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Worshipping with Calvin: Recovering the Historic Ministry & Worship of Reformed Protestantism
In this carefully-written and important landmark book, Terry L Johnson takes note of the revival in Calvinist thinking that is evident across a broad spectrum of the church. But, he notes, for Calvinism to continue to thrive, attention must begin to be paid to the ministry and worship that alone will sustain and perpetuate it. The new Calvinism must take seriously the liturgical reforms of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, not just the theological, if today's dynamism is to endure. Calvin would not have approved of the separation of theology from worship. . . . Reformed theology determined Reformed worship; and conversely, Reformed worship was the nurturing womb from which Reformed piety and practice sprang. Theology, worship, and piety are inseparably linked, neither thriving without the supporting presence of the other.
This is by no means a polemic against one or two forms of worship. Terry Johnson makes a strong historical and biblical case, so that whatever the readers preferred style of worship, this book will inform and challenge.
This is by no means a polemic against one or two forms of worship. Terry Johnson makes a strong historical and biblical case, so that whatever the readers preferred style of worship, this book will inform and challenge.
433 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2014
14 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Terry L. Johnson
36 books12 followersTerry Johnson was born and raised in Los Angeles. He studied history at the University of Southern California and also studied at Trinity College, Bristol, England, and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, before earning his D. Min in 2008 from Erskine Theological Seminary.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 5, 2024
Alongside R.C. Sproul, Terry Johnson has been very encouraging and helpful in improving my family's understanding of how we should be worshiping a Holy God. The Holy Spirit regenerates, works faith in us, unites us to Christ, sanctifies us and preserves us, all through the ministry of The Word. As a result, the church should seek to saturate the worship service with the Word of God. Read the Word, Preach the Word, Sing the Word, Pray the Word, and See the Word visibly administered in the Sacraments. The more heavily we draw on the Word of God, the more we invoke the Holy Spirit's work in the life of the congregation. This is healthy church growth. Not contemporary church showmanship or entertainment where the idea of congregation as audience is reiterated in style and structure.
Of great fascination to me was also the beautiful diversity of time and culture found within traditional hymnals. You have tunes any lyrics from Africa, Ireland, France, Russia, ancient Judaism, and MORE! Songs that have stood the tests of time and been passed on from generation to generation. We give up so much of the catholicity of the church when we limit our musical diet to modern pop worship with songs that will be dead in 15 years time.
Approx. Read Time: 10hrs
Of great fascination to me was also the beautiful diversity of time and culture found within traditional hymnals. You have tunes any lyrics from Africa, Ireland, France, Russia, ancient Judaism, and MORE! Songs that have stood the tests of time and been passed on from generation to generation. We give up so much of the catholicity of the church when we limit our musical diet to modern pop worship with songs that will be dead in 15 years time.
Approx. Read Time: 10hrs
June 26, 2014
Worshipping with Calvin a good place to start
First off let me be clear there is no little boy with a stuffed tiger in this book. Wrong Calvin. Okay so that may have been a cheesy way to start off this book review. But I am trying to be different (unsuccessfully, I think).
This book is in a word, revolutionary. The worship wars are over, the battles have all be fought contemporary evangelical worship has already sold out, and now this book comes along. What Dr. Johnson has done is lay a foundation for what the church had done for centuries but in the last seven decades has forgotten all about.
Let me explain what I mean. In the twentieth century the question was how do we make church approachable for those who are unchurched or for those who are feed up by the way church has “always been done”. So the old ways become the ways that need to be reformed or trashed altogether. What started as an attempt to bring in more people has now become the standard liturgy in the contemporary evangelical church. It looks something like this: fifteen to twenty minutes of worship, offering, special music or introduction video, sermon and closing song(s), our new liturgy! This has become so standard that members at churches like mine literally rebel when something new is added, like more songs after the sermon, communion every Sunday, more songs or Bible readings, anything not apart of the new norm is seen as “not the way we do church” by the people in our churches. This new (in the history of church) form of worship has now become the liturgy, the expected and norm. But the question that needs to be asked is this the best way? Now I do not mean in a pragmatic sense (which I think is some of the reason for why churches threw out the “old” way of doing things over the last few decades, but that is my opinion not based on this book) but in a theological and Biblical sense. Is the modern way of laying out our worship services the Biblical model?
Dr. Johnson has decided to take the “old ways” out and weigh them against the only thing that matters and that is God’s Word. To do this he returns to the Reformation, which we all know was the a return to scripture and a return to what church looked like before the Catholic Church began adding to God’s Word with tradition and new church decrees. What is not as well known is that besides the five solas of the Reformation there was a revolution in worship which Dr. Johnson expounds on in his preface and first chapter. Dr. Johnson’s main argument is just like how the Catholic Church lost its way when tradition and liturgy became more important than the Biblical teaching on a subject we are in the midst of the same problem today, namely our worship services are more about what we feel we need (felt needs), what we think works (pragmatism) or what we have always known (tradition) instead of being based on what the Bible actually teaches and mandates for our worship to look like. He argues that in the history of the church the group that got it mostly right was the reformers, specifically Calvin. Now no matter what you think about Calvin, Calvinism, Tulip, Predestination, etc. you need to withhold judgment to get at what Dr. Johnson is advocating here. He is advocating a return to the Biblical model of church. What does that model look like? The reformed model, which I was not familiar with prior to this book (sadly) is the model he believes most matches what the Bible teaches. A model that involves Bible reading, prayer in all forms, singing of psalms and the direct preaching of God’s Word (expository preaching). After the introductory chapter, chapters 2 and 3 deal with the historical and theological foundations of this style of worship, in which he clearly expounds on the history of this model and the theological foundations as well. Then the meat of the book begins with chapter 4 through 9 lay out the strengths of this method. Sections about how this Reformed Historical Model of worship gives us the most God-centered, Bible-centered, gospel-structured, church-aware, and Spirit-dependent model which closely mirrors the model laid out by Scripture. If a church like this existed today I think after reading this book I would want to be there. Dr. Johnson clearly believes churches like this will lead to a new reformation and a return to Bible saturated church members instead of the flaky church members who know or care little for what the Bible actually teaches. (On a side note this book is incredibly well researched, the end notes and bibliography are very impressive. I only wish I had read a quarter of these books, maybe God will allow me to live long enough to one day read them)
The author plans a follow-up to this book where he explains how this model will work, that book Serving with Calvin at this point does not have a publish date that I could find.
Overall, this book reopened my eyes to some of the concerns I have with modern worship, whether it be too focused on the musical aspect of the service and the fact that we have a liturgy today that we expect at church each week. As with all things we must constantly return to God’s Word to make sure we are following it, and Dr. Johnson’s book is a well needed wake-up call for the modern evangelical church.
Highly recommended for both ministers and lay-people.
First off let me be clear there is no little boy with a stuffed tiger in this book. Wrong Calvin. Okay so that may have been a cheesy way to start off this book review. But I am trying to be different (unsuccessfully, I think).
This book is in a word, revolutionary. The worship wars are over, the battles have all be fought contemporary evangelical worship has already sold out, and now this book comes along. What Dr. Johnson has done is lay a foundation for what the church had done for centuries but in the last seven decades has forgotten all about.
Let me explain what I mean. In the twentieth century the question was how do we make church approachable for those who are unchurched or for those who are feed up by the way church has “always been done”. So the old ways become the ways that need to be reformed or trashed altogether. What started as an attempt to bring in more people has now become the standard liturgy in the contemporary evangelical church. It looks something like this: fifteen to twenty minutes of worship, offering, special music or introduction video, sermon and closing song(s), our new liturgy! This has become so standard that members at churches like mine literally rebel when something new is added, like more songs after the sermon, communion every Sunday, more songs or Bible readings, anything not apart of the new norm is seen as “not the way we do church” by the people in our churches. This new (in the history of church) form of worship has now become the liturgy, the expected and norm. But the question that needs to be asked is this the best way? Now I do not mean in a pragmatic sense (which I think is some of the reason for why churches threw out the “old” way of doing things over the last few decades, but that is my opinion not based on this book) but in a theological and Biblical sense. Is the modern way of laying out our worship services the Biblical model?
Dr. Johnson has decided to take the “old ways” out and weigh them against the only thing that matters and that is God’s Word. To do this he returns to the Reformation, which we all know was the a return to scripture and a return to what church looked like before the Catholic Church began adding to God’s Word with tradition and new church decrees. What is not as well known is that besides the five solas of the Reformation there was a revolution in worship which Dr. Johnson expounds on in his preface and first chapter. Dr. Johnson’s main argument is just like how the Catholic Church lost its way when tradition and liturgy became more important than the Biblical teaching on a subject we are in the midst of the same problem today, namely our worship services are more about what we feel we need (felt needs), what we think works (pragmatism) or what we have always known (tradition) instead of being based on what the Bible actually teaches and mandates for our worship to look like. He argues that in the history of the church the group that got it mostly right was the reformers, specifically Calvin. Now no matter what you think about Calvin, Calvinism, Tulip, Predestination, etc. you need to withhold judgment to get at what Dr. Johnson is advocating here. He is advocating a return to the Biblical model of church. What does that model look like? The reformed model, which I was not familiar with prior to this book (sadly) is the model he believes most matches what the Bible teaches. A model that involves Bible reading, prayer in all forms, singing of psalms and the direct preaching of God’s Word (expository preaching). After the introductory chapter, chapters 2 and 3 deal with the historical and theological foundations of this style of worship, in which he clearly expounds on the history of this model and the theological foundations as well. Then the meat of the book begins with chapter 4 through 9 lay out the strengths of this method. Sections about how this Reformed Historical Model of worship gives us the most God-centered, Bible-centered, gospel-structured, church-aware, and Spirit-dependent model which closely mirrors the model laid out by Scripture. If a church like this existed today I think after reading this book I would want to be there. Dr. Johnson clearly believes churches like this will lead to a new reformation and a return to Bible saturated church members instead of the flaky church members who know or care little for what the Bible actually teaches. (On a side note this book is incredibly well researched, the end notes and bibliography are very impressive. I only wish I had read a quarter of these books, maybe God will allow me to live long enough to one day read them)
The author plans a follow-up to this book where he explains how this model will work, that book Serving with Calvin at this point does not have a publish date that I could find.
Overall, this book reopened my eyes to some of the concerns I have with modern worship, whether it be too focused on the musical aspect of the service and the fact that we have a liturgy today that we expect at church each week. As with all things we must constantly return to God’s Word to make sure we are following it, and Dr. Johnson’s book is a well needed wake-up call for the modern evangelical church.
Highly recommended for both ministers and lay-people.
March 22, 2024
Wow. READ IT!! :)
June 15, 2014
Scripture declares in Psalm 103:1, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” This is something that as believers we should long to do with every fiber of our being, both in the way we live and also through the avenue of corporate worship in the body of Christ. After all, we do have much to be thankful for and our God is most certainly worthy of our worship. The issue that is often under discussion in recent years is the manner in which corporate worship should be conducted. With the rise of the seeker sensitive approach and the increased use of technology as well as various forms of musical expression, some are asking the valid question of whether worship has strayed too far from what some declare as its Reformed roots. Dr. Terry Johnson, in his book Worshiping With Calvin, desires to outline why he believes modern worship formats and forms of musical expression are far from traditional Reformed methodology and practice, suggesting in turn the need to take a look at what the Reformers such as John Calvin had to say on this subject.
As one who has attended churches that were very traditional (i.e. Reformed in the manner that Johnson describes) and others that utilize more modern Christian worship methods, I can honestly say I have seen the good, the bad, and at times the ugly when it comes to how worship services can be conducted. Far too often there is the perception that worship can be a free for all, a proverbial do what you please approach to offering our praises to God to include running around the sanctuary, uncontrolled laughing, and quite frankly falling down at random. This is a problem that must be addressed and a book such as Worshiping With Calvin is an effort that I hoped would be a needed corrective. While there are some elements of this book that are helpful and that do provide the reader with solid biblical teaching on the reality that not all forms of expression are valid when worshiping God, the overwhelming focus of this book seemed to be a polemic against all forms of modern worship, regardless of whether those modern forms have theological viability.
For example, Johnson notes “The Reformers believed that Scripture’s own self-testimony is that Scripture alone is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice.” There is nothing to argue with there. He goes on to state that passages such as Deuteronomy 12:32 and Proverbs 30:6 warn us not to add or take away from the Word of God. Again, there is nothing to argue with in that statement. Johnson then proceeds to add a quote from Calvin’s Institutes to what the Deuteronomy and Proverbs passages state in order to suggest that modern forms of worship that do not utilize verbatim Scripture word for word is something that is in violation of Deuteronomy 12:32 and Proverbs 30:6. He quotes Calvin with “when the worship of the Lord and the precepts of salvation are concerned.” This begs the question as to just how Johnson views acceptable worship, in particular what he is declaring as Reformed worship, the only form of worship that in his opinion can be rectified with Scripture. Are those who label themselves as Reformed rappers, artists such as Lecrae or Trip Lee, individuals who utilize their God given talent of rap to reach out to the African American community in a way that speaks the truths of Scripture while bringing glory to God artists that are out of line with Reformed worship methods? It seems for Johnson, only hymns that are directly lifted from the pages of Scripture are acceptable.
He asks the question “is it wise to discard the historic and time-proven elements and forms of Reformed worship and ministry in favor of unproven alternatives shaped by popular culture?” That certainly is another valid question given that as believers we are commanded not to be influenced by the shifting winds of popular culture. However, did not the hymn writers of old utilize their current musical methodologies in their hymn writing, in particular the various musical instruments of the day? Were those considered as unproven alternatives shaped by popular culture? To some extent, Johnson answers that question with “Granted, some accommodation of popular culture is inevitable and probably necessary. Still, when the biblical depth of Reformed worship is exchanged for the accessibility of the new worship, we still want to know what is being lost in the process.” That is certainly a valid point but again it begs the question as to what criteria is being used to determine what is lost or what is gained for that matter. Johnson seems overly focused on presenting a negative the “decision to do one thing (sing a song or a series of songs, stage a skit, feature liturgical dance)” suggesting that in doing so other things have to be given up such as the need to “read the Bible, pray, sing a psalm”. The reader is left wondering if singing a series of songs, having a skit to drive home a point of Scripture or properly and appropriately conducted dancing before the Lord is unbiblical. After all, King David danced before the Lord with all his might.
Johnson also pleads for the public reading of Scripture in the tradition of the Reformers. Such a suggestion is quite excellent and an activity that should be more of a part of church services, something done perhaps by more than just the Senior Pastor. Johnson also pleads for the use of psalm-singing, suggesting it is a tragedy that “many churches today do not use hymnbooks and to not sing hymns.” He also decries the lack of use of hymns noting “There is some danger that a whole generation, brought up in mega-churches and their imitators, their church musical exposure being limited to youth groups and seeker services, will reach adulthood ignorant of the church’s entire treasure of music and lyrics.” As if that was not bad enough, Johnson weeps over the fact that he believers “there is a growing concern that congregational singing itself is dying a slow death.” It is his belief the “band/stage/entertainment format compounds the problem” returning to a comment made earlier in the book concerning his angst that no Christmas hymns are sung during Christmas services given only “contemporary” Christmas music is played for the congregation.
As one who attends a church that more often than not does not use a hymnal, I must submit I have not noticed, at least in the congregation I attend, a lapse in theological focus or what can be understood as true biblical worship with the use of the band/stage/entertainment format. Now my church is not seeker sensitive in their approach so the entertainment part is minimal at best, even in the youth group setting. Trying to equate a lack of hymn usage as the reason for the decline in the church’s focus on matters pertaining to God seems like a bit of a stretch. The Reformers desired a return to God and Scripture as the final authority. Blasting those churches who dare to sing modern worship songs as being outside the Reformed framework, especially given many of the modern worship songs are noting but replete with stanzas that give all the glory and honor to God, albeit with some drums and a guitar and maybe even some modern forms of music, seems a bit much to try and prove. In that regard, Johnson seems to be forgetting that Reformed worship can include modern musical expressions, especially those that are again properly focused on what worship is all about, giving glory and honor to God.
The Reformed approach to worship can include rappers such as Lecrae and Trip Lee as well as artists such as David Crowder or Chris Tomlin, individuals who have provided the body of Christ with excellent, God centered, Gospel centric worship songs that are being song and should be sung in our churches today. While there are certainly many issues that need to be addressed regarding worship to include the overly focused entertainment seeker-sensitive methodologies that are more concerned with having a “fun time” instead of offering up our voices in praise to God, trying to excoriate all forms of modern worship as falling under the umbrella of being seeker sensitive or outside the framework of what is considered Reformed beliefs, simply falls short as a completely valid argument.
I do appreciate the zeal and fervor Johnson has for the body of Christ doing Bible things in Bible ways, especially when it comes to how we worship a holy God. With that said, it seems as if Johnson goes a bit too far by generalizing all modern worship as something Calvin would be rolling in his grave over, an argument that for this reader has some elements of truth to it, but not to the extent being presented for the most part in this book. I will take to heart the fact that all things must be evaluated in the light of Scripture, something Johnson does make a point to reminds us of and rightly so. Is there much we can learn from church history and from the Reformers? Absolutely there is much to glean from their approach and their writings. With that said, would they reject all forms of modern worship? I humbly submit the answer would be no. Is there a need for a corrective? Yes, but I am afraid Johnson has swung the proverbial pendulum a bit too far in the opposite direction on some points.
I received this book for free from EP Books via Cross Focused Reviews for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
As one who has attended churches that were very traditional (i.e. Reformed in the manner that Johnson describes) and others that utilize more modern Christian worship methods, I can honestly say I have seen the good, the bad, and at times the ugly when it comes to how worship services can be conducted. Far too often there is the perception that worship can be a free for all, a proverbial do what you please approach to offering our praises to God to include running around the sanctuary, uncontrolled laughing, and quite frankly falling down at random. This is a problem that must be addressed and a book such as Worshiping With Calvin is an effort that I hoped would be a needed corrective. While there are some elements of this book that are helpful and that do provide the reader with solid biblical teaching on the reality that not all forms of expression are valid when worshiping God, the overwhelming focus of this book seemed to be a polemic against all forms of modern worship, regardless of whether those modern forms have theological viability.
For example, Johnson notes “The Reformers believed that Scripture’s own self-testimony is that Scripture alone is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice.” There is nothing to argue with there. He goes on to state that passages such as Deuteronomy 12:32 and Proverbs 30:6 warn us not to add or take away from the Word of God. Again, there is nothing to argue with in that statement. Johnson then proceeds to add a quote from Calvin’s Institutes to what the Deuteronomy and Proverbs passages state in order to suggest that modern forms of worship that do not utilize verbatim Scripture word for word is something that is in violation of Deuteronomy 12:32 and Proverbs 30:6. He quotes Calvin with “when the worship of the Lord and the precepts of salvation are concerned.” This begs the question as to just how Johnson views acceptable worship, in particular what he is declaring as Reformed worship, the only form of worship that in his opinion can be rectified with Scripture. Are those who label themselves as Reformed rappers, artists such as Lecrae or Trip Lee, individuals who utilize their God given talent of rap to reach out to the African American community in a way that speaks the truths of Scripture while bringing glory to God artists that are out of line with Reformed worship methods? It seems for Johnson, only hymns that are directly lifted from the pages of Scripture are acceptable.
He asks the question “is it wise to discard the historic and time-proven elements and forms of Reformed worship and ministry in favor of unproven alternatives shaped by popular culture?” That certainly is another valid question given that as believers we are commanded not to be influenced by the shifting winds of popular culture. However, did not the hymn writers of old utilize their current musical methodologies in their hymn writing, in particular the various musical instruments of the day? Were those considered as unproven alternatives shaped by popular culture? To some extent, Johnson answers that question with “Granted, some accommodation of popular culture is inevitable and probably necessary. Still, when the biblical depth of Reformed worship is exchanged for the accessibility of the new worship, we still want to know what is being lost in the process.” That is certainly a valid point but again it begs the question as to what criteria is being used to determine what is lost or what is gained for that matter. Johnson seems overly focused on presenting a negative the “decision to do one thing (sing a song or a series of songs, stage a skit, feature liturgical dance)” suggesting that in doing so other things have to be given up such as the need to “read the Bible, pray, sing a psalm”. The reader is left wondering if singing a series of songs, having a skit to drive home a point of Scripture or properly and appropriately conducted dancing before the Lord is unbiblical. After all, King David danced before the Lord with all his might.
Johnson also pleads for the public reading of Scripture in the tradition of the Reformers. Such a suggestion is quite excellent and an activity that should be more of a part of church services, something done perhaps by more than just the Senior Pastor. Johnson also pleads for the use of psalm-singing, suggesting it is a tragedy that “many churches today do not use hymnbooks and to not sing hymns.” He also decries the lack of use of hymns noting “There is some danger that a whole generation, brought up in mega-churches and their imitators, their church musical exposure being limited to youth groups and seeker services, will reach adulthood ignorant of the church’s entire treasure of music and lyrics.” As if that was not bad enough, Johnson weeps over the fact that he believers “there is a growing concern that congregational singing itself is dying a slow death.” It is his belief the “band/stage/entertainment format compounds the problem” returning to a comment made earlier in the book concerning his angst that no Christmas hymns are sung during Christmas services given only “contemporary” Christmas music is played for the congregation.
As one who attends a church that more often than not does not use a hymnal, I must submit I have not noticed, at least in the congregation I attend, a lapse in theological focus or what can be understood as true biblical worship with the use of the band/stage/entertainment format. Now my church is not seeker sensitive in their approach so the entertainment part is minimal at best, even in the youth group setting. Trying to equate a lack of hymn usage as the reason for the decline in the church’s focus on matters pertaining to God seems like a bit of a stretch. The Reformers desired a return to God and Scripture as the final authority. Blasting those churches who dare to sing modern worship songs as being outside the Reformed framework, especially given many of the modern worship songs are noting but replete with stanzas that give all the glory and honor to God, albeit with some drums and a guitar and maybe even some modern forms of music, seems a bit much to try and prove. In that regard, Johnson seems to be forgetting that Reformed worship can include modern musical expressions, especially those that are again properly focused on what worship is all about, giving glory and honor to God.
The Reformed approach to worship can include rappers such as Lecrae and Trip Lee as well as artists such as David Crowder or Chris Tomlin, individuals who have provided the body of Christ with excellent, God centered, Gospel centric worship songs that are being song and should be sung in our churches today. While there are certainly many issues that need to be addressed regarding worship to include the overly focused entertainment seeker-sensitive methodologies that are more concerned with having a “fun time” instead of offering up our voices in praise to God, trying to excoriate all forms of modern worship as falling under the umbrella of being seeker sensitive or outside the framework of what is considered Reformed beliefs, simply falls short as a completely valid argument.
I do appreciate the zeal and fervor Johnson has for the body of Christ doing Bible things in Bible ways, especially when it comes to how we worship a holy God. With that said, it seems as if Johnson goes a bit too far by generalizing all modern worship as something Calvin would be rolling in his grave over, an argument that for this reader has some elements of truth to it, but not to the extent being presented for the most part in this book. I will take to heart the fact that all things must be evaluated in the light of Scripture, something Johnson does make a point to reminds us of and rightly so. Is there much we can learn from church history and from the Reformers? Absolutely there is much to glean from their approach and their writings. With that said, would they reject all forms of modern worship? I humbly submit the answer would be no. Is there a need for a corrective? Yes, but I am afraid Johnson has swung the proverbial pendulum a bit too far in the opposite direction on some points.
I received this book for free from EP Books via Cross Focused Reviews for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
August 30, 2023
This one’s a doozy. It is not for the faint of heart. As someone who grew up in evangelistic and revivalistic worship culture who later came around to Reformed worship, this gave me much insight into the worship culture of Presbyterians. It took me a long time to finish it and while I still may have a couple of disagreements on what worship can be or can’t be, I still believe Johnson did a phenomenal and thorough work in presenting historic Reformed worship practice.
February 22, 2022
More than the regulative principle of worship, the author leads the reader to a historic survey of worship and concludes in the beauty, timelessness, and God-honoring historic reformed liturgy and worship.
December 7, 2019
This is a dangerous book. Well, it was at least for me. And if you are working through some of the same issues that I am, this is a dangerous book for you as well.
Johnson invites us to “worship with Calvin”, a term he uses to indicate a mirroring of the Reformers plea to ad fontes (return to the sources), and worship in a manner consistent with the Scriptures, the early Patristics and the Reformers. Johnson, the author of the invaluable resource The Family Worship Book, takes time to lead the reader back to the Scriptures via Geneva’s 16th century return to the Scriptures to see what our worship should look like. We then travel throughout Church history to see the development of worship practices, both good and not so good. If Calvin had written a Biblical-Historical theology of worship, this is much what it would have looked like.
Johnson’s impetus for writing, along with calling his fellow confessional believers back to traditional Reformed worship, is to reach those who see value in the theology of Calvin but are ignorant of the order and practices that naturally proceed from it. “If the neo-Calvinists of the “young, restless, reformed” movement can connect with this movement to renew historic Reformed ministry and worship, a powerful engine for church renewal and revival may result.” So the title “Worshipping With Calvin”, which can be off-putting to many who only recognize “Calvin” as a pejorative term, is simply a call for Presbyterians to return to their confessional roots and practice and for the neo-Calvinist to see the value of classical Calvinism beyond a flower in one’s soteriological garden.
But why is that necessary? Why is a work like this needed in the life of the Church. Johnson contends, rightly, that, “how we worship determines what we believe, and, what we believe determines how we worship.” He encourages the reader to see how traditional reformed worship produced traditional Reformed piety and honored God most greatly in the process.
Johnson calls for an extreme response to what he identifies as a crucial error plaguing evangelical Protestantism.
Johnson shows how the “solas” of the Reformers led to the reform of Christian worship (which had been hijacked in the medieval period). Johnson shows how sola Scriptura led to the reduction of the liturgy, solus Christus led to the reformation of the Eucharist, sola fide led to the reform of the reading and preaching of Scripture, sola gratia led to reform of prayer, and soli Deo Gloria “led to the revival of confidence in the ordinary means of grace.” Beyond simply leading to the reform of these aspects of worship, these principles help guide our understanding of each of these aspects.
Johnson does not simply seek to lambast modern worship innovations, he wants to present a case for traditional Protestant worship that is Bible-filled, Gospel structured, Church aware, and Spirit-dependent. “The advocates of historic Reformed worship are simply saying that when the church assembles to worship it does so around the Word read, preached, sung, prayed and received through the ‘visible word,’ the sacraments. These are the concerns of the Reformed tradition.”
This should not be a controversial aim for Christians, specifically Protestants, more specifically those who would claim to be “people of the Book”. But it is. In my Christian sub-culture, we affirm in word the sufficiency and authority of the Bible. But we do not publicly read the Scriptures at any length. We do not sing the Scriptures. We do not pray with the words of Scripture (although thanks to some leadership this is becoming more common place in our local body). We do not place any emphasis on the visible word of God in the sacraments. Our worship services, apart from a fine exposition of a passage of Scripture, are pretty much devoid of God’s word. This is a pervasive tragedy that plagues much of Evangelicalism.
Citing corporate Scripture reading as “one of the major needs of our day,” Johnson ardently encourages the “reintroduction of this plank from the Reformers’ platform of church reform”.
“Are we not commanded to read Scripture in public worship (1 Tim. 4:13)? Should not the historic Christian practice of substantial Scripture reading be restored to the worship of evangelical Protestantism? Should not the apostolic, patristic and Reformed discipline of lectio continua readings become standard practice in the worship of our churches?” Johnson gives the reader many reasons to answer “yes” to all of these questions.
Johnson also seeks to see worship return to the word in prayer, preaching, and singing as well. Beyond this, he desires that Christians would “see the word” in worship through the sacraments. Returning Baptism and Communion to its proper place in Christian worship is crucial if we will see any type of Christian reform or sustained growth in individual piety. And, quite simply, it is proper because it is how God has designed worship.
Johnson has an interesting chapter on the “Gospel structure” of the order of reformed worship and follows with a chapter on the need of worship to be “Church aware”. The liturgy of reformed worship services lead the believer from confession to repentance to forgiveness to praise, all before the sermon is preached. Johnson also encourages the reader to recognize the “catholicity” of the church and the need for “catholicity” in how we worship. “Worship wars,” he says, “are actually culture wars.” This is true as well as the fact that,
While I enjoyed the entire book, Johnson saves the best for last. Chapter 9 covers how Reformed worship is “Spirit-dependent”.
Finally, we urge the practice of Reformed worship and ministry because it is Spirit-dependent. We have argued that dependence on the Holy Spirit is the necessary implication of the principle of sola gratia (see chapter 3). Believers, according to the Reformed ordo salutis, depend on the Holy Spirit for regeneration (John 3:8), faith and justification (1 Cor. 12:3), adoption (Rom. 8:15), sanctification (1 Peter 1:2), and perseverance (1 Peter 1:5). Beyond the individual and personal, the church depends upon the Holy Spirit to make the ordinary means of grace, the Word, sacraments, and prayer, effective and fruitful means of sanctification.
Johnson takes time, good time, to dispel some common myths in regards to the Spirit’s role and presence in worship. He shows that some phenomena typically attributed to the Spirit, and used as measuring stick of his presence, are not necessarily accurate or appropriate. Emotional exuberance, spontaneity, individual/idiosyncratic response, so often lauded as hallmarks of “the Spirit moving” are not necessarily that and are, possibly more often than not, signs of the opposite. Reformed worship relies on the Holy Spirit through his word, in prayer, and demonstrates this reliance through simplicity. Reformed worship can pass the “catacombs test” because of a confidence in God ministering through his normal means of grace and not being dependent on our innovations, creativity, and pragmatic wisdom to help our sovereign Lord accomplish what he has already promised to do.
Initially during and after reading “Worshipping with Calvin” I had some reservations. I felt it was heavy handed at points and a bit extreme. After some reflection I feel my reservations might simply be conviction. What I thought was heavy handed was simply sharp exposition and explanation that jabbed at me. Like a dentist finding an exposed nerve, even delicate and precise exploration can often be painful to the one with cavities. Couple that with the realization that I have decisions to make and repentance to enjoy, it is easy to see the many ways that this book could be quite uncomfortable. I told you this was a dangerous book!
I praise God for Terry Johnson and the work that has gone into this volume. I am thankful for Cross Focused Reviews and the review copy of this book without which I probably would not have read this work. More people should read this work than probably will, but everyone who does will be encouraged and challenged. I was blessed and burdened by the claims presented in Worshipping with Calvin and the support given from Scripture and history. It is hard to ask more from a book than that!
***I received a review copy for my honest review.
Johnson invites us to “worship with Calvin”, a term he uses to indicate a mirroring of the Reformers plea to ad fontes (return to the sources), and worship in a manner consistent with the Scriptures, the early Patristics and the Reformers. Johnson, the author of the invaluable resource The Family Worship Book, takes time to lead the reader back to the Scriptures via Geneva’s 16th century return to the Scriptures to see what our worship should look like. We then travel throughout Church history to see the development of worship practices, both good and not so good. If Calvin had written a Biblical-Historical theology of worship, this is much what it would have looked like.
Johnson’s impetus for writing, along with calling his fellow confessional believers back to traditional Reformed worship, is to reach those who see value in the theology of Calvin but are ignorant of the order and practices that naturally proceed from it. “If the neo-Calvinists of the “young, restless, reformed” movement can connect with this movement to renew historic Reformed ministry and worship, a powerful engine for church renewal and revival may result.” So the title “Worshipping With Calvin”, which can be off-putting to many who only recognize “Calvin” as a pejorative term, is simply a call for Presbyterians to return to their confessional roots and practice and for the neo-Calvinist to see the value of classical Calvinism beyond a flower in one’s soteriological garden.
But why is that necessary? Why is a work like this needed in the life of the Church. Johnson contends, rightly, that, “how we worship determines what we believe, and, what we believe determines how we worship.” He encourages the reader to see how traditional reformed worship produced traditional Reformed piety and honored God most greatly in the process.
Johnson calls for an extreme response to what he identifies as a crucial error plaguing evangelical Protestantism.
We can all agree that worship, if it is to be true worship, must be God-centered. We can also regard as axiomatic the principle that worship cannot be entertainment. Worship as entertainment is idolatry. It is unlikely that anyone really disagrees with this claim. As we have argued, by definition worship must be about God, not personal amusement. Here is where we disagree: adiaphora. Contemplate for a moment contemporary worship in its typical setting of stages, theater-lighting, bands, singers, dancers, dramatists, choirs, hand-held microphones, and theater-style seating. Are these adiaphora? Normally, issues of seating, lighting, placement of musicians, and style of platform might have qualified as adiaphora, as things indifferent, just as the elevation and adoration of the host might have been considered adiaphora. But is this evaluation still possible? Or has a line been crossed in our generation? A benign view of the above trappings of entertainment in the place of worship is increasingly difficult to sustain. Much of what passes for worship today appears to be little more than lightly baptized entertainment. Should such worship not therefore be considered idolatrous? Does it not at least have a propensity to encourage idolatry, and therefore should not serious churches distance themselves from it? Our principle must be (with apologies to Luther), “Let us, therefore, repudiate everything that smacks of entertainment.”
We would suggest that the time has come for the worship places of evangelical Protestantism to be cleansed of everything that reflects the world of entertainment. Our Protestant forefathers took axes to the altars, and whitewashed the walls of medieval churches.30 Perhaps similar iconoclastic zeal should be shown, and soon, in our houses of worship, lest they become houses of mirth. Perhaps we ought to pull out the theater seats, break up the stages, banish the dancers and actors, move musicians and choirs to the rear and redefine their role as that of simply supporting and enhancing congregational singing. Has the time not come to restore the pulpit, table, and font to the visible focal point of the interior of our churches, and restore simple services of the Word read, preached, sung, prayed, and received (in the sacraments)? What was once considered indifferent ought to be reconsidered in light of the danger of idolatry posed by the trappings of entertainment that have come to dominate our places of worship.
Johnson shows how the “solas” of the Reformers led to the reform of Christian worship (which had been hijacked in the medieval period). Johnson shows how sola Scriptura led to the reduction of the liturgy, solus Christus led to the reformation of the Eucharist, sola fide led to the reform of the reading and preaching of Scripture, sola gratia led to reform of prayer, and soli Deo Gloria “led to the revival of confidence in the ordinary means of grace.” Beyond simply leading to the reform of these aspects of worship, these principles help guide our understanding of each of these aspects.
Soli Deo gloria effectively summarizes the Reformers’ concerns even as it elevates those concerns to the highest level. The reforms of worship were necessary, the Reformers argued, because God is glorified when his people worship “according to Scripture” and refuse to embrace human novelties and innovations. God is glorified when the church’s eucharistic practices affirm the finality and sufficiency of Christ’s atonement and in no way imply the need for its perpetual supplementation. God is glorified in Word-filled worship services which underscore that justification is by personal faith in Christ alone and not by implicit faith in the church and her sacraments. God is glorified in prayer-saturated worship services which demonstrate dependence upon the Holy Spirit, rather than rituals and ceremonies (or in our day, on marketers, demographers, and entertainers). Historic Reformed worship, by its content, form, order, furnishings and buildings, provides an unmistakable witness to the central truths of the Christian faith: Scripture alone leads us to Christ alone, whom we receive by faith alone, as initiated by God’s grace alone, all to God’s glory alone.
Johnson does not simply seek to lambast modern worship innovations, he wants to present a case for traditional Protestant worship that is Bible-filled, Gospel structured, Church aware, and Spirit-dependent. “The advocates of historic Reformed worship are simply saying that when the church assembles to worship it does so around the Word read, preached, sung, prayed and received through the ‘visible word,’ the sacraments. These are the concerns of the Reformed tradition.”
This should not be a controversial aim for Christians, specifically Protestants, more specifically those who would claim to be “people of the Book”. But it is. In my Christian sub-culture, we affirm in word the sufficiency and authority of the Bible. But we do not publicly read the Scriptures at any length. We do not sing the Scriptures. We do not pray with the words of Scripture (although thanks to some leadership this is becoming more common place in our local body). We do not place any emphasis on the visible word of God in the sacraments. Our worship services, apart from a fine exposition of a passage of Scripture, are pretty much devoid of God’s word. This is a pervasive tragedy that plagues much of Evangelicalism.
Citing corporate Scripture reading as “one of the major needs of our day,” Johnson ardently encourages the “reintroduction of this plank from the Reformers’ platform of church reform”.
“Are we not commanded to read Scripture in public worship (1 Tim. 4:13)? Should not the historic Christian practice of substantial Scripture reading be restored to the worship of evangelical Protestantism? Should not the apostolic, patristic and Reformed discipline of lectio continua readings become standard practice in the worship of our churches?” Johnson gives the reader many reasons to answer “yes” to all of these questions.
Johnson also seeks to see worship return to the word in prayer, preaching, and singing as well. Beyond this, he desires that Christians would “see the word” in worship through the sacraments. Returning Baptism and Communion to its proper place in Christian worship is crucial if we will see any type of Christian reform or sustained growth in individual piety. And, quite simply, it is proper because it is how God has designed worship.
Johnson has an interesting chapter on the “Gospel structure” of the order of reformed worship and follows with a chapter on the need of worship to be “Church aware”. The liturgy of reformed worship services lead the believer from confession to repentance to forgiveness to praise, all before the sermon is preached. Johnson also encourages the reader to recognize the “catholicity” of the church and the need for “catholicity” in how we worship. “Worship wars,” he says, “are actually culture wars.” This is true as well as the fact that,
‘Contemporary worship’ is really a determination to prefer the taste preferences of a segment of contemporary culture (typically anglo-contemporary, but sometimes Latino, African-American, Hip-Hop, Cowboy, skate-boarders, etc.) over an older church culture. Have the ecclesiastical ramifications of that determination been thought through? Can the church avoid fragmentation and division according to cultural preference if ‘authenticity’ requires that ‘my culture’ be the dominant form in which Christian devotion is expressed?
While I enjoyed the entire book, Johnson saves the best for last. Chapter 9 covers how Reformed worship is “Spirit-dependent”.
Finally, we urge the practice of Reformed worship and ministry because it is Spirit-dependent. We have argued that dependence on the Holy Spirit is the necessary implication of the principle of sola gratia (see chapter 3). Believers, according to the Reformed ordo salutis, depend on the Holy Spirit for regeneration (John 3:8), faith and justification (1 Cor. 12:3), adoption (Rom. 8:15), sanctification (1 Peter 1:2), and perseverance (1 Peter 1:5). Beyond the individual and personal, the church depends upon the Holy Spirit to make the ordinary means of grace, the Word, sacraments, and prayer, effective and fruitful means of sanctification.
Johnson takes time, good time, to dispel some common myths in regards to the Spirit’s role and presence in worship. He shows that some phenomena typically attributed to the Spirit, and used as measuring stick of his presence, are not necessarily accurate or appropriate. Emotional exuberance, spontaneity, individual/idiosyncratic response, so often lauded as hallmarks of “the Spirit moving” are not necessarily that and are, possibly more often than not, signs of the opposite. Reformed worship relies on the Holy Spirit through his word, in prayer, and demonstrates this reliance through simplicity. Reformed worship can pass the “catacombs test” because of a confidence in God ministering through his normal means of grace and not being dependent on our innovations, creativity, and pragmatic wisdom to help our sovereign Lord accomplish what he has already promised to do.
Initially during and after reading “Worshipping with Calvin” I had some reservations. I felt it was heavy handed at points and a bit extreme. After some reflection I feel my reservations might simply be conviction. What I thought was heavy handed was simply sharp exposition and explanation that jabbed at me. Like a dentist finding an exposed nerve, even delicate and precise exploration can often be painful to the one with cavities. Couple that with the realization that I have decisions to make and repentance to enjoy, it is easy to see the many ways that this book could be quite uncomfortable. I told you this was a dangerous book!
I praise God for Terry Johnson and the work that has gone into this volume. I am thankful for Cross Focused Reviews and the review copy of this book without which I probably would not have read this work. More people should read this work than probably will, but everyone who does will be encouraged and challenged. I was blessed and burdened by the claims presented in Worshipping with Calvin and the support given from Scripture and history. It is hard to ask more from a book than that!
***I received a review copy for my honest review.
June 22, 2014
Have you taken the time lately to stop and think deeply about why your church structures the Worship Service the way they do? The truth is that the way we worship is a visible proclamation of how we view God and His Word. Or, as Terry L. Johnson in his book, Worshipping with Calvin , states it, “how we worship determines what we believe, and, what we believe determines how we worship.” Therefore, does your worship service declare (verbally and/or by your actions) that God is holy and to be revered? In other words, is your worship God-centered or man-centered? Truthfully, pragmatism, whether we want to acknowledge it or not, is running rampant in churches and it is giving our members a false understanding of worship that says “if it feels good, looks good, and makes people happy then it is fair game to do”. The way we approach worship, structure our worship services, and then execute our worship services should be grounded fully and truly in the Word of God. Our desire is the supremacy of God in all things, and our worship services are one way we accomplish that. It is high time that we adopt a mindset that says, “I know it might make me happy, and I know that that specific kind of music makes me want to raise my hand and stomp my feet, and I know topical and/or moralistic centered messages might make me feel good about myself, but what does the Word of God have to say about these things?”
Worshipping with Calvin was written to help believers understand the “how” and “why” of the Reformers liturgical structure. The author, Terry Johnson, has a burning desire to call out his fellow present-day Reformed brethren because of their abandoning of Historically Reformed liturgical practices for cheaper alternatives (in his mind) of Contemporary Worship. There is a warning bell going off in his head that the “young, restless, and reformed” are more focused on plotting a new course of how to do worship that is uniquely different from the easy believism that has defined a great number of our churches the past few decades. However, in doing that, most present-day reformed churches have all but abandoned the worship structure held by their forefathers in the faith. The questions that have to be answered by this book are: (1) How did the Historical Reformed church structure their liturgy?; (2) Why did they structure it that way?; and (3) Should we follow their example and possibly make some wholesale changes to our current liturgical structure?
The importance of John Calvin to the liturgical structure of the Reformation cannot be overstated. The majority of believers only correlate the 5 Points of Calvinism with John Calvin (even though he was not the one to compose those 5 Points), or they may have a passing understanding of the outstanding volumes of his Institutes of the Christian Religion. However, people neglect Calvin the worshipper who passionately, brilliantly, and meticulously researched and structured his worship services. As Johnson states:
“Volumes have been written on Calvin the theologian, Calvin the exegete, Calvin and the sacraments, Calvin the church leader, Calvin the alleged dictator and tyrant. But Calvin the liturgist? Most of the standard works on Calvin fail to deal with his liturgical ideas in anything but the most cursory manner. These include biographies, monographs of Calvin and his thought, and collections of essays about Calvin and his ideas and influence. At times the titles are promising; but time and again Calvin’s liturgical work is either ignored or given only a superficial descriptive review without in-depth analysis or evaluation. ‘It is common knowledge that Calvin and worship are incongruous topics,’ complains Elsie McKee of the liturgical ‘experts,’ ‘and that whatever the strengths of those who are predestined to the glory of God, they are hopeless failures when it comes to liturgy.’ The best that Calvin receives from the scholarly analysts is ‘polite indulgence,’ adds John Witvliet.” (Kindle Location 262-263)
Terry Johnson does a decent job of showing how Calvin and the other Reformers were not concerned with “matters merely of taste, style, or personal preference, as is so often the case today.” They were passionate about all matters of worship being conformed to the patterns laid out in Scripture. This passion is born out in the fact that they were diligent in their exegesis of Scripture and their study of worship throughout church history. These studies led to a “theological reformulation” which then led to a reform in their liturgical practices. The book is filled with examples of how our patristic fathers viewed and conducted worship, and I found that aspect of the book highly informative and challenging. The historic look at liturgy is fleshed out in Part One of the book that briefly examines, discusses, and contrasts contemporary practices with the way they were historically done. The second part of the book zeroes in on the importance of reformed worship through various lenses: historical, exegetical, and theological. Finally, the third part unpacks how Historically Reformed worship God-centered (versus the man-centered focus of today), Bible saturated, Gospel structured, Ecclesiastically aware, and Spirit led and dependent.
Worshipping with Calvin was a very thought-provoking read for me, but I am not so sure it was as successful as it could have been. Is our current liturgical structure in need of change? Absolutely. We have become too man-centered and emotionally dependent on the current structure, and we need to recover a more God-centered approach to liturgy. However, I found myself wanting a little bit more understanding of exactly how our church fathers did worship instead of merely passing glances at them. Also, I am not sure if it is fair to “throw the baby out with the bathwater” and claim that our church fathers, and primarily Calvin, would have a conniption if they saw how we worshipped today. I think there are reforms needed for sure, but I don’t find myself at the level of change that Terry Johnson is calling for in this book (and least not just yet).
I received this book for free from EP Books via Cross Focused Reviews for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Worshipping with Calvin was written to help believers understand the “how” and “why” of the Reformers liturgical structure. The author, Terry Johnson, has a burning desire to call out his fellow present-day Reformed brethren because of their abandoning of Historically Reformed liturgical practices for cheaper alternatives (in his mind) of Contemporary Worship. There is a warning bell going off in his head that the “young, restless, and reformed” are more focused on plotting a new course of how to do worship that is uniquely different from the easy believism that has defined a great number of our churches the past few decades. However, in doing that, most present-day reformed churches have all but abandoned the worship structure held by their forefathers in the faith. The questions that have to be answered by this book are: (1) How did the Historical Reformed church structure their liturgy?; (2) Why did they structure it that way?; and (3) Should we follow their example and possibly make some wholesale changes to our current liturgical structure?
The importance of John Calvin to the liturgical structure of the Reformation cannot be overstated. The majority of believers only correlate the 5 Points of Calvinism with John Calvin (even though he was not the one to compose those 5 Points), or they may have a passing understanding of the outstanding volumes of his Institutes of the Christian Religion. However, people neglect Calvin the worshipper who passionately, brilliantly, and meticulously researched and structured his worship services. As Johnson states:
“Volumes have been written on Calvin the theologian, Calvin the exegete, Calvin and the sacraments, Calvin the church leader, Calvin the alleged dictator and tyrant. But Calvin the liturgist? Most of the standard works on Calvin fail to deal with his liturgical ideas in anything but the most cursory manner. These include biographies, monographs of Calvin and his thought, and collections of essays about Calvin and his ideas and influence. At times the titles are promising; but time and again Calvin’s liturgical work is either ignored or given only a superficial descriptive review without in-depth analysis or evaluation. ‘It is common knowledge that Calvin and worship are incongruous topics,’ complains Elsie McKee of the liturgical ‘experts,’ ‘and that whatever the strengths of those who are predestined to the glory of God, they are hopeless failures when it comes to liturgy.’ The best that Calvin receives from the scholarly analysts is ‘polite indulgence,’ adds John Witvliet.” (Kindle Location 262-263)
Terry Johnson does a decent job of showing how Calvin and the other Reformers were not concerned with “matters merely of taste, style, or personal preference, as is so often the case today.” They were passionate about all matters of worship being conformed to the patterns laid out in Scripture. This passion is born out in the fact that they were diligent in their exegesis of Scripture and their study of worship throughout church history. These studies led to a “theological reformulation” which then led to a reform in their liturgical practices. The book is filled with examples of how our patristic fathers viewed and conducted worship, and I found that aspect of the book highly informative and challenging. The historic look at liturgy is fleshed out in Part One of the book that briefly examines, discusses, and contrasts contemporary practices with the way they were historically done. The second part of the book zeroes in on the importance of reformed worship through various lenses: historical, exegetical, and theological. Finally, the third part unpacks how Historically Reformed worship God-centered (versus the man-centered focus of today), Bible saturated, Gospel structured, Ecclesiastically aware, and Spirit led and dependent.
Worshipping with Calvin was a very thought-provoking read for me, but I am not so sure it was as successful as it could have been. Is our current liturgical structure in need of change? Absolutely. We have become too man-centered and emotionally dependent on the current structure, and we need to recover a more God-centered approach to liturgy. However, I found myself wanting a little bit more understanding of exactly how our church fathers did worship instead of merely passing glances at them. Also, I am not sure if it is fair to “throw the baby out with the bathwater” and claim that our church fathers, and primarily Calvin, would have a conniption if they saw how we worshipped today. I think there are reforms needed for sure, but I don’t find myself at the level of change that Terry Johnson is calling for in this book (and least not just yet).
I received this book for free from EP Books via Cross Focused Reviews for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
June 24, 2014
“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.” Revelation 11:15-19
For this review and others, see www.pilgrimsontheway.com
Is Christian worship in America (and elsewhere) in need of major, sound, biblically and historically grounded reform?
You might as well just ask ‘Is the pope Catholic?’
I, like the author, have similar theological education and experience in various types of churches, from dispensationalist charismatic in the 70’s, revivalistic Southern Baptist, mega churches, and a variety of mainline Protestant churches. With great relief in the last few years, I have found and joined a theologically profound, historically rich, deeply rooted church to worship and grow in, a Dutch Reformed heritage church (URCNA), quite a rare find in our day.
The thin spiritual gruel in most of those previous settings was sometimes just barely enough to keep a person spiritually alive, leaving those assembled spiritually enervated – like a diet of cotton candy vs. steak and potatoes or like searching for water in a bleak and parched desert vs. Minnesota. Sadly, places like my church are hard to find today, even among the theologically reformed, but that was not so much the case from the 16th to early 20th centuries.
Worshiping With Calvin is a substantial book of ~ 320 pages with a 40 page bibliography and 60 pages of end-notes. Not light reading by any means, but accessible to most Christians. He takes a threefold approach to worship analysis, much like the reformers, starting with an exegetical review of Scripture leading to theological analysis and then reviewing how early church leaders viewed those things to confirm or correct the exegetical and theological points. His book could also have been titled “Worshiping with the Apostles, the Early Church, and the Protestant Reformers”, but his title is fine I suppose.
As most already know, the primary reformers were deeply pious scholars with a remarkable passion for Christ and truth, rigorously demanding in their research and analysis of primary sources of the manuscripts of Scripture and Patristic era, and so becoming increasingly aware of how profoundly the Roman church had departed (apostatized) from the simple, yet profound worship and beliefs found in Scripture, a system that by medieval time had devolved in grotesquely unrecognizable ways from the Scriptural simplicity of apostolic teaching and practices.
The reformers derived certain basic theological principals from their intensive study of Scripture and early church leaders, to wit: the truths of Christian faith are found in Scripture alone which teaches that salvation is received because of divine grace alone, by the means of the gift of faith alone, resting solely in the full and final sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice alone, and all of that is to the glory of God alone.
Per the author:
Worship that glorifies God as He is in Himself, in the edification of His church, and inclusion of the outsider, is God, not human, centered, and looks solely to His divine, authoritative words as to how He will be approached and worshiped. This is in stark contrast to so-called seeker-sensitive, market-driven, revivalistic, emotion driven, and / or purely didactic approaches that have become increasingly common in so-called worship. Some of the highly influential Pied Pipers of these approaches are Hybels (Willow Creek), Warren (Saddleback), and Barna.
Worship of God is worship that is rich in Scripture in every aspect of the weekly liturgy, emphasizing God’s words over mans’. This is effected by reading in a continuing manner each week large portions of Scripture (with exposition) and likewise preaching expositorily through Scripture in a continuous manner. Prayers are to be rich in Scripture and fervently, humbly, in faith made to God in confession and thanksgiving for illumination and intercession. Whole Psalms and biblically rich hymns of the church are solely appropriate for congregational singing in the worship of God.
In the twin sacraments of the Supper and Baptism, God’s words must precede and accompany those important visual signs of the gospel of the new covenant in Christ’s blood, both being central and primary means of grace. The Lord’s Supper, like the Passover, is a simple, covenant meal around a table to be given to confessing, believing sinners, while baptism is to be administered as a simple washing to the children of believers and adult converts as a sign of covenant inclusion in the family of God.
Further, worship must be gospel structured (Christ-centered) with all elements of the weekly liturgy directly pointing to benefits which flow from the cross to His church, structured with a stable, well-thought out, soundly theological order. Some of its elements are preparation, praise, law & confession, word & sacrament, thanksgiving / blessing (with of course sub-elements for each).
True worship must be catholic, having knowledge of, respect and love for God’s people in all places, and times. Johnson challenges the enervating ideologies of the homogeneous unit principle and culturally specific worship among other nasties currently infecting the church.
Finally, worship must divest itself of gimmicks, showmanship, ostentation, etc. learning to rely on and have confidence in the Spirit and Word to accomplish whatsoever He will in the church as it faithfully worships God in the way He commands.
This was a challenging book to read, digest, and review. Dense, heavily researched and documented, it contains solid correctives to the ‘mile wide, inch deep’ worship and theology of modern day evangelicalism and its increasingly odd offspring. Highly recommended. The book was provided gratis in exchange for a review.
For this review and others, see www.pilgrimsontheway.com
Is Christian worship in America (and elsewhere) in need of major, sound, biblically and historically grounded reform?
You might as well just ask ‘Is the pope Catholic?’
I, like the author, have similar theological education and experience in various types of churches, from dispensationalist charismatic in the 70’s, revivalistic Southern Baptist, mega churches, and a variety of mainline Protestant churches. With great relief in the last few years, I have found and joined a theologically profound, historically rich, deeply rooted church to worship and grow in, a Dutch Reformed heritage church (URCNA), quite a rare find in our day.
The thin spiritual gruel in most of those previous settings was sometimes just barely enough to keep a person spiritually alive, leaving those assembled spiritually enervated – like a diet of cotton candy vs. steak and potatoes or like searching for water in a bleak and parched desert vs. Minnesota. Sadly, places like my church are hard to find today, even among the theologically reformed, but that was not so much the case from the 16th to early 20th centuries.
Worshiping With Calvin is a substantial book of ~ 320 pages with a 40 page bibliography and 60 pages of end-notes. Not light reading by any means, but accessible to most Christians. He takes a threefold approach to worship analysis, much like the reformers, starting with an exegetical review of Scripture leading to theological analysis and then reviewing how early church leaders viewed those things to confirm or correct the exegetical and theological points. His book could also have been titled “Worshiping with the Apostles, the Early Church, and the Protestant Reformers”, but his title is fine I suppose.
As most already know, the primary reformers were deeply pious scholars with a remarkable passion for Christ and truth, rigorously demanding in their research and analysis of primary sources of the manuscripts of Scripture and Patristic era, and so becoming increasingly aware of how profoundly the Roman church had departed (apostatized) from the simple, yet profound worship and beliefs found in Scripture, a system that by medieval time had devolved in grotesquely unrecognizable ways from the Scriptural simplicity of apostolic teaching and practices.
The reformers derived certain basic theological principals from their intensive study of Scripture and early church leaders, to wit: the truths of Christian faith are found in Scripture alone which teaches that salvation is received because of divine grace alone, by the means of the gift of faith alone, resting solely in the full and final sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice alone, and all of that is to the glory of God alone.
Per the author:
Worship that glorifies God as He is in Himself, in the edification of His church, and inclusion of the outsider, is God, not human, centered, and looks solely to His divine, authoritative words as to how He will be approached and worshiped. This is in stark contrast to so-called seeker-sensitive, market-driven, revivalistic, emotion driven, and / or purely didactic approaches that have become increasingly common in so-called worship. Some of the highly influential Pied Pipers of these approaches are Hybels (Willow Creek), Warren (Saddleback), and Barna.
Worship of God is worship that is rich in Scripture in every aspect of the weekly liturgy, emphasizing God’s words over mans’. This is effected by reading in a continuing manner each week large portions of Scripture (with exposition) and likewise preaching expositorily through Scripture in a continuous manner. Prayers are to be rich in Scripture and fervently, humbly, in faith made to God in confession and thanksgiving for illumination and intercession. Whole Psalms and biblically rich hymns of the church are solely appropriate for congregational singing in the worship of God.
In the twin sacraments of the Supper and Baptism, God’s words must precede and accompany those important visual signs of the gospel of the new covenant in Christ’s blood, both being central and primary means of grace. The Lord’s Supper, like the Passover, is a simple, covenant meal around a table to be given to confessing, believing sinners, while baptism is to be administered as a simple washing to the children of believers and adult converts as a sign of covenant inclusion in the family of God.
Further, worship must be gospel structured (Christ-centered) with all elements of the weekly liturgy directly pointing to benefits which flow from the cross to His church, structured with a stable, well-thought out, soundly theological order. Some of its elements are preparation, praise, law & confession, word & sacrament, thanksgiving / blessing (with of course sub-elements for each).
True worship must be catholic, having knowledge of, respect and love for God’s people in all places, and times. Johnson challenges the enervating ideologies of the homogeneous unit principle and culturally specific worship among other nasties currently infecting the church.
Finally, worship must divest itself of gimmicks, showmanship, ostentation, etc. learning to rely on and have confidence in the Spirit and Word to accomplish whatsoever He will in the church as it faithfully worships God in the way He commands.
This was a challenging book to read, digest, and review. Dense, heavily researched and documented, it contains solid correctives to the ‘mile wide, inch deep’ worship and theology of modern day evangelicalism and its increasingly odd offspring. Highly recommended. The book was provided gratis in exchange for a review.
February 19, 2018
It would be hard to overstate the importance of this book by one of the leading authorities on worship in the reformed church. The book, along with its companion volume, Serving With Calvin, reminds us of what Biblical worship is, and what the reformers have taught us regarding how worship is to be structured and experienced. Readers are encouraged to compare the modern understanding of worship with the revelation of Scripture regarding how God demands to be approached, and to grasp, perhaps for the first time, what it is that we actually are doing in worship.
Central to the book is the central form of Biblical worship, which follows the nature of the gospel in moving from seeing who God is and praising Him, to seeing who we are and confessing our sin, to thanksgiving for His indescribable gift of salvation, to growing in our sanctification through the means of grace (Word, sacrament and prayer), to final blessing. Christian, do yourself a tremendous favor and get this book!
Central to the book is the central form of Biblical worship, which follows the nature of the gospel in moving from seeing who God is and praising Him, to seeing who we are and confessing our sin, to thanksgiving for His indescribable gift of salvation, to growing in our sanctification through the means of grace (Word, sacrament and prayer), to final blessing. Christian, do yourself a tremendous favor and get this book!
October 21, 2018
With today’s proliferation of the title “Reformed” for anyone or anything that agrees with at least most points of TULIP, the title has seemingly lost any implications for how one ought to worship. In equating Reformed with TULIP we forget that Calvin and the other early Reformers considered worship as the supreme issue of the Reformation. Terry Johnson communicates succinctly and effectively in this book for the need to reclaim primacy of worship for the “Reformed.” He also makes a compelling (and biblical) case for the depths and riches of historic Reformed worship. Anyone who became “reformed” through TULIP and/or outside a formal ecclesiastically Reformed body would benefit greatly in understanding the historic roots of the Reformed faith in its theology of worship from this book.
June 5, 2025
Johnson does a superb job tracing the history of biblical Christian worship, as recovered by the Reformers, and argues for its continuance today. I would recommend to pastors seeking to faithfully lead their congregations in biblical worship.
July 3, 2018
excellent book. much needed in this time of rejection of all things considered out of date and therefore bad. Johnson gives a sound case for retaining the traditional reformed worship.
June 18, 2014
This chunky book may seem intimidating but it contains such an interesting amount of information that I found my attention captured for its entirety. It is well laid-out and comprehensive for the most part. It gives and excellent and trust-worthy history of the Reformation- its great men of faith, its doctrines, its influence.
Primarily, Worshipping with Calvin seeks to deal with current problem of churches forsaking the God-glorifying traditions of the past in the aspect of worship. The author's goal is to open the eyes of Christians who have been letting a 'pop' attitude taint their worship.
I thought it was very good in that the author didn't lift Calvin or the other reformers up but always brought it back to God's word. It was because of Jesus that anything good took place during the Reformation.
Although a great book, I have my doubts that it will reach further than the audience which already believes the majority of what is put forth in this paperback tome! I know that ''reformed'' Baptists and especially Presbyterians will love this book.
But if the vision of the author was to reach the contemporary church I think he failed in his goal. The book is simply too large to capture the attention of most readers. Rather, it will appeal to Christians who are used to devouring 500-page books.
Lastly, I do have an issue with a portion of the book which will obviously not bother many of the readers of the book. I cannot agree with the portion on baptism. It is argued, as usual, that peudo-baptism is the New Testament equivalent of circumcision. Yet there are many errors in that view.
I will make a quick attempt at the thoughts which fill my heart as I read this chapter...Because of Jesus, we New Testament believers are in a whole new ''era''. No longer do we experience grace as a covenant people or even as covenant families but as individuals in covenant with God. Each person is responsible to God for his sin. There is no guarantee or promise that a Christian- no matter how faithful- will see each of his children come to Christ. There is no promise that a Christian's offspring are elect. By God's grace, it often happens that way. But not always. And there is definitely no promise in Scripture.
Baptizing your children as infants is a stumbling block to the poor children. They grow up thinking they are somehow under special grace when in truth, until Christ saves them there is no life in them! It is so similar, by the way, to the Arminian influence on children. In both groups, hundreds of children grow up thinking that they are going to heaven and that all that is needed is perhaps ''affirmation of their faith'' or sanctification!
Salvation doesn't come quietly or unnoticed. Not that every person will have a Saul-like conversion. But becoming a new person doesn't just happen gradually or secretly. An unsaved person is dead and a saved person is alive. It's so distinct.
Secondly, I thought this was pretty bad: page 190 quotes from a historic Presbyterian church's beliefs...''Emergency baptisms, those for dying infants were discouraged because of their magical implications. The infants of believers are already part of the covenant of which baptism is a sign, and are not at risk if the die before being baptized.''
If infants are indeed 'safe', then why not abort all our babies, so they can go to heaven?
And if infants or believers are safe, why are they not just as safe as 8-year olds, 14 year olds, 20-year olds? What makes the difference? Aren't we all born in sin?
The book also says: ''Because it was recognized that God's covenental dealings embrace believers and their children (Genesis 17:7, Acts 2:38-39), the Reformers affirmed the propriety of infant baptism.
Below is Genesis 17:7... Christians of the New Testament should not take Old Testament covenants such as this Abrahamic covenant and try to apply them to themselves! In this verse, God is speaking to His chosen people the Israelites.
Genesis 17:7
And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
As for the second verse, I quote from this article: (by a reformed Baptist pastor)
''Acts 2:38-39, which actually contains a promise to parents that if their children (or anyone
else for that matter) repent and believe, they too will have their sins forgiven and be saved...''
That is just my little attempt to explain what lay heavily on my heart as I read this otherwise great book. I know many more people who can explain it better.
I was very pleased to receive this complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
Primarily, Worshipping with Calvin seeks to deal with current problem of churches forsaking the God-glorifying traditions of the past in the aspect of worship. The author's goal is to open the eyes of Christians who have been letting a 'pop' attitude taint their worship.
I thought it was very good in that the author didn't lift Calvin or the other reformers up but always brought it back to God's word. It was because of Jesus that anything good took place during the Reformation.
Although a great book, I have my doubts that it will reach further than the audience which already believes the majority of what is put forth in this paperback tome! I know that ''reformed'' Baptists and especially Presbyterians will love this book.
But if the vision of the author was to reach the contemporary church I think he failed in his goal. The book is simply too large to capture the attention of most readers. Rather, it will appeal to Christians who are used to devouring 500-page books.
Lastly, I do have an issue with a portion of the book which will obviously not bother many of the readers of the book. I cannot agree with the portion on baptism. It is argued, as usual, that peudo-baptism is the New Testament equivalent of circumcision. Yet there are many errors in that view.
I will make a quick attempt at the thoughts which fill my heart as I read this chapter...Because of Jesus, we New Testament believers are in a whole new ''era''. No longer do we experience grace as a covenant people or even as covenant families but as individuals in covenant with God. Each person is responsible to God for his sin. There is no guarantee or promise that a Christian- no matter how faithful- will see each of his children come to Christ. There is no promise that a Christian's offspring are elect. By God's grace, it often happens that way. But not always. And there is definitely no promise in Scripture.
Baptizing your children as infants is a stumbling block to the poor children. They grow up thinking they are somehow under special grace when in truth, until Christ saves them there is no life in them! It is so similar, by the way, to the Arminian influence on children. In both groups, hundreds of children grow up thinking that they are going to heaven and that all that is needed is perhaps ''affirmation of their faith'' or sanctification!
Salvation doesn't come quietly or unnoticed. Not that every person will have a Saul-like conversion. But becoming a new person doesn't just happen gradually or secretly. An unsaved person is dead and a saved person is alive. It's so distinct.
Secondly, I thought this was pretty bad: page 190 quotes from a historic Presbyterian church's beliefs...''Emergency baptisms, those for dying infants were discouraged because of their magical implications. The infants of believers are already part of the covenant of which baptism is a sign, and are not at risk if the die before being baptized.''
If infants are indeed 'safe', then why not abort all our babies, so they can go to heaven?
And if infants or believers are safe, why are they not just as safe as 8-year olds, 14 year olds, 20-year olds? What makes the difference? Aren't we all born in sin?
The book also says: ''Because it was recognized that God's covenental dealings embrace believers and their children (Genesis 17:7, Acts 2:38-39), the Reformers affirmed the propriety of infant baptism.
Below is Genesis 17:7... Christians of the New Testament should not take Old Testament covenants such as this Abrahamic covenant and try to apply them to themselves! In this verse, God is speaking to His chosen people the Israelites.
Genesis 17:7
And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
As for the second verse, I quote from this article: (by a reformed Baptist pastor)
''Acts 2:38-39, which actually contains a promise to parents that if their children (or anyone
else for that matter) repent and believe, they too will have their sins forgiven and be saved...''
That is just my little attempt to explain what lay heavily on my heart as I read this otherwise great book. I know many more people who can explain it better.
I was very pleased to receive this complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
August 13, 2014
Worshipping with Calvin: Recovering the Historic Ministry and Worship of Reformed Protestantism by Terry L. Johnson
Having been a long time conversation partner in the worship debates and the development of Presbyterian worship and theology, Terry L. Johnson is the right person to write a book with the name Worshipping with Calvin. Terry builds a case for Reformed Worship along the lines of it being bible filled, church aware, gospel structured and spirit dependent. Also, he rails against the contemporary worship movement with its emphasis on emotional highs and loose structure as providing no theological and biblical foundations for believers to truly grow in their faith. What turns out is a book that is well-researched and builds a strong case for the enduring legacy of Reformed Worship.
In speaking about the nature of prayers of the Reformation Terry writes, “Consequently, while all the prayers of the Reformation era orders of service are based on Scripture, they followed the Patristic example in that some were prescribed and others were “left to the discretion of the minister,” as the rubrics say of Calvin’s prayer of illiumination (113).” The nature of their prayers was drawn from the pages of Scripture itself, prayer for civil authority, Christian ministry, all men, sanctification of the saints, and for the afflicted, while the very words of the prayers were sometimes left to the creativity and mind of the preacher. What this did was allow the congregation to hear prayers from its minister that were in keeping with God’s Word that would enrich and teach, while giving some liberty to the heart of the minister. This kind of bible filled prayer was key in keeping with the gospel message of the Scriptures, bringing God’s Word to bear on even the prayers, so personal and beautiful, of the ministers.
One of the most obvious but much needed admonitions of Terry to his readers is his writing about tradition. At one point he writes, “First, by honoring universal practice congregations can join hands in worship with the church of the past, the church triumphant, using the forms that they used before us; singing their hymns and psalms, praying their prayers, preaching expositorily (as they did), and generally using their order (265).” There is a common bond we have with the church going back centuries and this is no less apparent in our structures of worship, preaching, and prayers. Terry makes the case earlier that the early church fathers moved through preaching Sundays book by book through the Scriptures. Reformed churches that carry on this practice remain in solidarity with these ancient fathers and their practices.
I would say the greatest weakness of the book is Terry’s kneejerk reaction to the Contemporary Worship Movement. His criticism that the Contemporary Worship movement gives way to market driven approaches and pop culture is spot on, yet he offers no takeaway from these approaches that is positive. He quotes from Sally Morgenthaler about video clips being used in church service but offers no way in which these clips could be used for believer’s good. I’m not part of this contemporary worship movement but I’ve seen my share of video clips in Reformed and Presbyterian evangelical churches that is not over the top but really emphasizes the points of the sermon. Terry gives a rather unbalanced view of Contemporary Worship and blacklists the entire movement without giving credence to those churches (Reformed) that use these elements well.
I really enjoyed this book, especially the chapter on how the church has a past to contend with, a past with a rich view of worship.
Thanks to EP Books and Cross Focused Reviews for the copy of this book in exchange for review.
Having been a long time conversation partner in the worship debates and the development of Presbyterian worship and theology, Terry L. Johnson is the right person to write a book with the name Worshipping with Calvin. Terry builds a case for Reformed Worship along the lines of it being bible filled, church aware, gospel structured and spirit dependent. Also, he rails against the contemporary worship movement with its emphasis on emotional highs and loose structure as providing no theological and biblical foundations for believers to truly grow in their faith. What turns out is a book that is well-researched and builds a strong case for the enduring legacy of Reformed Worship.
In speaking about the nature of prayers of the Reformation Terry writes, “Consequently, while all the prayers of the Reformation era orders of service are based on Scripture, they followed the Patristic example in that some were prescribed and others were “left to the discretion of the minister,” as the rubrics say of Calvin’s prayer of illiumination (113).” The nature of their prayers was drawn from the pages of Scripture itself, prayer for civil authority, Christian ministry, all men, sanctification of the saints, and for the afflicted, while the very words of the prayers were sometimes left to the creativity and mind of the preacher. What this did was allow the congregation to hear prayers from its minister that were in keeping with God’s Word that would enrich and teach, while giving some liberty to the heart of the minister. This kind of bible filled prayer was key in keeping with the gospel message of the Scriptures, bringing God’s Word to bear on even the prayers, so personal and beautiful, of the ministers.
One of the most obvious but much needed admonitions of Terry to his readers is his writing about tradition. At one point he writes, “First, by honoring universal practice congregations can join hands in worship with the church of the past, the church triumphant, using the forms that they used before us; singing their hymns and psalms, praying their prayers, preaching expositorily (as they did), and generally using their order (265).” There is a common bond we have with the church going back centuries and this is no less apparent in our structures of worship, preaching, and prayers. Terry makes the case earlier that the early church fathers moved through preaching Sundays book by book through the Scriptures. Reformed churches that carry on this practice remain in solidarity with these ancient fathers and their practices.
I would say the greatest weakness of the book is Terry’s kneejerk reaction to the Contemporary Worship Movement. His criticism that the Contemporary Worship movement gives way to market driven approaches and pop culture is spot on, yet he offers no takeaway from these approaches that is positive. He quotes from Sally Morgenthaler about video clips being used in church service but offers no way in which these clips could be used for believer’s good. I’m not part of this contemporary worship movement but I’ve seen my share of video clips in Reformed and Presbyterian evangelical churches that is not over the top but really emphasizes the points of the sermon. Terry gives a rather unbalanced view of Contemporary Worship and blacklists the entire movement without giving credence to those churches (Reformed) that use these elements well.
I really enjoyed this book, especially the chapter on how the church has a past to contend with, a past with a rich view of worship.
Thanks to EP Books and Cross Focused Reviews for the copy of this book in exchange for review.
June 20, 2014
Today’s Book is one of those big, thick nerdy books. I like those books Smile
I think the first point to be made is that this is Worshipping with Calvin. Not “Worshipping Calvin,” or even “Worshipping like Calvin.” Too often, Reformed Protestant folks are accused of trying to sidle up more with their favorite Reformer than paying attention to the Word.
With that in mind, consider what Calvin and the other Reformers set out to do: recover Biblical practice in the Church at large. Most of them had shortcomings and blind spots in diverse areas, but they attempted to work through the implications of Biblical seriousness on all portions of life.
This includes the “worship” aspects of the Church gathered in community. This is the concept of worship addressed in this book—while there is adequate acknowledgement that worship is in all of life, the focus here is on the Church gathered.
Terry L. Johnson’s work here is clearly intended for extended thought and perusal. This is no summer beach read.
If it’s not a summer beach read, then what it is?
Worshipping with Calvin is a serious look at how Calvin structured and led churches in worship, and how those traditions morphed over time. Some attention is given to the rise of neo-Calvinism in Western Christianity, and this justifies the publication of the book. After all, if a church is embracing a Calvinist direction in its theology, as Capitol Hill Baptist in DC does, then a logical practical question is how that affects the worship gatherings of the church.
The case is made here for a robust worship service based in Scripture. Scripture should drive the content of the songs, Scripture should be read, and Scripture should be preached.
In the music, particularly, care is taken to highlight the value of varied types of music. Though many of the early Reformers had a preference for Psalm-singing only, Johnson advocates hymnody with a strong Biblical content as well. This is valuable.
Overall, I can appreciate the effort here. I think that Johnson is answering problems that affect some churches, but not all, though they are potentially hazardous anywhere people are involved.
I certainly must mention the largest drawback of this book: ENDNOTES. There are explanations and alternate points of view noted some hundred pages after the fact. It’s the publisher, but it’s still a drawback.
Additionally, I would suggest that this is a text for a serious study of worship, and would be a valuable part of a leadership examination of a church’s worship practice. It’s not a Sunday School book, for certain, and probably not one that will hold the interest of those moving quickly through topics.
I am not willing to say that Johnson has given us exactly how every church ought to worship, but he has given some excellent food for thought to the church.
432 pp, softcover, from EP Books. Also on Kindle.
Book received in exchange for the review. Review initially appeared at Learning, Teaching, and Laughing, my personal blog.
I think the first point to be made is that this is Worshipping with Calvin. Not “Worshipping Calvin,” or even “Worshipping like Calvin.” Too often, Reformed Protestant folks are accused of trying to sidle up more with their favorite Reformer than paying attention to the Word.
With that in mind, consider what Calvin and the other Reformers set out to do: recover Biblical practice in the Church at large. Most of them had shortcomings and blind spots in diverse areas, but they attempted to work through the implications of Biblical seriousness on all portions of life.
This includes the “worship” aspects of the Church gathered in community. This is the concept of worship addressed in this book—while there is adequate acknowledgement that worship is in all of life, the focus here is on the Church gathered.
Terry L. Johnson’s work here is clearly intended for extended thought and perusal. This is no summer beach read.
If it’s not a summer beach read, then what it is?
Worshipping with Calvin is a serious look at how Calvin structured and led churches in worship, and how those traditions morphed over time. Some attention is given to the rise of neo-Calvinism in Western Christianity, and this justifies the publication of the book. After all, if a church is embracing a Calvinist direction in its theology, as Capitol Hill Baptist in DC does, then a logical practical question is how that affects the worship gatherings of the church.
The case is made here for a robust worship service based in Scripture. Scripture should drive the content of the songs, Scripture should be read, and Scripture should be preached.
In the music, particularly, care is taken to highlight the value of varied types of music. Though many of the early Reformers had a preference for Psalm-singing only, Johnson advocates hymnody with a strong Biblical content as well. This is valuable.
Overall, I can appreciate the effort here. I think that Johnson is answering problems that affect some churches, but not all, though they are potentially hazardous anywhere people are involved.
I certainly must mention the largest drawback of this book: ENDNOTES. There are explanations and alternate points of view noted some hundred pages after the fact. It’s the publisher, but it’s still a drawback.
Additionally, I would suggest that this is a text for a serious study of worship, and would be a valuable part of a leadership examination of a church’s worship practice. It’s not a Sunday School book, for certain, and probably not one that will hold the interest of those moving quickly through topics.
I am not willing to say that Johnson has given us exactly how every church ought to worship, but he has given some excellent food for thought to the church.
432 pp, softcover, from EP Books. Also on Kindle.
Book received in exchange for the review. Review initially appeared at Learning, Teaching, and Laughing, my personal blog.
August 26, 2015
In Worshipping with Calvin: Recovering the Historic Ministry and Worship of Reformed Protestantism, Terry L. Johnson intends to "identify biblical norms and advocate their implementation in our day, without regard for polling data," (Kindle location 186). This book is an apology to restore the reformed practice of the Word read, preached, prayed, and sung with the sacraments administered publicly and frequently. The author lays the foundation for returning to the basics of worship based on biblical guidelines; however, practical applications for implementation will be available in his next book, Serving with Calvin.
Mr. Johnson is primarily concerned with historic Reformed worship and ministry, and therefore, chose to focus on its decline in the conservative Presbyterian denominations. As a Reformed Baptist, I agreed with many points made by Mr. Johnson since they also align with the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, Chapter 22, paragraph 5: "The reading of Scriptures, preaching, and hearing the Word of God, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord; as also the administration of baptism, and the Lord's Supper, are all parts of religious worship of God..." As to be expected, I did not agree with his view of Paedobaptism or Covenant Theology.
Thankfully, the Reformed Baptist church that I attend practices many of the reforms recommended by Mr. Johnson. For the lay-person, this book has good information (especially if you are Presbyterian), but if you do not attend a church that agrees with the principles and practices of Reformed worship, then your only recourse would be to suggest that the elders read Worshipping with Calvin. Based on the unique subject of this book, the target audience is very limited, especially in a Presbyterian setting where change happens from the top down, not from the congregation.
Mr. Johnson makes a case for singing God's word from the psalter by showing that Psalm-singing is biblical, historical, emotionally satisfying, and sanctifying. Even though I cannot change the worship structure of my church, this book did inspire me to focus on Psalm singing in my personal devotion time and as an alternate to Contemporary Christian Music in my car and on my phone.
Overall, I recommend this book for elders or leaders of Christian churches who do not currently adhere to the religious worship guidelines outlined in the Westminster Confession of Faith or the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. Readers outside of the Presbyterian denomination should be aware that they will encounter some theological differences and possible disagreement with some of the analysis of biblical history during the Reformation.
Full Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Mr. Johnson is primarily concerned with historic Reformed worship and ministry, and therefore, chose to focus on its decline in the conservative Presbyterian denominations. As a Reformed Baptist, I agreed with many points made by Mr. Johnson since they also align with the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, Chapter 22, paragraph 5: "The reading of Scriptures, preaching, and hearing the Word of God, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord; as also the administration of baptism, and the Lord's Supper, are all parts of religious worship of God..." As to be expected, I did not agree with his view of Paedobaptism or Covenant Theology.
Thankfully, the Reformed Baptist church that I attend practices many of the reforms recommended by Mr. Johnson. For the lay-person, this book has good information (especially if you are Presbyterian), but if you do not attend a church that agrees with the principles and practices of Reformed worship, then your only recourse would be to suggest that the elders read Worshipping with Calvin. Based on the unique subject of this book, the target audience is very limited, especially in a Presbyterian setting where change happens from the top down, not from the congregation.
Mr. Johnson makes a case for singing God's word from the psalter by showing that Psalm-singing is biblical, historical, emotionally satisfying, and sanctifying. Even though I cannot change the worship structure of my church, this book did inspire me to focus on Psalm singing in my personal devotion time and as an alternate to Contemporary Christian Music in my car and on my phone.
Overall, I recommend this book for elders or leaders of Christian churches who do not currently adhere to the religious worship guidelines outlined in the Westminster Confession of Faith or the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. Readers outside of the Presbyterian denomination should be aware that they will encounter some theological differences and possible disagreement with some of the analysis of biblical history during the Reformation.
Full Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 23, 2016
Read the complete review at ACTIVE/didactic
The recent resurgence of Calvinistic soteriology and Reformation theology has sparked many a conversation and produced quite a few popular-level books by the "Young, Restless, and Reformed" crowd. Although we've seen many responses to these works, typically addressing the theology and general ideology of the New Calvinism movement, Terry Johnson sets out to provide a scholarly work that focuses on the elements of Reformed worship...
...Although this is a book primarily aimed at Presbyterians, I would recommend this book to any one who claims to be a Protestant Christian—particularly Pastors and Elders. Johnson offers a cogent exhortation for modern Christians to compare their liturgy with Scripture and Church history. He provides an abundance of Scriptural references, and quotes a multitude of well-known Pastors, theologians, and church historians (around 37% of the book is comprised of a bibliography and notes) to support his position. Terry Johnson's "Worshipping with Calvin" is a helpful resource for Christians who want to glorify God in worship according to His Word.
The recent resurgence of Calvinistic soteriology and Reformation theology has sparked many a conversation and produced quite a few popular-level books by the "Young, Restless, and Reformed" crowd. Although we've seen many responses to these works, typically addressing the theology and general ideology of the New Calvinism movement, Terry Johnson sets out to provide a scholarly work that focuses on the elements of Reformed worship...
...Although this is a book primarily aimed at Presbyterians, I would recommend this book to any one who claims to be a Protestant Christian—particularly Pastors and Elders. Johnson offers a cogent exhortation for modern Christians to compare their liturgy with Scripture and Church history. He provides an abundance of Scriptural references, and quotes a multitude of well-known Pastors, theologians, and church historians (around 37% of the book is comprised of a bibliography and notes) to support his position. Terry Johnson's "Worshipping with Calvin" is a helpful resource for Christians who want to glorify God in worship according to His Word.
January 25, 2015
So what did I think. Thought provoking. Not sure of some of his arguments and I think the author confuses the issues around using metrical psalms and hymns, although I would have to agree , in general, with his view on "praise" music as it is today.
I do believe it should be on a "must read " list for anyone with even a passing interest in religious liturgy. It is an easy book to read and draws you to its pages. The argument, on the whole, are well constructed and balanced.
I do believe it should be on a "must read " list for anyone with even a passing interest in religious liturgy. It is an easy book to read and draws you to its pages. The argument, on the whole, are well constructed and balanced.
September 1, 2015
I disagree with the author on Baptism but give it 5 stars notwithstanding.
June 21, 2014
Read my review here:
http://reformed-at-last.blogspot.com/...
http://reformed-at-last.blogspot.com/...
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews