look at today’s worship. It fails to present these cohesively, perhaps because the variety is at times too much for a single book. But there is gold in this book, if you persist in looking for it.
Most helpful for me were the chapters analyzing the Americanization of worship and the theological issues that the frontier worship traditions were forced to encounter. The historical chapters help today’s readers understand the roots of American worship today and provide an opportunity for critical self-reflection. The “Musical Studies” section was also helpful, although some of the chapters were needlessly technical.
Worship Seeking Understanding is a book that gets better as you read further. Because of the nature of its essays, one can jump to the chapters that interest the reader and not be left behind. Witvliet’s work is filled with insight, passion, and wisdom – qualities needed for anyone hoping to make good decisions in a time of fast-changing worship style.
written by Trevin Wax © 2007 Kingdom People blog
