The Worship Architect: A Blueprint for Designing Culturally Relevant and Biblically Faithful Services

by Constance M. Cherry

There are many books available on the topic of worship today, but few provide a comprehensive, practical method for worship design. Constance M. Cherry, a worship professor and practitioner, provides worship leaders with credible blueprint plans for successfully designing worship services that foster meaningful conversation with God and the gathered community. Readers will learn how to create services that are faithful to Scripture, historically conscious, relevant to God, Christ-centered, and engaging for worshipers of all ages in the twenty-first century. The book sets forth basic principles concerning worship design and demonstrates how these principles are conducive to virtually any style of worship practiced today in a myriad of Christian communities. It will also work well as a guide for worship-planning teams in local churches and provide insight for worship students, pastors, and church leaders involved in congregational worship.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Nonfiction, Church, School, Music, Leadership

321 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Constance M. Cherry (DMin, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary) is professor of worship and Christian ministries at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana, and is on the faculty of the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies, where she has taught since its inception. She speaks and teaches internationally and is a regular adjunct professor at several seminaries. Cherry has also served local churches as a minister of music/worship and as a United Methodist pastor.

Reviews

[Xavier Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book on the theology and practice of worship – sufficiently grounded, yet not neglecting to be practical for the reader. I found especially helpful how there are questions for the reader (or readers) to consider at the start of every chapter to uncover one's presumptions before going into the chapter, and also how every chapter ends with a "Getting Practical" section to put what has been discussed into practice, and an "Engage" checklist where, with a list of actions, she challenges the reader to actually apply what they've just read.

Cherry starts the book by exploring a number of broad themes: Worship is centered in God's acts of salvation, patterned in revelation and response (eg. Isaiah's response to God's holiness in Is 6), is covenantal in nature, is corporate and trinitarian in nature, and is a transformational journey (not incremental in parts). She then invites the reader to consider what their church's current order of service emphasises . She then submits that "the person and work of Jesus Christ is not recognized in many worship services today", and there "is an urgent need to reverse this." She speculates on the cause (eg. the desire to be 'seeker-sensitive', or to be entertained), and ultimately submits that worship leader must remember that true worship is Christocentric. After explaining what it means for Christ to be the cornerstone of the service, Cherry then offers ten practical suggestions for Christocentric worship, including using Trinitarian language and formulations, sings songs that talk about Christ and His work, and observing the Christian year.

Chapters 3-8 concern the order of service – Cherry puts forward a fourfold order of worship: Gathering, Word, Table, Sending. Each chapter discusses a segment of this order.

First, the Gathering is where God gathers us and calls us to worship (Cherry opines that a call to worship serves multiple important purposes in this regard). It also "unite[s] individuals into one worshiping body"and "allow[s] for confession and forgiveness so that we may encounter God with clean hands and a pure heart".

The service of the Word is where we hear from God, and "is an extended time of proclamation when the word of God is both read publicly and in the sermon", accompanied not only by "multiple Scripture readings", but also prayers of illumination and silence (among others). Cherry opines that lector/reader of Scripture should prepare for the reading through, among others, exegeting the passage for themselves and preparing what to emphasise based on that. She also submits that Scripture should permeate the service from behind to end – "the whole liturgy proclaims; the whole worship service is a Word event, not just the sermon."

The Table of the Lord is, biblically, theologically, and historically "the normative response to the word", and first-generation Christians celebrated the Lord's Supper at least weekly. Cherry advocates the same (as did Luther, Calvin, and Wesley), but, recognising that some churches (undesirably) do not do so, she also provides suggestions on alternative responses to the Word. The service of the Table should constitute of: Invitation, Confession of sin and assurance of pardon, Prayer of thanksgiving, Consecration of elements, Words of institution, Distribution and partaking.

The sending consists of two primary parts: benediction and charge. The benediction is a blessing pronounced on the congregation (there are many examples to draw from in Scripture), while the charge is the "so that" of the blessing (eg. "go and serve the Lord", or "go and make disciples").

Chapters 9 covers corporate prayer, from general principles to specific explanations of prayers of intercession, invocation, confession and absolution, illumination, and benediction.

Chapter 10 touches on music, again from principles to explaining the nature, content, and appropriate place of different types of songs: psalms, canticles (eg. Songs of Mary (Magnificat), Zechariah (Benedictus), the Angels (Gloria in excelsis), Simeon (Nunc dimittis), Miriam), hymns (structured songs that teach doctrine, express devotion, convict sinners, and/or serve liturgical functions), gospel songs (songs of subjective witness and/or trust, eg. "Draw me close to You"), praise choruses (short "thought bites" as songs), Taizé, spirituals (that stemmed from negro slave songs), black gospel songs, and global songs (non-Western songs sung in vernacular). Chapter 11 then details the pastoral musician's responsibilities: evaluating worship songs (based on theological, lyrical, and musical strength), considering cultural context, understanding the role and function of songs, considering music principles (eg. that music is not an end in itself, music is servant to the text, shouldn't focus on performance/entertainment, and should reflect God's character), helping the community sing the story of God, intentionally placing songs in the order of service, and appreciating music structure.

Chapter 12 covers the Christian year –what is it, what the Bible says about time, why observe it, and an overview of it.

Lastly, chapters 13-14 lay out the characteristics, pros, and cons of various worship styles and "convergence" of these styles, and chapter 15 covers hospitality by designing worship to invite participation and encouraging worshippers to offer themselves fully in worship (eg. inviting the raising of hands, bowing, and/or kneeling and prostrating).

There is much to love about this book. Cherry explores the theology of worship and the structure of a service systematically, with proper grounding in biblical and theological texts, never neglecting to include a section (or multiple sections) on how to put what she discusses into practice. While there are areas that I would have pitched differently (eg. I am of the opinion that confession and absolution are not just an element, but central to the Gathering, nor am I sure about "seeker-sensitive" being categorised as a "pro" for contemporary worship styles, especially since Cherry opines earlier in the book that this contributed to the decline in the centrality of Christ in the worship service), I think that this book as a whole is a good read for one looking to examine worship services and/or build a theology of worship.

[Mikayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this with a friend of mine that has to read it for class and I can't say that I'm impressed. At first glance, I thought, 'Oh no! I hate reading textbooks!' Once I started reading it, it wasn't so bad. It does have a textbook feel, but while the chapters aren't as long. There were parts that made me so angry that I wanted to quit reading the book and some parts that I agreed with and enjoyed. The part that I disliked the most was the constant suggestion that corporate worship is the best (and only) way to worship. I find this completely false. I am spoken to more in my private worship time with God than when I attend weekly church services. I gave it 3 stars mainly because the amount of information the chapters offered, while valuable, was tedious to read through. Also, I think the book would have been better separated into two or three separate books. I hate to say it, but quite frankly, I was happy when I finished the book.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read that will probably stretch your definition of what worship and worship services are meant to be. While the specifics are much more applicable to formal, non-contemporary churches, there is a lot of helpful background information that leaders from all types of churches will benefit from. The writing is wordy and repetitive, and seems better suited for an intellectual audience rather than your everyday worship leader - excuse me, worship architect. Bottom line: if you like heavy reading, are a traditional church leader, and want to stretch your definition of worship, this book will be a winner for you.

[Jason Montgomery · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was definitely a book "out of" my normal reading list. Overall, I found the book to be helpful in regard to worship design. It is not one I would put at the top of the "need to read list."

Few Thoughts:

Doesn't adhere to the Regulative Principle
Stretches the "Normative Principle" behond it proper limits
Beginning of the book better than the end
Her working premise of the achitectural design of worship was insightful and overall helpful.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow - what a lot of performance orientation! Can't quite believe this was prescribed reading for a Spiritual Formation degree. Disappointed.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using an analogy of a multi-roomed house with a solid foundation, Cherry describes a biblically-faithful structure for the gathered worship of the church and the role of a worship leader in architecting and then hosting services that reflect that structure. God reveals Himself in His Word (centered on Christ and the plan of salvation) and a congregation responds. This response is curated by a worship leader who reflects that structure with scriptural, theological, communal and contextual intentionality in what she describes as the “rooms” of gathering as a congregation, word, table, and sending. To this four-room structure, Cherry includes what she calls “windows” in the practices and styles and patterns of prayer, the musical aesthetic of style, song selection, culture, and the Christian calendar.

What were three (or more) things you learned from reading this book?
The actively relational pattern of revelation and response in Biblical worship. God speaks. His people respond. “True worship is never one-sided…[it] is the experience of encountering God through the means that God usually employs, a conversation built on revelation and response.” p. 20 - See also, p. 208-209
Practical tools for raising up and training future worship leaders with extremely practical do’s and don’ts. As I read through this book with a worship leader that we sent out to one of our plants, he was particularly helped with what could be seen as assumed worship leadership elements. Example on p.78-79 like “Weak ways to begin a gathering…how’s everyone doing? Stronger examples… [quote scripture] Let’s join together in worshiping the great and wonderful God!” These practical helps provide real-life ways to incorporate the theological foundation Cherry lays.
I resonate and aim to fulfill a role that she calls the “pastoral musician.” This person has developed a skill and God-given responsibility for selecting and employing music and worship that will serve the actions of the liturgy and reflect on theological contextual and cultural considerations awfully the ultimate purpose of glorifying God. (201-202) This should be done with a philosophy of style and song choice in worship leading called “convergence worship” that combines the historical and the contemporary at every level of worship to create maximum opportunities to engage worshipers with the presence of God. p.263

Which chapter or section of the book had the greatest impact on you? Why?
I was most impacted by chapter 11, Encountering God in Music, because song selection has such a significant role in the philosophical, scriptural, and theological movement of our pre-sermon worship. Calls to worship, prayers, and transitions from one part of the service to another are directly from or informed by scripture, but songs (lyrics and style) take up more time and space than those do. Cherry provides helpful questions for choosing and evaluating songs.

What is one quote from the book that made an impression on you?
“One must think about not only the selection of proper music, but also how the musical function in the community, where it will be placed in the liturgy, what speak to the cultural context of the church, and so on many layers of reflection must take place for music to play it special dialogical rule between God and people these unique considerations call for remarkable leadership: they require person who can think about music and worship from different advantage points while synthesizing results. They call for a pastoral musician.” (201)

What is a disagreement you have with the author?
On the role of the assurance of pardon in the worship service. I would quibble with her word choice of pronouncing here: “The leader looks directly into the faces of the congregation and pronounces them forgiven on the basis of God’s promise.” In an assurance of pardon, the worship leader reminds the congregation of the pronouncement of God’s forgiveness that He has given us in His word.

If you could interview the author, what question(s) would you ask?
It seems that Cherry is often writing from a higher church tradition than the one that I serve in. This came out in particular in the chapter on the calendar year. I’d love to attend a service in her context and then discuss how her cultural predispositions informed her writing, especially in reference to style and context.

What is your most useful takeaway from this book?
I resonated with many of the theological and scriptural intentionality of the book and found my own practice supported and strengthened. Because I read this with an aspiring worship leader in training, I found a helpful tool to read through with future leaders.

[Stephen Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has some excellent things to say about worship and a very helpful framework to help determine corporate worship gatherings. At first I wasn’t a fan about the metaphor of an architect, but as the book progressed it became increasingly helpful in understanding the importance of each element of worship that Cherry presents.

The best way to describe this book is through, and this can cause some to disengage because it’s very wordy. However, the thoroughness proves the point that Cherry is trying to make, namely that those planning worship need to be intensely intentional their structure and election of material.

All though most of the material is timeless, there are parts that are dated. For instance there is mention of the trend toward Emergent worship, but not mention of Charismatic worship which now dominates conversation.

Over all there were many good take always and questions to consider.

[Johnny Dodsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really really wanted to give this a four star review as I found myself saying amen to so many points within the book. I loved the way Cherry explained the flow and format of worship by looking at various texts of scripture (ex. The Road to Emmaus in Luke; Isaiah’s encounter with the Lord in Isaiah 6).

Cherry’s notes to worship leaders (architect’s) were also incredibly helpful to show that so much of whether worship is God honouring or biblical is dependant on the one planning and leading to be in right relationship with God and in good spiritual/mental/emotional health.

I found the book lacking in theological concepts for worship. I wanted more about what God does in worship, how we encounter Him, and some firm statements of what we need to keep, adjust or simply throw out when it comes to our worship in the 21st century. More theological perspectives on worship would have balanced the highly practical approach to planning and executing a biblical worship service.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book offers excellent resources for pastors and worship leaders who desire to conduct biblical patterns and methods for worship in today's world while encouraging the meaningful, corporate participation of multiple generations. Emphasis is placed on embracing biblical and historical worship means while also utilizing contemporary methods. Considering much more than mere style in one's approach to structuring the worship service, the effective communication of the story of Christ remains the central focus (I'm wording this simply... read the book, it's great!). There are many helpful suggestions and evaluative questions to help build/restructure services throughout the chapters, as well.

[Robert Spurlock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a good book on worship! It is practical, insightful, and has a solid scriptural approach. The analogy of building a house or a building is creative and provides a great way to remember the principles the book teaches. An understanding of different worship styles is essential to the worship leader or a pastor. Cherry covers the basic worship styles with care precision and understanding. She concludes those styles with the convergence method. Something I hadn't considered until now. This book has changed the way we do worship in our church especially the way we open our services communicate our gathering and also the way we do our sending and benediction.

[David Westerveld · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a lot of good ideas here from both the big picture point of view of looking at the structure and layout of the service to the details of how to think about and approach the different elements of worship. Certainly some things in there that I would reject as things I wouldn't want to do in a worship, but I think the overall tone an approach of this was really helpful and this would be a good book for anyone involved in setting up worship services in their church regardless of what liturgical background you might be coming from.

[Nalinee Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much that happens in a church service that we take for granted, and this book forces you to think about what actual constitutes worship as prescribed in the bible, and what is just traditional, culture or even merely habit. My church used this book to define and and reconfigure how we run our weekend services across all our congregations and will be testing out the new format end march 2020. Am excited to see how it pans out!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful Handbook Explaining the Whys & Hows of Designing Worship

I have been a worshipper, a musician & ministry planner. Constance Cherry writes how God is to be worshipped, & our human responsibility to create environments which will help others to meet with God. Both encouraging & challenging, I hope to remember the essentials and stay creative & pure in my desire to see others worship.

[Logan Brasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough! Cherry covers every single aspect of corporate worship you can imagine, it does so, using the illustration of a building. I read this for a graduate class and found it to be filled with information that I could use both in the class and in my career. I highly recommend it for anyone involved in leading church worship.

[Greer Rutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Takes the theoretical and makes it practical! Cherry takes a lot of Robert Webbers ideas, expands them, and brings in some practicality that I really appreciated! She also makes effort to be inclusive of all ethnicities, nationalities, ages, and sexes in order to create a deeper worship experience. If you're looking for ways to make your worship time more interactive, this is a great start!

[Dustin Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is incredibly helpful. It’s both theological and practical. It’s helpful for anyone who is involved in planning worship. Also, the book is not inclined toward one denomination or tradition. So, regardless of your background or which background you serve, there’s helpful content.

[Gary Belhomme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book on Structuring Worship

Bravo, Cherry had written a practicalm thought provoking book that should challenge leaders and pastors to move away from program based worship to God-exalting worship.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very practical.

Good read. The book is very practical and can be applied in diverse contexts.
Can be easily used for different types of services (traditional and contemporary)

[Jeff Ragan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on designing Biblical, God-honoring worship services that inspire those who attend and participate. Very broad, balanced and engaging!

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very helpful, practical book on designing worship services.

[Clay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Foundational reading for anyone in ministry

[Richard Schlak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, focus on Jesus and the Gospel.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I took away a star for it being a little to ‘emergent’ in areas and it’s gripe against apologetics and it’s role in bringing people to Christ.

[Callie Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

WO 510

[John Andrew Szott III · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll be coming back to this one in the future!

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for any worship architect desiring to design worship services that stay true to the Word of God and also speak the language of the culture; namely a culture that shares a lot in common with the ancient saints. A culture who, like their brothers and sisters of old, values the prominence of the Word, varied ways of responding, frequent partaking of the Lord’s Supper, and celebrative worship; a culture who places high emphasis on the arts, sees a connection between worship and mission, and is passionate about worship that is participatory, not passive. The culture in which we live places high prominence on experiencing God in a variety of ways, as well as experiencing authentic community with one another. This book is a great tool for those involved in the process of planning services that help others encounter the living God in today's church.

[Gracie Kolhoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super informative, eye-opening, opened my eyes to new possibilities, and a new level of intention in Worship. Only problem I had with it was how in-depth she went to some things that I felt were already pretty well spelled out. And there were some incredibly technical notes in it that just kind of seemed obvious to me. BUT with all of the info you need to think of when planning worship, some of those obvious things get missed. So they’re still helpful!

[Jared Longoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The content of this book is fantastic and the author does an excellent job of challenging/encouraging the reader. The only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is because sometimes ideas were repeated too often ... aka, it could have been shorter. Highly recommended to both new and veteran worship leaders, though especially new.

[Kirk Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would serve as a great catalyst for getting worship leaders and pastors to think through all the details involved in a corporate worship services. It's thought provoking and would serve as a great conversation starter. It's very practical and helpful.

[Buddy Draper]

This was an excellent book that looked at the worship ministry in a local church context. I really liked her imagery of the aspects of designing and building a house for putting together a worship service. She had some really good insights for how to lead a group of people in experiencing God.