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Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship for This Urgent Time
Why do churches fight "worship wars"? Why do discussions about how to conduct worship often split into two vitriolic polarizes such as "traditional" verses "contemporary"? These "worship wars" prevent us from being the church. Working to bridge opposing sides in the various "worship wars," Marva Dawn here writes to help local parishes and denominations think more thoroughly about both worship and culture. She roots her discussion in a careful assessment of significant aspects of the prevent technological, boomer, postmodern society and names criteria by which to judge various cultural influences. She also sketches the essential attributes of true worship--worship that keeps God at the center, builds believers' character, and upbuilds the community. In the process, Dawn discusses music, preaching, Scripture readings, rituals, liturgies, art, and all the accoutrements of worship, and offers practical suggestions for choosing the best tools and forms to deepen worship life, to nurture faith development, and the increase believers' outreach.
316 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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351 people want to read
About the author
Marva J. Dawn
38 books50 followersMarva J. Dawn is an American Christian theologian, author, musician and educator, associated with the parachurch organization "Christians Equipped for Ministry" in Vancouver, Washington. She also serves as Teaching Fellow in Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. Dawn is generally perceived as a Lutheran evangelical.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 4, 2015
Great book, close to a 4.5.
Marva Dawn has written an excellent book on worship. Although she commends both traditional and contemporary worship, it is clear she prefers and advocates for the former over the latter. As someone who is involved in planning, composing and leading worship, she is particularly well-suited to explain the need for good worship. She is also attentive in involving children in worship, something that seems very rare in churches these days. Although she acknowledges that "seeker-sensitive" churches have admirable aims in making their church services accessible for non-Christians, she spends considerable time critiquing this approach. She points out that most visitors to churches come because a friend invited them and that it is through these friendships that conversion tends to take place. She is emphatic that worship is about revering and honouring God in an excellent way, not evangelism; worship should not be "dumbed down" to appease the non-Christian to the detriment of the believer. Those who have the least connection to the Church and understanding of Christianity should not dictate how it conducts its services. Evangelism can happen but it happens through other outlets. We need to have more confidence in the Holy Spirit leading unbelievers to church and less in slick and faddish marketing gimmicks. Our modern desire for immediacy in comprehension has been shaped by technology and the media's brevity (e.g. 30 second commercials) so we don't want to have to "work" to understand things. She also makes the key point that so much of contemporary worship is obsessed with happy, joyful praise; it isn't that praise shouldn't be joyful, but Dawn advocates balancing worship with songs of lament - after all, many of the psalms are laments. If all our worship is happy, then when distress strikes there will be no outlet to respond in grief. Dawn interacts with many thinkers, including David Wells, Neil Postman, Jacques Ellul and Walter Brueggemann and uses the dialectic method frequently. She pays particular attention to baby boomers, which dates the book a little bit, although worship is important for Millenials as well.
I found myself nodding along to a lot of what Dawn was saying. I myself have come to prefer traditional worship and liturgy far more than contemporary praise. The day I finished this book, my church was hosting an emerging worship leader and there were posters up advertising it; when a seminary prof preaches at my church a few weeks from now will there be the same fanfare?
Having said that, perhaps just because I'm stubborn or because I like to play the Devil's Advocate, I do want to push back a bit. I don't pretend that all these are worthy critiques and some may be knee-jerk. Again, I agree with Dawn but I am trying to imagine another perspective, a pro-contemporary worship perspective, coming at her thought.
Although Dawn doesn't disparage ALL contemporary worship and advocates blended worship, it is clear that she favours traditional worship. But I wish she would have interacted MORE with contemporary worship. She cites some abysmal lyrics but what does GOOD contemporary worship look like to her? To be fair, Dawn's formative years preceded the explosion of CCM so how does that affect her interaction with contemporary worship? Every age should be able to offer praise and worship to God and so we cannot suppress contemporary worship because it doesn't suit our aesthetic preferences (it should, of course, be well-done). One thing that tends to be forgotten is that contemporary worship is, of course, contemporary and thus new. It hasn't been tested by time but that also means it cannot so easily be dismissed as simply newfangled. Contemporary songs like "In Christ Alone" are very fine hymns and hopefully will be included in worship for many decades to come (the modern obsession with change admittedly makes this difficult as we don't even sing worship songs from the early 2000s anymore). Even a fairly simple song like "Believe" by The Digital Age can be meditative amidst all the electric guitars and musical effects. I can't think of a more impassioned worship song than "Song of the Harlot" by The Violet Burning. Dawn accuses contemporary worship as appealing to feeling without recognizing that the rich beauty of hymnody and traditional liturgy ALSO evokes feeling. On pg. 198, Dawn talks about a new song being dull and said she couldn't stay interested; the same could be true for a 22-year old barista who glazes over during the singing of "Great Is Thy Faithfulness." Our context DOES affect our feeling (e.g. a breath-taking view from a majestic mountain versus standing in line to use the washroom in a dingy, hole-in-the-wall restaurant). If we admit that space affects our sense of worship/reverence (e.g. 7/11 versus a cathedral), why do advocates of traditional worship only criticize music that evokes certain emotions? Here, space and music I think are the same. Space and music both affect us. We can't really avoid it, but we also don't need to constantly fret that our attitude to worship is being hijacked by all these variables. Sometimes these very variables ENABLE us to worship in a way we could not without them.
I can see a case to be made for contemporary worship based upon context. We know that, although Jesus is the Saviour of the world, we cannot expect one uniform style of worship to be effective for everyone. St. Francis Xavier urged his missionaries to adapt to many local customs in order to reach people. The Maasai Creed was composed in the context of the Maasai people. Contemporary worship, although "dumbed down," may, by the very fact that it is dumbed down, be more accessible to immigrants who struggle with some of the tricky vocabulary found in hymns. I think there is in fact BEAUTY in comprehension and understanding (isn't it more delightful for someone to understand a play-on-words than for them not to appreciate clever quips?). On pg. 159, Dawn states that worship should not be based upon the whims of the leaders but it should be worship of the people. But what if the people want contemporary worship? Dawn also asserts that worship should be in the vernacular (although she also advocates worship in other languages to display the diversity of God's people, pg. 159). This raises an interesting point - contemporary worship may be more "vernacular" than hymnody.
When I was growing up one of my favourite CDs was the Newsboys' "Shine: The Hits" but the song I would always skip was 'Where You Belong/Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,' the most "traditional" of the songs. I don't expect all children to be enthralled by traditional worship; it may be a long trajectory until they can appreciate it but for the time being they need worship that impacts them (and think about how much energy they have! Would playing poetic but restrained hymns really allow them to express themselves?).
As a Lutheran, Dawn worships in a tradition that emerged from the magisterial Reformation. Many of these denominations, especially Lutherans and Anglicans, were keen to keep traditional liturgy. I think they were write to do so; I see great value in the BCP and in kneeling during the service to symbolize humility and reverence towards God. But as a Lutheran, I think this also leads Dawn to favour traditional worship in ways that Christians from other denominations may not. I admit my history on the origins of these denominations' worship is severely lacking, but I suspect Baptists, Nazarenes and Pentecostals didn't begin with such formal liturgy. Certainly Pentecostal worship is (at least stereotypically) much freer and rollicking than Anglican worship (what about David dancing before the Lord in all his might, 2 Sam. 6?). It is admirable that newer denominations are recovering historic Church practices like weekly communion, but it shouldn't be expected that they will replicate everything about the historic Church.
Dawn is an educator and she places supreme confidence in education for forming people. I suspect I am more left-brained than right-brained, but I think Dawn's appeal to education is a little naive. She seems to think proper worship will foster godly character but is it so obvious that people who sing hymns have more of a godly character over those who sing Chris Tomlin or Hillsong United? The Anglican Church of Canada maintained traditional worship but that has not preserved it from heresy. Roman Catholicism has very well-thought out liturgy but there are plenty of nominal believers in the pews. Good worship must wed the will. One gets hints that she conflates children with those who prefer contemporary music who may not be very thoughtful. Sometimes it seems as if Dawn is trying to smuggle an appreciation for the classics (e.g. Bach, Brahms) and traditional worship into what it means to be a mature and well-formed Christian and I am not convinced of that. I am too much of a postmodernist to think that classical aesthetics and necessarily always superior to contemporary artistic expressions. I am not convinced that those who sing the "Nunc Dimittis" are holier than those who sing "Better Is One Day." I think those who prefer contemporary worship simply lack the aesthetic appreciations that are so well reflected and embodied in high churches but I don't see this as inherently bad. Dawn encourages church leaders to educate their congregations about worship (e.g. what do these symbols and rituals mean?), the Bible and theology while also noting that seeker sensitive megachurches always have new visitors every week. She laments that this makes a trajectory into deeper understanding hard because of people constantly coming and going but I wish she would offer some guidance instead of merely identifying it.
All in all, Dawn makes an excellent case for retrieving traditional worship for the postmodern church.
Marva Dawn has written an excellent book on worship. Although she commends both traditional and contemporary worship, it is clear she prefers and advocates for the former over the latter. As someone who is involved in planning, composing and leading worship, she is particularly well-suited to explain the need for good worship. She is also attentive in involving children in worship, something that seems very rare in churches these days. Although she acknowledges that "seeker-sensitive" churches have admirable aims in making their church services accessible for non-Christians, she spends considerable time critiquing this approach. She points out that most visitors to churches come because a friend invited them and that it is through these friendships that conversion tends to take place. She is emphatic that worship is about revering and honouring God in an excellent way, not evangelism; worship should not be "dumbed down" to appease the non-Christian to the detriment of the believer. Those who have the least connection to the Church and understanding of Christianity should not dictate how it conducts its services. Evangelism can happen but it happens through other outlets. We need to have more confidence in the Holy Spirit leading unbelievers to church and less in slick and faddish marketing gimmicks. Our modern desire for immediacy in comprehension has been shaped by technology and the media's brevity (e.g. 30 second commercials) so we don't want to have to "work" to understand things. She also makes the key point that so much of contemporary worship is obsessed with happy, joyful praise; it isn't that praise shouldn't be joyful, but Dawn advocates balancing worship with songs of lament - after all, many of the psalms are laments. If all our worship is happy, then when distress strikes there will be no outlet to respond in grief. Dawn interacts with many thinkers, including David Wells, Neil Postman, Jacques Ellul and Walter Brueggemann and uses the dialectic method frequently. She pays particular attention to baby boomers, which dates the book a little bit, although worship is important for Millenials as well.
I found myself nodding along to a lot of what Dawn was saying. I myself have come to prefer traditional worship and liturgy far more than contemporary praise. The day I finished this book, my church was hosting an emerging worship leader and there were posters up advertising it; when a seminary prof preaches at my church a few weeks from now will there be the same fanfare?
Having said that, perhaps just because I'm stubborn or because I like to play the Devil's Advocate, I do want to push back a bit. I don't pretend that all these are worthy critiques and some may be knee-jerk. Again, I agree with Dawn but I am trying to imagine another perspective, a pro-contemporary worship perspective, coming at her thought.
Although Dawn doesn't disparage ALL contemporary worship and advocates blended worship, it is clear that she favours traditional worship. But I wish she would have interacted MORE with contemporary worship. She cites some abysmal lyrics but what does GOOD contemporary worship look like to her? To be fair, Dawn's formative years preceded the explosion of CCM so how does that affect her interaction with contemporary worship? Every age should be able to offer praise and worship to God and so we cannot suppress contemporary worship because it doesn't suit our aesthetic preferences (it should, of course, be well-done). One thing that tends to be forgotten is that contemporary worship is, of course, contemporary and thus new. It hasn't been tested by time but that also means it cannot so easily be dismissed as simply newfangled. Contemporary songs like "In Christ Alone" are very fine hymns and hopefully will be included in worship for many decades to come (the modern obsession with change admittedly makes this difficult as we don't even sing worship songs from the early 2000s anymore). Even a fairly simple song like "Believe" by The Digital Age can be meditative amidst all the electric guitars and musical effects. I can't think of a more impassioned worship song than "Song of the Harlot" by The Violet Burning. Dawn accuses contemporary worship as appealing to feeling without recognizing that the rich beauty of hymnody and traditional liturgy ALSO evokes feeling. On pg. 198, Dawn talks about a new song being dull and said she couldn't stay interested; the same could be true for a 22-year old barista who glazes over during the singing of "Great Is Thy Faithfulness." Our context DOES affect our feeling (e.g. a breath-taking view from a majestic mountain versus standing in line to use the washroom in a dingy, hole-in-the-wall restaurant). If we admit that space affects our sense of worship/reverence (e.g. 7/11 versus a cathedral), why do advocates of traditional worship only criticize music that evokes certain emotions? Here, space and music I think are the same. Space and music both affect us. We can't really avoid it, but we also don't need to constantly fret that our attitude to worship is being hijacked by all these variables. Sometimes these very variables ENABLE us to worship in a way we could not without them.
I can see a case to be made for contemporary worship based upon context. We know that, although Jesus is the Saviour of the world, we cannot expect one uniform style of worship to be effective for everyone. St. Francis Xavier urged his missionaries to adapt to many local customs in order to reach people. The Maasai Creed was composed in the context of the Maasai people. Contemporary worship, although "dumbed down," may, by the very fact that it is dumbed down, be more accessible to immigrants who struggle with some of the tricky vocabulary found in hymns. I think there is in fact BEAUTY in comprehension and understanding (isn't it more delightful for someone to understand a play-on-words than for them not to appreciate clever quips?). On pg. 159, Dawn states that worship should not be based upon the whims of the leaders but it should be worship of the people. But what if the people want contemporary worship? Dawn also asserts that worship should be in the vernacular (although she also advocates worship in other languages to display the diversity of God's people, pg. 159). This raises an interesting point - contemporary worship may be more "vernacular" than hymnody.
When I was growing up one of my favourite CDs was the Newsboys' "Shine: The Hits" but the song I would always skip was 'Where You Belong/Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,' the most "traditional" of the songs. I don't expect all children to be enthralled by traditional worship; it may be a long trajectory until they can appreciate it but for the time being they need worship that impacts them (and think about how much energy they have! Would playing poetic but restrained hymns really allow them to express themselves?).
As a Lutheran, Dawn worships in a tradition that emerged from the magisterial Reformation. Many of these denominations, especially Lutherans and Anglicans, were keen to keep traditional liturgy. I think they were write to do so; I see great value in the BCP and in kneeling during the service to symbolize humility and reverence towards God. But as a Lutheran, I think this also leads Dawn to favour traditional worship in ways that Christians from other denominations may not. I admit my history on the origins of these denominations' worship is severely lacking, but I suspect Baptists, Nazarenes and Pentecostals didn't begin with such formal liturgy. Certainly Pentecostal worship is (at least stereotypically) much freer and rollicking than Anglican worship (what about David dancing before the Lord in all his might, 2 Sam. 6?). It is admirable that newer denominations are recovering historic Church practices like weekly communion, but it shouldn't be expected that they will replicate everything about the historic Church.
Dawn is an educator and she places supreme confidence in education for forming people. I suspect I am more left-brained than right-brained, but I think Dawn's appeal to education is a little naive. She seems to think proper worship will foster godly character but is it so obvious that people who sing hymns have more of a godly character over those who sing Chris Tomlin or Hillsong United? The Anglican Church of Canada maintained traditional worship but that has not preserved it from heresy. Roman Catholicism has very well-thought out liturgy but there are plenty of nominal believers in the pews. Good worship must wed the will. One gets hints that she conflates children with those who prefer contemporary music who may not be very thoughtful. Sometimes it seems as if Dawn is trying to smuggle an appreciation for the classics (e.g. Bach, Brahms) and traditional worship into what it means to be a mature and well-formed Christian and I am not convinced of that. I am too much of a postmodernist to think that classical aesthetics and necessarily always superior to contemporary artistic expressions. I am not convinced that those who sing the "Nunc Dimittis" are holier than those who sing "Better Is One Day." I think those who prefer contemporary worship simply lack the aesthetic appreciations that are so well reflected and embodied in high churches but I don't see this as inherently bad. Dawn encourages church leaders to educate their congregations about worship (e.g. what do these symbols and rituals mean?), the Bible and theology while also noting that seeker sensitive megachurches always have new visitors every week. She laments that this makes a trajectory into deeper understanding hard because of people constantly coming and going but I wish she would offer some guidance instead of merely identifying it.
All in all, Dawn makes an excellent case for retrieving traditional worship for the postmodern church.
October 9, 2017
Very thoughtful, comprehensive treatise on a theology of worship. Does not argue for any particular worship style, and consistently keeps the focus on God as the subject and object of our worship. Lots to chew on!
Read
July 28, 2011Marva Dawn is a teaching fellow at Regent College and speaks internationally under the auspices of the organization, Christian Equipped for Ministry. Much of her speaking has been among Lutherans, particularly the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Of the nearly two-dozen books she has authored or translated, many deal with the theme of worship and its place in contemporary American Evangelicalism.
The present book, Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down is one such book on that theme. Dawn’s overall goal is to assess the state of worship in the contemporary climate and then to suggest a balance of traditional and contemporary styles that would meet the needs of the church. In doing so, worship can regain its meaning and significance, regaining the ground that it lost to the attempt to syncretize worship with modern trends.
Dawn opened by offering a critique of what she understands contemporary church culture to be. Worship became a subjective, private and non-corporate act focused on bringing people into the church. This is the result of churches not thinking intentionally enough about what worship is. Such “worship” is in the place, she says, of the proper role of worship, which is to praise God and nurture character.
This analysis was based on what she understood postmodern culture to be. In her critique of postmodern culture, she found the culture to be anti-intellectual, radically individualistic and entertainment-driven. Much of this has been facilitated by technological innovations, especially television. Dawn echoes Wade Clark Roof’s observation that when the boomer generation returned to the church, they brought in many of those attitudes of secular culture into the church, having the deleterious effects described above (132).
After describing the current culture of evangelical worship, Dawn went on to set forward a solution to many of the problems. Her solution is multifaceted and seems difficult to reduce down to one, or even a few, overarching principle that would redirect worship toward where Dawn believed it should be. A few of those correctives, though, will be described here.
One is that God must once again gain the central role of worship. By this, Dawn meant that God must be both the subject (grammatically of the words offered in worship) and object (as the audience of the worship act) of our worship (76-82). For instance, Dawn criticizes a song, the lyrics of which claim the worship of God without referring to why God is worth worshipping (). She further goes on to say that God as the subject has been lost in that the words of songs focus more on the act of recognizing God’s glory rather than simply recognizing that glory (77).
Dawn later wrote on the role of community in the church as a corrective to the failings of modern worship. This view of community is broadened temporally by including a sense of community across, not just generations, but across the centuries. The church today has a great store of rich worship heritage from which to draw inspiration and innovate upon (144-148). She saw that drawing on that legacy is a way to incorporate contemporary believers into the long story of Christianity (254-259).
Another stress that Dawn gives is that worship is just that–worship. It is not an evangelism tool or and advertisement for Christ (191-192). It is this issue that Dawn appears to be most concerned with, for the book’s title and the title of the climactic chapter both contain the element of how to reach out. The “dumbing down”, as Dawn terms it, of worship might have short-term pragmatic effects of increasing attendance, the long-term problems of devaluing worship and a loss of a true image of God pose a greater threat than low attendance (280-281).
Dawn’s analysis of culture is ambitious in its scope and she gave that analysis extensive power in explaining the undercurrents guiding society and the church. Despite the breadth of the explaining power she gave to that analysis, Dawn seems to have largely based her thought on only three writers–Neil Postman, Wade Clark Rook and David Wells. In the first two chapters, where most of her analysis is made, those three authors account for almost one-third of the references and otherwise prove to be highly determinative of her thought. A wider range of authors would have secured a rounder basis for her analysis.
Particularly interesting is her use of Wells. She primarily used his book, No Place for Truth, in her book but rarely mentions Wells’ following book, God in the Wasteland. She attributes this to the fact that the recentness of the publication barred her from including much of its material in her work (31n), but she had enough familiarity with the work, it seems, to commend its critique of the work of George Barna (72n.) The misfortune of this is that Wells saw the latter book as the completion of the thought begun in the first book, providing an answer to the situation described in the former. Greater familiarity with the latter work could have further informed Dawn’s thought.
One influence that does not present much prominence in the formation of Dawn’s critique of culture and her prescription to the contemporary music situation is Scripture. The Bible is used sparingly and those occasions when it is used seem to mostly be verses tagged on to ideas that have already been presented rather than forming those ideas. This is unfortunate since much of suggested corrective includes the nurturing of the church in Scripture (120-121,142). An instance of Dawn’s preference of using ideas outside Scripture to form her thought comes in her discussion of the importance of remembering the heritage set before the contemporary church (133). There, she affirms another author’s statement basing the importance of remembering heritage on historical and psychoanalytic insight. How much more advantageous it would have been for her argument if Dawn had instead relied on the constant call to remembrance found in the book of Deuteronomy?
Much of her thought seems to follow the same line. Discussing character formation, she quotes that the beginning of a Christian’s identity is at the ridding of the “empirical ego.” She goes on to further note that a goal of worship is to develop “whole persons” (116). This language bears more resemblance to psychology and philosophical theology than to Scriptural descriptions of spiritual formation. This is especially crucial since the title claims to build a theology of worship and the Scriptures should be the appropriate beginning point of theology.
This critique, however, does not extend toward her ubiquitous use of dialectics. She does not seem to use this in the philosophical Hegelian sense, but more as a nuanced terminology for holding tensions. While Dawn’s use of dialectic does not seem to be an unnecessary infiltration of philosophical categories, her constant use of them does suggest that Dawn may have been somewhat simplistic in the models by which she has done her analysis.
Despite these misgiving toward the work, Dawn’s analysis is fairly insightful on the situation about which she writes. Unfortunately, such a work, being so rooted in addressing contemporary concerns, quickly dates itself as the situation changes. Such a change proves the need for currency on the topic most in regards to the turn toward societal post-modernism rather than the ultramodernism that she addresses. This intrinsic limitation does invite the reader to follow the progress of Dawn’s though as she continues to write on the subject. Remembering that her book was one of the earliest addressing the worship wars between traditionalism and contemporeity, the book, even if its results are disputable, can be helpful for pastors in recognizing some of the forces at play as they try to address the matter in their own congregations.
The value of this for pastors is that Dawn’s book can lead them to recognize some of the issues that are on the table concerning the tensions involved in modern worship. Specifically, pastors can begin to see the music battles as more than an issue of style. Dawn can lead pastors to investigate the deeper cultural issues that come into their congregations. These issues then manifest themselves musically. Recognizing this turns the focus from the music and redirects the pastors attention toward dealing with the larger cultural issues of radical individualism, subjectivism and the perception of congregants who may only be wanting to be entertained. Even if a pastor disagrees with Dawn’s critique, the value is in the pastor’s refocusing on larger cultural conditions instead of merely musical issues.
Overall, Dawn’s call for balance can help pastors and worship leader find their own balance in each church’s worship. As time has passed and society has progressed, a constant re-examination into the topic is needed. Each community must be aware of their situation and how best to strike that balance according to the community’s needs and own tradition from which they came. Her final warning stands. Neither extreme on the sides of the worship wars must be allowed to win. There must be a balance. Pastors must be patient in dealing with the church through change, asking others to come along toward a new age and others more to turn an ear to hear the past.
The present book, Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down is one such book on that theme. Dawn’s overall goal is to assess the state of worship in the contemporary climate and then to suggest a balance of traditional and contemporary styles that would meet the needs of the church. In doing so, worship can regain its meaning and significance, regaining the ground that it lost to the attempt to syncretize worship with modern trends.
Dawn opened by offering a critique of what she understands contemporary church culture to be. Worship became a subjective, private and non-corporate act focused on bringing people into the church. This is the result of churches not thinking intentionally enough about what worship is. Such “worship” is in the place, she says, of the proper role of worship, which is to praise God and nurture character.
This analysis was based on what she understood postmodern culture to be. In her critique of postmodern culture, she found the culture to be anti-intellectual, radically individualistic and entertainment-driven. Much of this has been facilitated by technological innovations, especially television. Dawn echoes Wade Clark Roof’s observation that when the boomer generation returned to the church, they brought in many of those attitudes of secular culture into the church, having the deleterious effects described above (132).
After describing the current culture of evangelical worship, Dawn went on to set forward a solution to many of the problems. Her solution is multifaceted and seems difficult to reduce down to one, or even a few, overarching principle that would redirect worship toward where Dawn believed it should be. A few of those correctives, though, will be described here.
One is that God must once again gain the central role of worship. By this, Dawn meant that God must be both the subject (grammatically of the words offered in worship) and object (as the audience of the worship act) of our worship (76-82). For instance, Dawn criticizes a song, the lyrics of which claim the worship of God without referring to why God is worth worshipping (). She further goes on to say that God as the subject has been lost in that the words of songs focus more on the act of recognizing God’s glory rather than simply recognizing that glory (77).
Dawn later wrote on the role of community in the church as a corrective to the failings of modern worship. This view of community is broadened temporally by including a sense of community across, not just generations, but across the centuries. The church today has a great store of rich worship heritage from which to draw inspiration and innovate upon (144-148). She saw that drawing on that legacy is a way to incorporate contemporary believers into the long story of Christianity (254-259).
Another stress that Dawn gives is that worship is just that–worship. It is not an evangelism tool or and advertisement for Christ (191-192). It is this issue that Dawn appears to be most concerned with, for the book’s title and the title of the climactic chapter both contain the element of how to reach out. The “dumbing down”, as Dawn terms it, of worship might have short-term pragmatic effects of increasing attendance, the long-term problems of devaluing worship and a loss of a true image of God pose a greater threat than low attendance (280-281).
Dawn’s analysis of culture is ambitious in its scope and she gave that analysis extensive power in explaining the undercurrents guiding society and the church. Despite the breadth of the explaining power she gave to that analysis, Dawn seems to have largely based her thought on only three writers–Neil Postman, Wade Clark Rook and David Wells. In the first two chapters, where most of her analysis is made, those three authors account for almost one-third of the references and otherwise prove to be highly determinative of her thought. A wider range of authors would have secured a rounder basis for her analysis.
Particularly interesting is her use of Wells. She primarily used his book, No Place for Truth, in her book but rarely mentions Wells’ following book, God in the Wasteland. She attributes this to the fact that the recentness of the publication barred her from including much of its material in her work (31n), but she had enough familiarity with the work, it seems, to commend its critique of the work of George Barna (72n.) The misfortune of this is that Wells saw the latter book as the completion of the thought begun in the first book, providing an answer to the situation described in the former. Greater familiarity with the latter work could have further informed Dawn’s thought.
One influence that does not present much prominence in the formation of Dawn’s critique of culture and her prescription to the contemporary music situation is Scripture. The Bible is used sparingly and those occasions when it is used seem to mostly be verses tagged on to ideas that have already been presented rather than forming those ideas. This is unfortunate since much of suggested corrective includes the nurturing of the church in Scripture (120-121,142). An instance of Dawn’s preference of using ideas outside Scripture to form her thought comes in her discussion of the importance of remembering the heritage set before the contemporary church (133). There, she affirms another author’s statement basing the importance of remembering heritage on historical and psychoanalytic insight. How much more advantageous it would have been for her argument if Dawn had instead relied on the constant call to remembrance found in the book of Deuteronomy?
Much of her thought seems to follow the same line. Discussing character formation, she quotes that the beginning of a Christian’s identity is at the ridding of the “empirical ego.” She goes on to further note that a goal of worship is to develop “whole persons” (116). This language bears more resemblance to psychology and philosophical theology than to Scriptural descriptions of spiritual formation. This is especially crucial since the title claims to build a theology of worship and the Scriptures should be the appropriate beginning point of theology.
This critique, however, does not extend toward her ubiquitous use of dialectics. She does not seem to use this in the philosophical Hegelian sense, but more as a nuanced terminology for holding tensions. While Dawn’s use of dialectic does not seem to be an unnecessary infiltration of philosophical categories, her constant use of them does suggest that Dawn may have been somewhat simplistic in the models by which she has done her analysis.
Despite these misgiving toward the work, Dawn’s analysis is fairly insightful on the situation about which she writes. Unfortunately, such a work, being so rooted in addressing contemporary concerns, quickly dates itself as the situation changes. Such a change proves the need for currency on the topic most in regards to the turn toward societal post-modernism rather than the ultramodernism that she addresses. This intrinsic limitation does invite the reader to follow the progress of Dawn’s though as she continues to write on the subject. Remembering that her book was one of the earliest addressing the worship wars between traditionalism and contemporeity, the book, even if its results are disputable, can be helpful for pastors in recognizing some of the forces at play as they try to address the matter in their own congregations.
The value of this for pastors is that Dawn’s book can lead them to recognize some of the issues that are on the table concerning the tensions involved in modern worship. Specifically, pastors can begin to see the music battles as more than an issue of style. Dawn can lead pastors to investigate the deeper cultural issues that come into their congregations. These issues then manifest themselves musically. Recognizing this turns the focus from the music and redirects the pastors attention toward dealing with the larger cultural issues of radical individualism, subjectivism and the perception of congregants who may only be wanting to be entertained. Even if a pastor disagrees with Dawn’s critique, the value is in the pastor’s refocusing on larger cultural conditions instead of merely musical issues.
Overall, Dawn’s call for balance can help pastors and worship leader find their own balance in each church’s worship. As time has passed and society has progressed, a constant re-examination into the topic is needed. Each community must be aware of their situation and how best to strike that balance according to the community’s needs and own tradition from which they came. Her final warning stands. Neither extreme on the sides of the worship wars must be allowed to win. There must be a balance. Pastors must be patient in dealing with the church through change, asking others to come along toward a new age and others more to turn an ear to hear the past.
July 23, 2012
By Andrew Fox author of Change Through Challenge: Divided into five sections this book was an engaging read, partly because of the subject and partly because of the chapter titles. The overall emphasis was to close the gap, bridge the impasse, unite the division and bring an end what the author refers to as `worship wars.' In my opinion this sensitive subject was handled brilliantly without allowing our Christian worship to be contextualized by the culture itself, while at the same time, functioning within the culture. This book is similar to Webber's `Ancient Future Worship' as a means of reaching out into the culture with a clear and articulate Gospel.
Part one asks why the book is needed using provocative examples like scientists performing a medical procedure without anyone raising moral objections, as congregations switch worship practices without anyone asking theological questions. The author leads the reader into examining sociological, philosophical and theological underpinnings for worship. Other provocative examples compare educators in school districts and their students. Are our children incapable of learning like students in the past or are teachers simply dumbing down? The same is asked of our Biblical teaching and the congregations understanding of it in the context of worship. If Luther could instruct princes, nobles, peasants and merchants can we instruct across a wide range of culture ourselves? A further example was technology. It makes us efficient but does it make us morally and ethically right in the context of worship? Is worship producing an experience without substance? Worship is designed to form and transform our Christian character but if the design changes to be a performance or `theater' then by definition we are not being formed or transformed. A final example in part one is the dialogue of Jesus who explained we are not of the world but we are in it. Therefore we can make use of any cultural form but must examine it in the Biblical context; therefore, Jesus created a healthy tension for us.
Part two Examines culture surrounding worship explaining how television and the media have shaped our worldview and its affect on worship. The author explains that people learn many good ideas from sermons but have no personal call to action. This is further explained in the technical society we live in. Looking through the lens of the boomer and postmodern generation explanations are given as to why `worship wars' are unintentionally encouraged in an unhealthy tension of `what is right.' Technology makes us more efficient but does it make us ethically right? Our worship looks and sounds great because of this technology but can lack substance and meaning. This `lack' is what the author calls idolatry. This interesting and highly Biblical phrase is not common in our culture; therefore it is authentic adding an extra punch to the authors point. Various forms of idolatry are cited from `how many people come to your church' to how `power' is used. The conclusion in part two is an invitation to counterculturalism with authentic worship.
Part three examines the culture of worship. Similar to Webber the author asks `who is worship for?' The answer given is that God is the object and subject of worship. Expressions like `reverence, awe, mystery, lament and repentance' are used to contextualize authentic worship as a culture in itself. Chapter six was the most provoking title of the book `having content or being content?' Narcissism is not something we like to think of outside the figure of a dictator in a foreign country, but it can exist without our worship. How many times `I' appears in contemporary worship songs can be astonishing. Where is God? If worship nurtures and develops our Christian experience, narcissism is probably the most dangerous characteristic of any process. The author calls for substance not style as a main emphasis of worship. If Christ is the head of his church (and he is) narcissism can create a false idea of who Jesus is, what he has done for us, why he did it for us and his whole motive. Is Jesus the demanding King who weighs and measures our worship rewarding and punishing like a dictator? To foster a worshipping community of Christian faith takes careful consideration not just in the sermons that are preached but in the songs we sing and the substance they contain. Also, the ambience can greatly affect the worshipper and the experience of a worshipping community. Accoutrements of the ancient chapels and cathedrals tend to be lost in the `theater' of church today. Is the alter at the front or do we surround it? Are people baptized in water openly or behind a glass wall with a curtain for the sake of dignity? If the whole architecture of a church building is focused on the preacher then it could be communicating `he alone' (the preacher) can experience God for us vicariously! Creativity is what Creator God has given us but it is not called upon to engage, function or initiate anything for worship - unless an instrument can be played.
Part four sounds the same but looks at the culture in our worship. Some of the words used to distinguish worship styles can be inaccurate. For instance, `contemporary' means soft rock of an earlier boomer generation. But a true definition would range from acid rock to hip-hop. Contemporary means a wide range of music styles. Similar mistakes are made with the word `traditional' or `hymn' that are downplayed as irrelevant and not attractive to a younger generation. But this is contrary to earlier thoughts on substance in content. Are we singing songs that make God the subject and object of worship? Or do we want to be culturally relevant in style at the cost of content? I am sure we could have both, especially in a postmodern time. The author makes a brilliant comparison between popular culture and a `higher culture' in the approach to worship. The first is driven by self but the second is appreciative of community with each other and with God. When a congregation attempts to go with the popular culture it wants to connect with community on its own terms titillating the instincts of worshippers while at the same time loosing the integrity of its message. The last section of part four was alien to my own experience as the author dialogues about ritual, liturgy and art. Being raised in a Pentecostal environment all three elements were not part of my worship experience, with the exception water baptism, infant dedication, Holy Communion and marriage. Psalms, prayers and creeds are certainly needed for liturgical elements but may be taken more as a lament and repentance than celebration or rejoicing. Either way, the author concludes part four with a statement that these elements of worship help us find our place in the eternal narrative of God. I am not sure that this is conclusive.
Part five concludes the book by coming full circle back to the title `reaching out without dumbing down.' Alarming statistics are given as a measuring line to realize that our worship experience must go deeper without being dumber. Worship that encounters the worshipper can quite possibly be a lasting attraction. But the discipline of worship must be more than an attraction. It must be a conviction, resolution and solution to the difficulty individual's face in coming into community. Something transcendent beyond experience to actually encountering a transformation on our own and together builds core belief deep into our lives. I believe this will deliver us from tips and techniques for life thrown from the pulpit like a circus act to weeping before the `porch and the altar' because we know that God is in us and among us as we worship. This is what the author challenges the reader with - we have a responsibility to the world but do not need to be of it. Overall, this book was insightful, encouraging, intelligently thought through but no dogmatic, leaving the reader to think for themselves.
Part one asks why the book is needed using provocative examples like scientists performing a medical procedure without anyone raising moral objections, as congregations switch worship practices without anyone asking theological questions. The author leads the reader into examining sociological, philosophical and theological underpinnings for worship. Other provocative examples compare educators in school districts and their students. Are our children incapable of learning like students in the past or are teachers simply dumbing down? The same is asked of our Biblical teaching and the congregations understanding of it in the context of worship. If Luther could instruct princes, nobles, peasants and merchants can we instruct across a wide range of culture ourselves? A further example was technology. It makes us efficient but does it make us morally and ethically right in the context of worship? Is worship producing an experience without substance? Worship is designed to form and transform our Christian character but if the design changes to be a performance or `theater' then by definition we are not being formed or transformed. A final example in part one is the dialogue of Jesus who explained we are not of the world but we are in it. Therefore we can make use of any cultural form but must examine it in the Biblical context; therefore, Jesus created a healthy tension for us.
Part two Examines culture surrounding worship explaining how television and the media have shaped our worldview and its affect on worship. The author explains that people learn many good ideas from sermons but have no personal call to action. This is further explained in the technical society we live in. Looking through the lens of the boomer and postmodern generation explanations are given as to why `worship wars' are unintentionally encouraged in an unhealthy tension of `what is right.' Technology makes us more efficient but does it make us ethically right? Our worship looks and sounds great because of this technology but can lack substance and meaning. This `lack' is what the author calls idolatry. This interesting and highly Biblical phrase is not common in our culture; therefore it is authentic adding an extra punch to the authors point. Various forms of idolatry are cited from `how many people come to your church' to how `power' is used. The conclusion in part two is an invitation to counterculturalism with authentic worship.
Part three examines the culture of worship. Similar to Webber the author asks `who is worship for?' The answer given is that God is the object and subject of worship. Expressions like `reverence, awe, mystery, lament and repentance' are used to contextualize authentic worship as a culture in itself. Chapter six was the most provoking title of the book `having content or being content?' Narcissism is not something we like to think of outside the figure of a dictator in a foreign country, but it can exist without our worship. How many times `I' appears in contemporary worship songs can be astonishing. Where is God? If worship nurtures and develops our Christian experience, narcissism is probably the most dangerous characteristic of any process. The author calls for substance not style as a main emphasis of worship. If Christ is the head of his church (and he is) narcissism can create a false idea of who Jesus is, what he has done for us, why he did it for us and his whole motive. Is Jesus the demanding King who weighs and measures our worship rewarding and punishing like a dictator? To foster a worshipping community of Christian faith takes careful consideration not just in the sermons that are preached but in the songs we sing and the substance they contain. Also, the ambience can greatly affect the worshipper and the experience of a worshipping community. Accoutrements of the ancient chapels and cathedrals tend to be lost in the `theater' of church today. Is the alter at the front or do we surround it? Are people baptized in water openly or behind a glass wall with a curtain for the sake of dignity? If the whole architecture of a church building is focused on the preacher then it could be communicating `he alone' (the preacher) can experience God for us vicariously! Creativity is what Creator God has given us but it is not called upon to engage, function or initiate anything for worship - unless an instrument can be played.
Part four sounds the same but looks at the culture in our worship. Some of the words used to distinguish worship styles can be inaccurate. For instance, `contemporary' means soft rock of an earlier boomer generation. But a true definition would range from acid rock to hip-hop. Contemporary means a wide range of music styles. Similar mistakes are made with the word `traditional' or `hymn' that are downplayed as irrelevant and not attractive to a younger generation. But this is contrary to earlier thoughts on substance in content. Are we singing songs that make God the subject and object of worship? Or do we want to be culturally relevant in style at the cost of content? I am sure we could have both, especially in a postmodern time. The author makes a brilliant comparison between popular culture and a `higher culture' in the approach to worship. The first is driven by self but the second is appreciative of community with each other and with God. When a congregation attempts to go with the popular culture it wants to connect with community on its own terms titillating the instincts of worshippers while at the same time loosing the integrity of its message. The last section of part four was alien to my own experience as the author dialogues about ritual, liturgy and art. Being raised in a Pentecostal environment all three elements were not part of my worship experience, with the exception water baptism, infant dedication, Holy Communion and marriage. Psalms, prayers and creeds are certainly needed for liturgical elements but may be taken more as a lament and repentance than celebration or rejoicing. Either way, the author concludes part four with a statement that these elements of worship help us find our place in the eternal narrative of God. I am not sure that this is conclusive.
Part five concludes the book by coming full circle back to the title `reaching out without dumbing down.' Alarming statistics are given as a measuring line to realize that our worship experience must go deeper without being dumber. Worship that encounters the worshipper can quite possibly be a lasting attraction. But the discipline of worship must be more than an attraction. It must be a conviction, resolution and solution to the difficulty individual's face in coming into community. Something transcendent beyond experience to actually encountering a transformation on our own and together builds core belief deep into our lives. I believe this will deliver us from tips and techniques for life thrown from the pulpit like a circus act to weeping before the `porch and the altar' because we know that God is in us and among us as we worship. This is what the author challenges the reader with - we have a responsibility to the world but do not need to be of it. Overall, this book was insightful, encouraging, intelligently thought through but no dogmatic, leaving the reader to think for themselves.
July 16, 2020
Marva Dawn makes her point very clearly: Worship keeps God as the focus, nourishes our character, and draws worshipers together as a community. Any service that puts needs of the attendee over keeping God as the focus is missing the mark. Worship is ‘dumbed down’ when its primary purpose is to be attractive to non-Christians.
In making her arguments, Dawn approaches worship asking many of the same questions seeker sensitive churches ask: What do people need from a worship service? While the question invites an answer that focuses on the worshipper rather than God, Dawn effectively evaluates the post-modern culture to feed her argument. The conclusion: a worshipper needs something greater than themselves to worship. A worship service that offers a simple god, presented in simple terms is not a service that will reveal the greatness of the God of scripture who creates and redeems.
I especially appreciated her defense of worship as being counter cultural. The church should offer an option to the current world view of me-first. A seeker-sensitive / consumerist approach to worship feeds the me-first mindset. A God centered service gives us a lens that allows us to see things greater than ourselves. This enables true worship, spiritual formation, and community.
Throughout my ministry I have wrestled with finding balance in the contemporary and traditional arguments. I appreciate Dawn’s very clear exposition of the problem, and how the seeker sensitive approach is not a solution. Blind adherence to traditional worship forms are also damaging to the church. Her arguments are a gold mine for the person struggling to defend a God centered approach to worship in their local context. I would like to have seen more scripture references among her arguments.
While I tend to see worship as totally about God, Dawn’s emphasis on spiritual formation and community building was compelling and challenging.
In making her arguments, Dawn approaches worship asking many of the same questions seeker sensitive churches ask: What do people need from a worship service? While the question invites an answer that focuses on the worshipper rather than God, Dawn effectively evaluates the post-modern culture to feed her argument. The conclusion: a worshipper needs something greater than themselves to worship. A worship service that offers a simple god, presented in simple terms is not a service that will reveal the greatness of the God of scripture who creates and redeems.
I especially appreciated her defense of worship as being counter cultural. The church should offer an option to the current world view of me-first. A seeker-sensitive / consumerist approach to worship feeds the me-first mindset. A God centered service gives us a lens that allows us to see things greater than ourselves. This enables true worship, spiritual formation, and community.
Throughout my ministry I have wrestled with finding balance in the contemporary and traditional arguments. I appreciate Dawn’s very clear exposition of the problem, and how the seeker sensitive approach is not a solution. Blind adherence to traditional worship forms are also damaging to the church. Her arguments are a gold mine for the person struggling to defend a God centered approach to worship in their local context. I would like to have seen more scripture references among her arguments.
While I tend to see worship as totally about God, Dawn’s emphasis on spiritual formation and community building was compelling and challenging.
July 16, 2020
Marva Dawn makes her point very clearly: Worship keeps God as the focus, nourishes our character, and draws worshipers together as a community. Any service that puts needs of the attendee over keeping God as the focus is missing the mark. Worship is ‘dumbed down’ when its primary purpose is to be attractive to non-Christians.
In making her arguments, Dawn approaches worship asking many of the same questions seeker sensitive churches ask: What do people need from a worship service? While the question invites an answer that focuses on the worshipper rather than God, Dawn effectively evaluates the post-modern culture to feed her argument. The conclusion: a worshipper needs something greater than themselves to worship. A worship service that offers a simple god, presented in simple terms is not a service that will reveal the greatness of the God of scripture who creates and redeems.
I especially appreciated her defense of worship as being counter cultural. The church should offer an option to the current world view of me-first. A seeker-sensitive / consumerist approach to worship feeds the me-first mindset. A God centered service gives us a lens that allows us to see things greater than ourselves. This enables true worship, spiritual formation, and community.
Throughout my ministry I have wrestled with finding balance in the contemporary and traditional arguments. I appreciate Dawn’s very clear exposition of the problem, and how the seeker sensitive approach is not a solution. Blind adherence to traditional worship forms are also damaging to the church. Her arguments are a gold mine for the person struggling to defend a God centered approach to worship in their local context. I would like to have seen more scripture references among her arguments.
While I tend to see worship as totally about God, Dawn’s emphasis on spiritual formation and community building was compelling and challenging.
In making her arguments, Dawn approaches worship asking many of the same questions seeker sensitive churches ask: What do people need from a worship service? While the question invites an answer that focuses on the worshipper rather than God, Dawn effectively evaluates the post-modern culture to feed her argument. The conclusion: a worshipper needs something greater than themselves to worship. A worship service that offers a simple god, presented in simple terms is not a service that will reveal the greatness of the God of scripture who creates and redeems.
I especially appreciated her defense of worship as being counter cultural. The church should offer an option to the current world view of me-first. A seeker-sensitive / consumerist approach to worship feeds the me-first mindset. A God centered service gives us a lens that allows us to see things greater than ourselves. This enables true worship, spiritual formation, and community.
Throughout my ministry I have wrestled with finding balance in the contemporary and traditional arguments. I appreciate Dawn’s very clear exposition of the problem, and how the seeker sensitive approach is not a solution. Blind adherence to traditional worship forms are also damaging to the church. Her arguments are a gold mine for the person struggling to defend a God centered approach to worship in their local context. I would like to have seen more scripture references among her arguments.
While I tend to see worship as totally about God, Dawn’s emphasis on spiritual formation and community building was compelling and challenging.
March 17, 2022
This suffers a little from the passage of time and some outdated references, but all in all a good and solid book on the need for right thinking about how the church does worship and liturgy. Marva Dawn has clearly done her research and I liked that there were plenty of references to cultural changes and societal behaviours over time that would affect the church. She is not afraid to cite secular research and statistics, which I thought was refreshing.
One of the most cutting sections relates to how much television has shaped how we regard teaching and worship within the church. I will definitely be reading Neil Postman’s ‘Amusing ourselves to death’ from which she quotes frequently.
Although Marva states that we should have a balance of traditional and contemporary in our liturgy, it is obvious that she skews towards the traditional due to her classical background and the churches she frequents and works in. Again, the examples she uses feel a little dated due to when it was written. Her passion for not dismissing the traditions and history of the church is admirable and though I completely agree, I found myself wishing for some more advocacy of the simple and contemporary.
Definitely thought- provoking.
One of the most cutting sections relates to how much television has shaped how we regard teaching and worship within the church. I will definitely be reading Neil Postman’s ‘Amusing ourselves to death’ from which she quotes frequently.
Although Marva states that we should have a balance of traditional and contemporary in our liturgy, it is obvious that she skews towards the traditional due to her classical background and the churches she frequents and works in. Again, the examples she uses feel a little dated due to when it was written. Her passion for not dismissing the traditions and history of the church is admirable and though I completely agree, I found myself wishing for some more advocacy of the simple and contemporary.
Definitely thought- provoking.
July 7, 2020
Not the easiest of reads, but worth the time. this was about the Church and its need to rethink worship. I read it some years ago as part of my church's worship committee and found it valuable. I was delighted to see that the author had not only read Postman, but agreed with him.
There were, of course, things I didn't automatically agree with; plus the book was written with the boomer generation a little too much in mind. I did agree that worship needs to be centered on God, and as a musician I really took to heart the fact that no one is there to perform, but to help lead the worship.
Again, a lot of her ideas I don't know how to implement - mainly teaching congregations how to worship - her proffered solutions will not be popular. Not hopeless, but still difficult.
There were, of course, things I didn't automatically agree with; plus the book was written with the boomer generation a little too much in mind. I did agree that worship needs to be centered on God, and as a musician I really took to heart the fact that no one is there to perform, but to help lead the worship.
Again, a lot of her ideas I don't know how to implement - mainly teaching congregations how to worship - her proffered solutions will not be popular. Not hopeless, but still difficult.
December 28, 2019
Very good, very respectful, and very informative. Perhaps tending toward being too soft for my liking, but then "youth shall have its fire" or something like that. I can understand that an older generation can be in parts more gracious and seem less staunch.
I'm glad she brought out the fact that education is a huge factor. People who don't share the same assumptions yet agree with each other have less in common than those who grow different trees from the same roots.
I'm glad she brought out the fact that education is a huge factor. People who don't share the same assumptions yet agree with each other have less in common than those who grow different trees from the same roots.
March 17, 2025
Wonderfuly takes the concepts from Niel Postman's Amuzing Ourselves to Death and takes what I think are the most important parts out of it in relevance to how we do "worship."
March 8, 2017
We dare not make worship too easy, for God is always beyond our grasp...Strangers will have no need to return to our worship services if they can understand all that our worship offers of God in one Sunday gulp.
This woman gets it! Written in the 90's but even more applicable to our generation, Marva Dawn compellingly argues that, even in (and especially in) a culture that has forfeited the discipline of objective thought, worship must challenge the minds and form the characters of those who participate. Above all, it must present God in all the fullness of His self-revelation.
Dawn doesn't explicitly define "worship." She is definitely pro-liturgy, so Free Church readers will need to navigate carefully in some places. Also she frequently quotes other authors, often at length, which does get a bit tiresome. But all things considered, it's still a wonderful book. I wish my church leaders would read it!
This woman gets it! Written in the 90's but even more applicable to our generation, Marva Dawn compellingly argues that, even in (and especially in) a culture that has forfeited the discipline of objective thought, worship must challenge the minds and form the characters of those who participate. Above all, it must present God in all the fullness of His self-revelation.
Dawn doesn't explicitly define "worship." She is definitely pro-liturgy, so Free Church readers will need to navigate carefully in some places. Also she frequently quotes other authors, often at length, which does get a bit tiresome. But all things considered, it's still a wonderful book. I wish my church leaders would read it!
April 5, 2008
This book is written to bring the focus of worship back to its' rightful focus: the glory of God, which forms the believer, and ultimately creates genuine community. I am impressed at how even in the midst of a deep intellectual discussion presented here, Dawn remains doggedly fixed on worship returning to this center. The reasons are, of course, profound: it is here, in seeing the glory of God, incarnated in the person of Jesus Christ, that we truly are transformed, we find connection, common purpose, and ultimate meaning. Sacrificing these things to accommodate culture has the power to shift the focus from God to man, and when the power of culture's influence on man comes into play, inevitably things are brought in that trivialize worship. Worship, then can become increasingly irrelevant, fails to speak to the deepest parts of life, and presents a picture of God that is more formed on who we are than who God really is. But if God remains the focus, worship has the power to transform, to change who we are, to form us. Dawn wants us to see the magnitude of this issue, because we are dealing with the effectiveness of the church to speak to reality. We need to worship to form our reality, instead of catering to what we think is reality.
That said, the book is also incredibly practical. She writes thorough (most near 50 pages) chapters on music, the preached Word, liturgy, which cover everything from the theology of these things, but to very specifics - kinds of music, specific criteria for choosing songs and creeds, how to take into consideration what we should hold on to that the church has done for centuries (tradition) and what is flexible to change, even how we can hold on to tradition while looking forward to the future in our own time.
The book is simply brilliant. There are a few factors that keep me from giving it five stars, though. One is that I don't agree with every bit of theology that she presents (some seems a bit overly-mystical, she goes down a bunny trail on feministic views of God for far too long in one chapter, etc), and though her concepts are mostly based on Scripture, she rarely looks into Scripture itself, but relies more on theological peers and other writers in the tradition. This is fine to use other theologians, but the decisive lack of Scriptural text becomes apparent to even those not looking for it, which is a shame since most of the concepts are Biblical.
The book is thorough and would most benefit pastors, worship leaders, or those interested in an intellectual/theological discussion of the primacy of worship in a culture that has an alarmingly meandering focus in worship. Her call to return to the centrality of God in every aspect of worship is an urgent need in the church, and as she says, will form the believer and develop community in the church around the God that ultimately will sustain us through life.
To finish I want to throw out a few quotes that have kept me thinking, and I'll keep it brief, but I think it is helpful to get a feel for the author's own writing:
"To be in the world but not of it requires the Church both to understand the surrounding culture and to resist its idolatries" (p. 41).
"we are to be lights in the world. It is God's business to light us, to set us on the lampstand, and to bring the people into the house. Our only duty is to shine forth with the gospel" (p. 63).
"God's revelation... unmasks our illusions about ourselves. It exposes our pride, our individualism, our self-centeredness - in short, our sin. But worship also offers forgiveness, healing, transformation, motivation, and courage to work in the world for God's justice and peace - in short, salvation in its largest sense" (p. 69).
"Genuine praise challenges our secularity and idolatries and narcissism by concentrating, not on our feelings of happiness, but on qualities in God that are truly there, not just there for me" (p. 88).
"At the same time we dare not ignore feelings in our music... [but] telling you about my feelings will not bring about the same feelings in you. Only if I tell you what aroused my feelings can you respond to that same stimulus with subjective reactions of your own" (p. 175).
"The listener isn't king; God is" (p. 211).
"As we preach we recognize the failures of God's people, but even more we praise God's love and grace that work in spite of those failures. In fact, the persistence of our failing is evidence that the faith we carry is true - for it proves that we need a Savior from outside ourselves, that we are incapable of fixing ourselves by our own self-help procedures. A hermeneutic of affirmation gives us the language of faith - knowing our sin, and much more important, knowing our God" (p. 231).
That said, the book is also incredibly practical. She writes thorough (most near 50 pages) chapters on music, the preached Word, liturgy, which cover everything from the theology of these things, but to very specifics - kinds of music, specific criteria for choosing songs and creeds, how to take into consideration what we should hold on to that the church has done for centuries (tradition) and what is flexible to change, even how we can hold on to tradition while looking forward to the future in our own time.
The book is simply brilliant. There are a few factors that keep me from giving it five stars, though. One is that I don't agree with every bit of theology that she presents (some seems a bit overly-mystical, she goes down a bunny trail on feministic views of God for far too long in one chapter, etc), and though her concepts are mostly based on Scripture, she rarely looks into Scripture itself, but relies more on theological peers and other writers in the tradition. This is fine to use other theologians, but the decisive lack of Scriptural text becomes apparent to even those not looking for it, which is a shame since most of the concepts are Biblical.
The book is thorough and would most benefit pastors, worship leaders, or those interested in an intellectual/theological discussion of the primacy of worship in a culture that has an alarmingly meandering focus in worship. Her call to return to the centrality of God in every aspect of worship is an urgent need in the church, and as she says, will form the believer and develop community in the church around the God that ultimately will sustain us through life.
To finish I want to throw out a few quotes that have kept me thinking, and I'll keep it brief, but I think it is helpful to get a feel for the author's own writing:
"To be in the world but not of it requires the Church both to understand the surrounding culture and to resist its idolatries" (p. 41).
"we are to be lights in the world. It is God's business to light us, to set us on the lampstand, and to bring the people into the house. Our only duty is to shine forth with the gospel" (p. 63).
"God's revelation... unmasks our illusions about ourselves. It exposes our pride, our individualism, our self-centeredness - in short, our sin. But worship also offers forgiveness, healing, transformation, motivation, and courage to work in the world for God's justice and peace - in short, salvation in its largest sense" (p. 69).
"Genuine praise challenges our secularity and idolatries and narcissism by concentrating, not on our feelings of happiness, but on qualities in God that are truly there, not just there for me" (p. 88).
"At the same time we dare not ignore feelings in our music... [but] telling you about my feelings will not bring about the same feelings in you. Only if I tell you what aroused my feelings can you respond to that same stimulus with subjective reactions of your own" (p. 175).
"The listener isn't king; God is" (p. 211).
"As we preach we recognize the failures of God's people, but even more we praise God's love and grace that work in spite of those failures. In fact, the persistence of our failing is evidence that the faith we carry is true - for it proves that we need a Savior from outside ourselves, that we are incapable of fixing ourselves by our own self-help procedures. A hermeneutic of affirmation gives us the language of faith - knowing our sin, and much more important, knowing our God" (p. 231).
November 19, 2009
This book is a bit dated in dealing with the "worship wars". Seems like the traditionalists, at least in the Protestant churches I'm familiar with, have already "lost" that war. But the book's emphasis on balance between being true to God and speaking to truth to our neighbour is well placed. The author maintains a proper balance throughout, it seems. I was a bit uncomfortable with some of the concessions made to modernism, but I am a traditionalist at heart. Most of my peers in churches that I am familiar with would have more trouble with her favorable view of liturgy.
I liked the way the book says that authentic worship should have God as both object and subject. Also, authentic worship is not to be molded to fit the culture around it, but will at least to some extent, be a subversive influence in that culture.
Reading the book also make me take note of my own attitudes and actions when in public and private worship.
I liked the way the book says that authentic worship should have God as both object and subject. Also, authentic worship is not to be molded to fit the culture around it, but will at least to some extent, be a subversive influence in that culture.
Reading the book also make me take note of my own attitudes and actions when in public and private worship.
March 12, 2010
The first time I read this book, it was a pivotal moment in our reading history...I learned that worship is thoughtful and began to enjoy the richness of hymnody and liturgy. Her writing affected how we approached Sunday mornings and definitely made me think twice about what I was singing and saying and doing in corporate worship. Marva Dawn is such an energetic and passionate writer -- I'd recommend almost all of her books.
Now that I'm reading it again, it excites me. I want to share her message with so many evangelicals today, but mostly to those who long for worship that expresses the grandeur and glory of God and don't know why they feel lost in so many services.
Now that I'm reading it again, it excites me. I want to share her message with so many evangelicals today, but mostly to those who long for worship that expresses the grandeur and glory of God and don't know why they feel lost in so many services.
May 2, 2010
This is an interesting Christian book of theology that has a thesis that is solid. The question is what can we do to reach out to people and to contact them for Christ and not lose our theology or reduce it into a mess of pottage?
She answers the book well. It has a foreward by Martin E. Marty that helps with the definition of the book, also.
A good, solid read.
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"
She answers the book well. It has a foreward by Martin E. Marty that helps with the definition of the book, also.
A good, solid read.
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"
April 25, 2013
A must read for anyone interested in what worshiping the Triune God really entails. Dawn will make anyone - regardless of worship preferences - think seriously about what worship is and for whom worship is done. Only after these things are taken seriously can we than get to the question, "How should worship be done." A readable but in depth theology of worship desperately needed for our time.
January 19, 2014
Very intriguing... at first i didn't agree with a lot of what she was saying until I dug deeper to what she is saying about what I actually believe in. It's easy to not listen to someone when we think they are trying to attack our belief system, but if our very belief system has no depth under the shallow surface, we will believe everything and anything that comes our way.
November 25, 2007
An excellent overview of the purposes and forms of worship, the whys and wherefores of worship, the reason that Christians worship like they do, and what happens when churches lose sight of weighty worship in a frivolous culture.
March 26, 2008
Thought provoking about the essential elements of theology that have been lost in the contemporary music craze. I was a cynic about the worth of liturgical traditions until reading this book. I now appreciate the richness of church history and the traditions on which our theology has been laid.
March 17, 2010
This is a wonderful book, challenging, biblical, and necessary. I would challenge EVERYONE who claims to worship Christ to read this book. Dr. Dawn is a wonderful, passionate, and concerned Christian writing with a purpose in this book- for His glory through the worship of the Church.
May 6, 2007
Great Insights on our worship to Jesus Christ in the american church.
October 15, 2008
Excellent, insightful, intriguing look at worship
December 22, 2011
Very good.
Read
October 22, 2015I haven't completed it yet...
January 26, 2010
I don't think liturgy or tradition are the same thing as legalism.
April 11, 2017
Some of the content is somewhat out of date, but the core message of the book is still meaningful.
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