Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice

by Bryan Chapell

The church's worship has always been shaped by its understanding of the gospel. Here the bestselling author of Christ-Centered Preaching brings biblical and historical perspective to discussions about worship, demonstrating that the gospel has shaped key worship traditions and should shape today's worship as well.

This accessible and engaging book provides the church with a Christ-centered understanding of worship to help it transcend the traditional/contemporary worship debate and unite in ministry and mission priorities. Contemporary believers will learn how to shape their worship based on Christ's ministry to and through them. The book's insights and practical resources for worship planning will be useful to pastors, worship leaders, worship planning committees, missionaries, and worship and ministry students.

Genres: Theology, Nonfiction, Christian, Church, Ecclesiology, Reference, Christianity

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2009

About the author

Bryan Chapell is the president of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America. He began teaching at Covenant in 1984 after ten years in pastoral ministry. Chapell has a BSJ from Northwestern University, an MDiv from Covenant Theological Seminary, and a PhD in speech communication from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Before becoming president in 1994, he served for six years as vice president for academics and dean of faculty. He is a speaker in churches and conferences around the country, preaching and lecturing on topics including grace, marriage, and journalism. Chapell's online broadcast ministry, Living Christ 360, contains additional resources in his areas of expertise.

Reviews

[Walter Shaw - · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’ve never thought about why the church does what it does when it gathers together on Sunday morning, Bryan Chapell’s Christ-Centered Worship is a fantastic introduction to the elements of corporate worship and you will benefit tremendously from reading it. The book is divided into two halves - a historical survey of liturgies within the Christian tradition, and then an overview of the parts that make up a liturgy, with the focus being on how the liturgies of our worship gatherings are shaped by the gospel story.
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Chapell helpfully draws out how the structures of the liturgies of Luther, Calvin, and the Westminster assembly all reflect the story of the gospel, and encourages his reader to do the same with their liturgy. Among the aspects of Christ-Centered worship that Chapell finds are adoration, confession, assurance, thanksgiving, intercession, instruction, communion and blessing. The elements tell the story of creation, fall, redemption, and new creation and ensure that the entire gospel is being proclaimed each time the church gathers for corporate worship.
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One of the things I appreciated about this book was the way that Chapell aggregates many examples of the different elements of worship. The person who is new to composing a liturgy will find many helpful resources (Scripture passages, hymns, and contemporary songs) for elements like calls to worship, benedictions and confessions of sin.
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In my experience, when it comes to worship and liturgy, there are two kinds of people in today’s Christian - people who know a lot about worship and liturgy, and people who have never thought about it before. I would recommend this book as an excellent introductory read for the person who has never thought about it before, and for the person who has thought about it way too much, I’m thinking the next book I read on this topic (Worship: Reformed According to the Scriptures) by Hughes Oliphant Old) will be more up your alley.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was written for a class project, which shaped my approach to the content:

Chapell's book is primarily concerned with the type of storytelling we do with our worship services. “Liturgy tells a story. We tell the gospel by the way we worship” (p. 19). What do our worship patterns communicate? It is not a matter of if, but what (p. 18). Thus the first part of Chapell's work is concerned with detailing not merely how the church has told the gospel story throughout church history, but then what types of stories they have thereby told through their various liturgies.

This work is aimed at equipping church leaders for building and stewarding Christ-centered worship within their communities: “Those who build churches have been forced to consider how their understanding of the gospel gets communicated by the structures in which it is presented” (v. 17). While Chapell gives significant space to outlining the major liturgies of the Western church, this are not presented as ironclad traditions to be implemented without change or accommodation. He notes:

“We may not agree with the way all of those liturgies frame the truths of the gospel, but it's hard to fault the missional impulse behind those designs. Our goal, therefore, should not be to mimic the liturgies that follow but to learn how the church was used worship to fulfill the gospel purposes through the ages so that we can intelligently design worship services that will fulfill gospel purposes today” (p. 21).

Thus within this framework, the liturgies of Rome, Luther, Calvin, Westminster, Rayburn are discussed, analyzing their various elements of worship and their theological rationales for their liturgical emphases. I will not repeat all the removing parts or developments here. I will note two key features in his work from the transition to Pre-Trent worship to Reformation worship liturgies. Given the context of the other works called out for reading in this class, it is surprising that it is Chapell alone who notes the significant element of worship that was added (or reclaimed) during the Reformation: congregational singing. Chapell notes (p. 28) the effect of the Council of Laodicea (363-364 AD), which declared in Canon 15, “No others shall sing in the Church, save only the canonical singers, who go up into the ambo and sing from a book.” The impact on this was over 1,000 years of liturgies without congregational worship. It's staggering to realize that one of the primary ways the Reformation shaped the church was simply through reclaiming congregational singing - something we take for granted in every Christian worship context today. Along these lines, Chapell notes that another effect of the Reformation was a shift in focus: “Instead of the service requiring a priest to offer Christ again in sacrifice, Luther understood worship as God's gift to the people. Through the liturgy, God's people could praise him for grace already completed in Christ's finished work of salvation” (p. 35). While the nature and practice of the Lord's Supper continued to be a key feature in Reformation debates, it was displaced as the central focus in the nature of what it's function was intended to communicate: Rather than being the primary gift of grace within corporate worship, the corporate worship context itself was God's gift to his people to draw near to him.

While discussing these various approaches to worship is fascinating, given the context of this paper's audience and class, it would be slightly redundant to recapitulate the various aspects of Rome, Luther, Calvin, Westminster, and Rayburn's liturgies. What follows after these sections is a broader discussion about the story of Christ in the Gospel story, and how the “worship of the church honors the gospel” (100). The function of worship, while it is primarily God's gift to us and our glad response to Him, is didactically training us in the Gospel itself. Chapell's fundamental applications are liberating in his tone and approach, because, as he states, “The Bible mercifully denies us the worship detail we may desire, keeping our worship focused on heavenly themes rather than earthly priorities” (107). This approach neuters the “worship wars” that are so tedious and soul-numbing to wade through, and keeps us focused on receiving more of Christ through Biblically informed and Gospel shaped worship. As Chapell notes:

“Worship that is Christ-centered leads the heart down the path it must follow to appreciate Christ's ministry. This gospel-formed path always puts us in contact with God's glory, our sin, his provision, our response, and his peace. By walking a worship path in step with this redemptive rhythm we simultaneously discover the pattern of our liturgy and grace of our Savior” (115).

The chapters that follow approach this reality through contextualizing our worship so that our liturgies intelligible encounters with the Living Christ both to believers and non-believers. While being contextual is important, Chapell couches this within the observation that this should “express a pattern of Christian worship, but should not encourage elimination of the Gospel pattern of our worship” (122).

Helpfully within this context, Chapell speaks to the missional values that shape our worship. Here Chapell makes cultural observations that may inform our biases positively or negatively in how we seek to express Christ-centered worship. These preferences are best situated when we are self-aware of them within the framework of the Biblical data and priorities of the Gospel. They cannot be avoided, nor should they be ignored. In fact, it is within this self-awareness about our own biases that worship can be situated to be more missionally engaging to our non-Christian neighbors. We should expect them to be a part of God's worship, not because we have excelled at marketing campaigns, our artisanal coffee selection, our musical performances, or dynamite child care, but because God is always working through his community's corporate witness to draw people to himself. As Chapell notes, “Healthy worship is one of the church's most effective evangelism tools” (133).

Chapell ends section one by summarizing the various major themes and various aspects that are tools for constructing our Christ-centered liturgies. Restating them here would be unnecessary at this moment.

With all of this material presented in brief, I turn to give a few thoughts about how the author's work has shaped my ministry. I do not say the following to curry favor with the author and professor of our class, but in short, this book has been the foundational text that has shaped how we have built our worship services in our church plant work. There are ways we have deviated from it at times (to be discussed in my worship service paper), but those are beside the point. We read this work as a leadership team at the beginning of our church planting work in 2015, and it revitalized our conception and practice of corporate worship in ways that continue to shape us today. We have, in effect, taken a simplified version of Calvin's worship service as captured in this book and implemented it with small adjustments here or there. It has helped me to appreciate that the nature of Christ-centered worship is: God calls us into his grace, and we respond by his grace. This call and response element has helped me to explain numerous times over the years to our congregation what our liturgy does and why we value it. For the non-Christians who are regularly among us, I will explain briefly why we are making certain moves within our worship service along these lines of God's call and our response. This work has shaped our corporate liturgy to be self-consciously Christ-centered from top to bottom, for which I am deeply grateful.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book overall. I finally read it after having the opportunity to hear Bob Kauflin teach on the material contained here multiple times. So it felt like being finally introduced to a person you've heard about for a long time. But definitely worth the read.

[Shane Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review:

Those aware (and critical) of the influence of Liberalism on the modern evangelical church would have a field day when it comes to the “stuff” that takes place on a Sunday gathering prior to the sermon. “Worship” has dissolved into just those thirty minutes before a message, or sometimes even less. In this time, congregants indulge in stirring up their feelings, led by the quasi-high-priest of our era, the “worship-leader”, whose presence is vital if we are to gain access to God and truly “meet with him”, as it were. How did we get here? Where even are we? History certainly could help us, and it would seem that Bryan Chapell is of the same opinion. In his Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape our Practice, readers are at once faced with history, bible and example. It’s a three-armed attack on the contemporary church and her own three besetting sins: the obsession with consumerism, individualism, and pragmatism. Serving as the president of Covenant Theological Seminary, a former pastor and present speaker, Chapell has written a wonderful resource for church leaders that will alert them to the rich tapestry of liturgical practices seen in both Scripture and history. If churches are to regain meaningful worship, then we need to understand that our “order of worship conveys an understanding of the gospel…our worship practices always communicate something” (18). For Chapell, this “something” necessarily ought to be the gospel we proclaim. Christ-Centered Worship investigates the many ways we can and should structure our gatherings as churches so as to best tell the gospel, not only in word but also in liturgy.

Summary
Chapell’s work can be divided into three main sections: an historical survey of worship practices, a biblical survey of worship elements, and finally a section of thorough application of the principles gleaned from the first two sections.

Concerning the historical survey, the opening six chapters begin on the premise that “structures tell stories” (15). It is this truth that fundamentally has shaped historical liturgies, which Chapel defines as “the public way a church honors God in its times of gathered praise, prayer, instruction, and commitment” (18). Chapell’s concern for the historical survey is borne out of the fact that the “order of worship conveys an understanding of the gospel” (18). As such, there is much to benefit in drinking from the historical fountain, discerning and obtaining the structures that, intentionally or not, tell us something about the gospel, for good or ill (19). Chapell discerns two fundamental movements in the liturgies surveyed: the Word and the Upper Room (20). In each, elements serve to prepare a congregation for the proclamation of the Word and reception of the sacrament, respectively. Beginning with Rome (pre-1570), Chapell’s survey includes the liturgies as practiced by Luther (1526), Calvin (1542), Westminster (1645), and Robert G. Rayburn (1980). Each analysis is complete with a careful look at the various elements, showcasing how each part related to the whole, as well as marking the progression and internal logic of the respective liturgies. Another important part of Chapell’s survey is the helpful comparison between the various liturgies. The consistency and similarities are highlighted showing that there were shared fundamental assumptions behind the respective authors, assumptions that tied their faith and practice together as one, albeit in varying historical and social contexts.

In chapter seven, Chapell’s emphasis moves from an historical survey to a more biblically directed analysis. This is not at all to question the biblical faithfulness of the liturgies as we find them in history, rather Chapell wishes to understand whether or not the gospel, as biblically defined, inherently calls for certain structures that, if absent, would render the so-called “gospel” as no gospel at all (85). It is in this section that Chapell follows the very contours of the gospel; always linking the parts back to the repeated patterns that are evidenced in the historical survey. Chapell’s thesis, as stated above, is that any order of worship ought to be a “re-presentation” of the gospel, both in Word and sacrament (99). Readers are provided with a host of examples from the Old (102–107) and New Testament (107-11), in which a familiar pattern arises. Such a pattern, for Chapell, reaches its apex in the life of Christ and the Gospel preached in his name. Worship is thus a movement from the revelation of God to sinners in which a response of awe, praise and obedience are rendered out of thanks to God’s mercy in Christ. The gospel, then, “forms its own container,” since “certain principles are always essential when communicating a complete gospel story” (110). This, for Chapell, is Christ-centered worship: worship that is constrained and directed by gospel priorities, since the “grace God provides through his Son is the thread that sews the service together” (113).

The book takes a notable shift in chapter ten with a view to applying both the historical survey and the biblical witness concerning Christ-centered worship. It is here where Chapell introduces the role of the church’s mission (126) and necessity of having gospel priorities (130). These ought to determine worship decisions in the life of the church, specifically if churches are to avoid succumbing to division along lines of musical preference. On this basis, Chapell moves to discuss the prevailing principles gleaned from the first two sections, which brings him to arrive at eight aspects of Christ-Centered Worship: adoration, confession, assurance, thanksgiving, petition and intercession, instruction, communion/fellowship, and charge and blessing (141). The rest of this section explicates and models specifically how these aspects can be utilized through various appropriate components such as prayers, readings, affirmations, testimonies, and music (146).

Critical Evaluation

A Solution to A-Historical Contemporary Worship
Christ-Centered Worship has, in my view, many strengths. Most notably is the historical research and analysis. I was struck by how Chapell’s work shows how many churches today are simply divorced from any historical Christian practices and instead resemble greater influence from the world and culture. Many reasons could be given for such a discrepancy. In my own country, evangelicalism is a largely fractured movement with not much coherency to it. But an underlying assumption among many is that the Bible is simple silent on matters regarding ecclesiology and our corporate gatherings. Chapell’s work thus presents a timeless antidote to such ignorance or arrogance (its hard to discern at times). The gospel as celebrated throughout the historical liturgies ought to frankly embarrass many congregations today in which little to no Scripture is read, hymns and psalms of bygone eras lie in dust-covered hymnals, and we walk in to auditoriums with out coffee of choice in anticipation of supporting the preaching centers we call “churches”. Readers will be challenged to consider their practices and those of the past and will have to reckon with their own attempts to be biblically faithful, if that is a conviction they hold. Indeed, I am of the belief that much of today’s worship methodology simply communicates a certain arrogance and snobbery toward what has come before: we are the age of evolution and progress, caring more about feelings and vibes than doctrine and weightiness. Surveying how centuries of churches understood themselves in light of the gospel will help us if we are to humbly stand on their shoulders.

Structural Communication
Connected to the historical survey is Chapell’s more fundamental insistence that structures inherently communicate something, whether intended or not (17-18). This, for me, is another strength of Christ-Centered Worship, and serves to undergird why a historical survey is of any worth. It is because the Reformers and other divines after them understood these structural communicative acts that liturgy was taken seriously. From wind veins (15) to the placement of the pulpit (16) there was an understanding that the “medium is the message” (17). I do not think that churches practice “non-structural” communication in their gatherings. What readers need to discern is that something is always being communicated. Singing for thirty-minutes straight with the chorus on repeat seven times may just subtly (or not so subtly) communicate that God can be heard or we can gain access to him only once we conjure up the right feelings, as if our many words somehow convince him of our worth (Jesus had something to say about this). As such, Chapell’s overall burden is one the modern evangelical church needs to embrace: an understanding that how we do things is preparing our people in a certain way. We communicate something both about our God and ourselves as we gather. Is he adored? Do we confess our sin? Do we receive his assurance? In his Word instructing us? Are we being sent out as those blessed and commissioned? All these and more are brought under the scope and shown to be of vital importance in forming our people, in discipling them to obey all that Christ has commanded.

Resources Aplenty
A final strength I wish to highlight is the obvious resource that this book is. Besides the links and lists of websites, hymnals, and other material, the examples given with a plethora of variations is a well many a pastor can drink from and practically implement in the life of the church starting tomorrow. There is enough freedom here to explore, to consider your context, as well as present a diversity of prayers, songs, varying orders, and readings that will enliven our congregations and spur them on to love and good deeds.

Chapell on the Regulative Principle
There are, at least in my mind, two minor critiques that Christ-Centered Worship invites. The first is in regards to the regulative principle. Of course, the categories of the regulative and normative principle are themselves extra-biblical and are open to debate. However, Chapell does not clearly adjudicate on the matter or present his own understanding of the regulative principle. It is mentioned in passing with respects to Calvin’s liturgy and convictions (44), but for Chapell what is primary and of first importance is whether or not “formative gospel principles are embedded” in any given liturgy (44). This may not strike the reader as a major flaw, but as we shall see in my next point, the lack of clarity proves to provide somewhat of a shaky ground when applied.

A Potentially Pragmatic and Ambiguous Thesis
Chapell’s silence on the regulative principle seems to be trumped by a concern for what he calls “gospel principles” (296). This idea appears to be Chapell’s main thesis. To be sure, yes, emphasizing the gospel is grounds for establishing unity amidst a plethora of modern music tastes (297). At the same time, Chapell is right to assert that “music communicates our values, anchors our feelings, and expresses our hearts” (296). However I am somewhat convinced that his thesis may be liable to pragmatism, especially since it is coupled with the important task of deciphering the “calling” of our churches to their “specific setting” (296). I may not inherently disagree with Chapell’s proposal here—I simply have some questions. To what degree is this “calling” of the church to minister to their given setting to determine their worship? The ambiguity here is somewhat confusing; especially given the fact that nowhere does Chapell assert the role of the regulative or normative principles. As far as I am concerned, Scripture speaks of one “calling” of the church, one mission that cannot change drastically from one culture to another.

I think this may be showcased in the small passing comments that churches could ease tension in preferences by offering services with different styles (297). Chapell admits that such a practice is simply a stopgap but seems to imply that churches could work toward creating separate churches. I find that entertaining such a thought undermines the very point Chapell is attempting to make: working toward a consensus on musical styles. What “structural message” (17) is communicated when churches are divided along musical styles? It’s also seen the comments concerning the Lord’s Supper (293-4). Little mention is made of 1 Cor 10:16-17 which clearly teaches that the bread and cup give evidence to the oneness of the many. On this basis I think that this would (at least) imply that certain ways of administering the Table are ruled out, since what kind of message is being communicated by the structures we employ? Such observations and critiques may be deemed as unnecessary but I sense the ambiguity over the regulative principle potentially breeds some inconsistency in respects to some aspects of liturgy.

Conclusion

Our order of worship conveys an understanding of the gospel whether we intend to or not (18). What will it be? Will our churches celebrate consumerism, individualism and pragmatism? Or will they be bound by Scripture and directed by the formative pattern we see throughout its pages? A pattern that includes our adoration of the King, affirmations of his truth, confession of who we are before him, being assured that his mercy and grace in his Son provides pardon, that we in turn thank and praise him and receive further instruction on how to live as those called to be his ambassadors to a fallen, rebellious world? That such grace and mercy is displayed in our partaking of a meal and being charged with blessing and the Spirit’s empowerment. It is such churches that allow the gospel to permeate their gathering on Sundays that will inevitably arrive at a similar pattern, since history itself attests to such a reality. Chapell’s historical survey, biblical analysis, and helpful examples and rubrics for corporate worship are an invaluable resource for pastors and church leaders should they wish to be distinct from the world and let the gospel shape their practice. This is a resource I know I will again come back to and utilize for the glory of God and the good of his people.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very informative read on the structure of our Sunday gatherings, provides a detailed look into different structures too. I found parts of this book interesting but others seemed very slow and repetitive. If you’re curious about why we do what we do in worship services this is a great book to read.

[Marc Sims · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real helpful historical/theological/biblical survey of the liturgy of Sunday morning and how it should reflect the gospel. Very persuasive and loaded to the hilt with practical resources. I will definitely return to this when organizing a corporate worship gathering.

[Gareth Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really helpful book about what worship looks like in a church service context. Chapell shows how worship is not about our pretences but rather the gospel. A good introduction for anyone thinking this through.

[Neil Kruger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapell provides a helpful introduction to liturgy and corporate worship, which I suspect, much of Evangelicalism needs. For those ignorant of the importance of the subject, his comparisons of historical liturgies, exposition of biblical fundamentals regarding corporate worship and many other practical suggestions will prove helpful.

Chapell argues that liturgy and corporate worship should express the contours of the gospel. This premise is well-argued throughout. Perhaps these aspects are exactly what Chapell intended to address, and this certainly would speak to a large audience. However, I was left unsatisfied that topics such as the regulative principle, psalm singing, and the beauty and goodness of certain forms of music were covered only in passing.

[Demetrius Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a guy who grew up in the Pentecostal church, this was an interesting book. This was Chapell's description and defense of the liturgy. And honestly, coming from my circles, I've never been exposed to liturgical forms of worship; so I was eager to hear all about it. To have it described was good, but what I was really hoping for was to have it explained. What is liturgy? Okay, got it. It's basically making sure a worship service contains 8 main pieces: adoration, confession, assurance, thanksgiving, petition, instruction, communion, benediction. But why liturgy? Now, this didn't come through as strong. The best I got was that it was a re-presentation of the gospel. But, why would worship be that? All that? Certainly it's adoration and thanksgiving (notice the upward focus). But, confession, assurance? Those things are good and necessary. But, are they elements of worship?? They strike me as downward activity. So there remains some significant disconnect for me regarding the weekly incorporation of all these elements.

And another thing, coming from the Pentecostal heritage we like to leave things open for the Spirit's leading. There's a high premium placed on spontaneity. Give room for the Spirit to guide and direct. I've always appreciated that in our movement, and believe it's a good thing to have. But, with that, I've always thought that expository preaching could have a meaningful place in our churches to engender the best of both worlds. To create constructive tension. Freedom and spontaneity in worship, yet studied and planned substance of the Word. Two different approaches, that can speak to two different sensibilities, and yet round us all out. I have always thought it was doable. So when I read Chapell's Christ-Centered Preaching, I was like, oh, here it is! But, now that I read Christ-Centered Worship, I think if we were to do this we'd be taking it too far. If we were to do this - the entire service would be scripted! And the liturgy makes for a LOT of reading. And a LOT of routine. The quality of our meetings would become quite structured and heavy. So as a Pentecostal I ask, is there no place for spontaneity? Why does it have to be all one way or the other? All spontaneous or all scripted? This is the very thing I've longed to get away from. I still desire the best of both worlds.

So why three stars? Well, I think it's a good book. And I like Chapell. He doesn't come across as 'my way or the highway.' He's reasonable, sensible, and interesting to read. I also think the book serves as a great trove of ideas. The second half of the work contains a slew of Scriptures and songs suited for occasions where the components of the liturgy might find a proper place. So one week, if you need a song of confession, or another week, a Scripture for a benediction, Chapell has made this a wonderful and handy resource.

Given all my unanswered questions regarding the liturgy as a worship model, this book is definitely a keeper. I plan to let the big idea sit with me for a while and allow it's component parts inspire imagination for how they could be interjected in a worship gathering.

[Jeremy Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful, though sometimes ambiguous, instruction on how a church's liturgy demonstrates its priorities and practices. Chapell's survey of liturgy throughout church history paints a poignant picture of consistent themes in corporate worship. I think he does an excellent job of describing how some of these themes shape the gospel priorities of a church's corporate worship. Moreover, he superbly draws attention to the need for the application of the Word into the lives of the congregation. Finally, this book is a treasure-trove of resources. I know I will return to in the future as a reference book when planning services.

As a point of critique, I was surprised by the absence of writing on the regulative principle. I'm not sure what Chapell practices in his own church, but with the book's writing on the reformed tradition in worship, I was surprised to see the regulative principle mentioned only in passing. The regulative principle is a significant theme of reformation worship (and of all churches who seek to be guided by God's word in their corporate worship) so its absence in this book is deeply felt.

[Connor Longaphie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. It goes through the various liturgical traditons and highlights the differences between them and the doctrines that are represented by our practice. It then goes through the scriptures and shows where exactly we draw our liturgies from. After all that it gives eamples of each piece of a christian liturgy. My issues with this book are minor but they do exist. The first of my issues being that it is does not explain how the Regulative Principle of Worship that the Reformed believe in plays out which is a doctrine somewhat lost in the broader protestant church today, which I believe is mainly due to ignorance of it. The second issue I have is that this book promotes a Christocentric theory and method of worship. Similar to the Christocentric exegesis that is promoted by many today, this is a fractional theory and practice that seeks to glorify the other persons of the Trinity through focusing on the Son. My issue with this method is not that it states that all worship and Scripture is about Christ but rather that it is focused on Christ. Rather I understand all Scripture and worship and theology to be focused on the collective Trinity rather than on the Trinity culminating in the person of Christ.

[Dorothy Vandezande · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It explains so much about the history of the different aspects of worship and their value and importance. I love how it breaks down every part of the historical liturgy and explains the significance and value of each element. He also offers suggestions for how to gently and seamlessly incorporate these meaningful liturgical details into even very modern styled services.
Additionally, there were many theological expositions and so much godly encouragement in the faith. Highly recommend for every worshiper.

[Brenden Wentworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended!

Chapell gives a gospel-centered focus and feast on what it looks like to have biblically rooted liturgical texture and flow to the Sunday service, as well as providing theological and practical considerations.

A treasure trove that every pastor (or congregant) should read, think through, and digest to know how to honor Christ as maximally on Sunday as possible

[Cliff Dailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for the church leader, especially worship director or coordinator.

Chapell reports on liturgical formations throughout church history. You'll never look at church services the same after reading this book.

[Dustin Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall very helpful! Chapell does an incredible job analyzing key liturgies throughout church history, and then showing how their key elements can impact our liturgies today. For anyone thinking critically about liturgy, this book is worth the read.

[Randy Corn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me at the Bible Conference in March of this year. I purchased it, and have slowly read through it. It was not what I expected. I had read a couple of books about worship in the last few years and had seen them focus either on the “worship wars” or on the biblical pattern of worship. Chapell does something quite different. He moors his discussion in the context of the historical development of worship in the Christian Church. What that essentially means is there is a strong emphasis on liturgy.

Coming from the “low-church” tradition I have never seen much emphasis on liturgy and in my own pastoral practice I have not done much with it either. I have to say that putting all of this in its historical context was interesting. I am sure that Chapell has given me much to think about with this volume.

The subtitle of the book is “Letting the gospel shape or practice” and what that means is the very form of the service should be a presentation of the gospel. This has to do with the prayers that are prayed, the Scripture reading done, and the songs that are sung, as well as the sermon. I have to admit that I never really gave that much thought to how to do this with the broad movement of the service. I am afraid that this means I have been guilty of the very thing that most advocates of a “low-church” approach rail against. Without intending it, I have fallen into a pattern, an unintentional liturgy. What’s more it could easily become a sort of “vain repetition.

I fully intend to think through the issues which this book raises and discuss them with some minister friends. I can see it causing an evolution in my approach to church services.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful and very thought-provoking book. Perfectly timed in the providence of God just after I had finished The Gospel Driven Church. The first book stirred a hunger and cast a vision, but it did very little to help me find my practical way forward. In Christ Centered Worship, Bryan Chapell provided that way forward by showing how the way we structure our worship services must tell (re-present) the story of the gospel. Using examples from both Scripture and the history of the church, Chapell demonstrates the consistent importance of "telling" the story of the gospel not only in our language, but also in our symbols and even the very the elements our our service. He stresses the importance of believers being nourished by the gospel in this way themselves, as well as the inevitable evangelistic result of people coming into regular contact with the heart of God in the gospel. The multitude of historical examples Chapell cited encouraged me to take a much more careful, thoughtful, and even biblical approach to answering the ever important pastoral question, "why do we do what we do?" I would recommend this book to all pastors and worship leaders - those responsible for putting a worship service together; as well as those in the congregation who desire to enter into the elements of their liturgy with a zeal produced by understanding!

[Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read this for worship and theology at western seminary...there was a few good things in here, but I can't believe his summary of church history! He spends about 5% of the book on the first 1500 years and then begins getting detailed with the reformation. I want more pre-constantinian thoughts on worship.

One of a few reasons I dropped out of Western (portland/san jose).

[Eric Durso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, interesting, helpful, stimulating book. Worship leaders would benefit from reading this.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed to read a three hundred page book on worship that is written by a PCA minister and theologian that fails to clearly define the Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW). Chapell's view of worship is essentially a culturally contemporary evangelical view that depends heavily on Timothy Keller, John Frame, and other contemporary sources to define worship. He frequently cites Keller throughout his book as a role model for church worship and outreach to culture.

Chapell fails to give any discussion of the historical Presbyterian practice of Exclusive Psalmody as evidenced by the interpretations of WCF 21.5 found in both the Directory of Public Worship (DPW) and David Dickson's commentary on the WCF, Truth's Victory over error.

The last chapter gives a summary of Chapell's views on worship and he presents a very broad evangelical approach, nothing close to a reformed view. His main argument is for "gospel principles" and "gospel priorities", which he never clearly defines in his book other than in a very broad sense to include various traditions and ecclesiastical views:

"The gospel priorities of Christ-centered worship make it plain why worship choices must be made and give a rationale for those choices. This rationale is based on biblical principles that can be explained to other leaders, to the congregation, and to those with contrary preferences. Leaders simply must keep reminding themselves and others that their style of worship is determined by what they have agreed effectively communicates the gospel in their specific context. Other churches with other people and other resources may well have other legitimate callings that determine other legitimate style choices. But those churches cannot and should not determine how the gospel can best be presented in a context they do not know or share" (pg. 133).

"The most important strategy for church leaders to pursue in uniting the church in worship is clear and regular articulation of gospel principles. When leaders lock arms around the common purpose of re-presenting the gospel with respect, sensitivity, and intelligence to those God has called them to teach and reach, then the leaders can more readily explain and act on their worship approach. Regular teaching of gospel priorities can also help the people of existing churches learn to be accepting of differences and deferential to others’ needs while simultaneously insisting on biblically sound content, God-honoring presentation, and respect for forebears. Leaders of new churches may have more opportunity simply to declare what worship style(s) will be best for their target constituency—but eventually all churches will have their own traditions that subsequent generations will challenge" (pg. 297).

A huge flaw in Chapell's method is when he argues that natural revelation can dictate what is acceptable for corporate worship on the Lord's day rather than maintaining the sufficiency of Scripture and only using what God has commanded for corporate worship, not simply what is not prohibited,

"The church may also choose to use new lyrics to secular music that is familiar and acceptable in style for the church culture. “Highland Cathedral” is a grand and noble bagpipe tune. Though it was recently written, the tune has become very familiar through its popular use in church ceremonies and weddings. Copyright restrictions will not allow publication of the tune with new words, but the music is so appropriate for worship that choirs, churches, and wedding parties have obtained local permission to sing the tune with the words to “Bought by the Blood” (see following pages). Churches can also encourage new generations and ethnicities of hymn writers by letting them write new lyrics to older tunes familiar in the church or culture. For example, the words to “Easter Dawn” (see following pages) can be sung to the tune of the familiar choral anthem “Creation Hymn,” or to the tune of “An American Hymn” (re-popularized by Placido Domingo), from the secular film “East of Eden.” New music is often the greater challenge to traditional sensibilities, so encouraging new lyrics for older tunes can provide opportunity for fresh contributions without rattling church foundations" (pg. 298).

Chapell argues that the reformers held this same view of natural revelation informing worship,

"The Reformers were willing to borrow musical forms from the secular culture to encourage congregational singing. And virtually every great mission effort has profited by allowing words in different languages to be used with traditional hymn tunes. All hymns were “contemporary” when they were written. Some hymns we now consider noble were considered edgy in their day (e.g., Isaac Watts’s “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”). Keeping the church rooted in its worship history and reaching toward its worship future is never without challenges, but those rooted in and reaching for gospel priorities will have the greatest potential for meeting those challenges" (pg. 299).

[Stephen Matlock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my self-study (and along with the team) on forming a church liturgy for a contemporary church experience with roots in the Reformed tradition.

It is broken into two parts; one which focuses on the structure of the liturgy as expressed in history and in more modern times, along with the philosophical and theological underpinnings of said liturgy, and one which is a list of resources that can be incorporated into a liturgy, resources that vary by scope and style and purpose.

I thought the first part had some great strengths in comparing the various forms of liturgies starting from around the 1500s in the European/Western Roman Catholic/Protestant traditions--the author presents the similarities and differences between the various rites and religious orthodoxies in charts that are easy to follow and use. These aspects (focusing on the Western Protestant traditions) are examined as a flow within a denomination, and as a set of common attributes across denominations, and for that alone the book is useful. The second part is useful as a set of worship resources that reflect the liturgical proposals of the first part. In essence, the first part says "here's what the church [in the Western world] has done", and the second part says "here are some ideas you can use to develop your own."

While I appreciated the deep dive into the aspects of liturgy--and it is *not* only about a set form of worship that is common to the more traditional churches that does not vary much by week--I was increasingly frustrated by the focus on Western/European Protestant traditions. Every book must determine what its scope is, and a book of this brevity can't incorporate world styles, but I wish there had been some nod to the fact that not every dynamic church with a vibrant liturgy comprises white people and white theological constructs based upon the works of Calvin, Edwards, and Whitehead. The church is wider than that, and deeper, and there is an unfortunate gap in at least stating that this is a book narrowly focused on white Protestant worship.

If I step back and look at the title to understand the purpose, then the precis of this book is to form the liturgy around the person and message of Christ--which is absolutely great. But it is not a scholarly examination of all types of liturgies, nor does it investigate the strengths and weaknesses of Western Protestant liturgies.

The second part of the book does expand the ideas presented in the first part (the first part is *heavily* oriented towards hymnody and forms of prior centuries and decades)--the second part contains music resources that feel more contemporary, with some examples of music written in the past 30 years. But someone without a sense of "these are examples to use in building a liturgy" might think that God's creativity stopped with Hillsong in 2000. (I am not attempting to be snarky--it just felt like it was a list of dated, familiar "contemporary" music.) However, if you can look past the dated examples and the narrow focus on white church experiences, you can get some good ideas.

If you use this book as a way to examine the liturgy, to glean ideas about structure and meaning, to attempt to work out a liturgy that represents the Christ of history and scripture, this can be a useful resource. If you are attempting to simply get a list of things you can do with examples that you can cut and paste from this book--you will have missed the point entirely--and the author says so. What the author is attempting to do with this book, while limited to Western Protestant traditions, is to provide ideas and examples with the admonition to go and make something beautiful ourselves.

I gave it 4/5 stars. The book is a good, solid resource, but it should be used in conjunction with other liturgical resources that represent other traditions and styles beyond what we're familiar with in English-speaking North America.

Note: I received this book as a gift for my research.

[Johnmark Battaglia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christ-Centered Worship

“Structures tell stories.” So begins Chapell’s exploration and explanation of Christian liturgy. I picked up this book knowing very little about liturgies, their rich history, or the resurgence that traditional liturgies are enjoying in many churches across America today. I had recently been tasked with composing the liturgy for the Sunday service at my local church, but had no idea what I was doing. Christ-Centered Worship profoundly impacted me because it not only provided insight into a new world, it also imparted practical knowledge that I was able to apply immediately. The idea that “structures tell stories” is basically another take on Marshal McLuhan’s phrase, “the medium is the message.” Chapell invites the reader (presumably some type of leader in the church) to think through whether or not the means employed in the Sunday service are consistent with the message the church wants to communicate.

“In every age, including our own,” writes Chapell, “those who build churches have been forced to consider how their understanding of the gospel gets communicated by the structures in which it is presented” (17). “Liturgy” refers to the structures of a church’s worship service. Many people might think of liturgy only in terms of the traditional structures found in Catholic or Anglican churches, but all churches that gather together to worship have a liturgy–even if it’s a very simple liturgy. Chapell explains that “the biblical word for all that’s included in our worship is ‘liturgy’ (latreia, see Romans 12:1), and it simply describes the public way a church honors God in its times of gathered praise, prayer, instruction, and commitment” (18). Therefore, whether we realize it or not, our worship patterns always communicate something. This gives us reason to examine what exactly is being communicated. Chapell suggests that there may be loftier goals behind the structure of the service than merely satisfying personal preferences. Rather, he suggests a gospel-centered approach to liturgy–that is, that we might seek to structure worship services in such a way that the gospel is communicated through their very structure. This isn’t just Chapell’s idea, he explains that it has been the case throughout the history of the church:

Because they understood the importance of our worship, early church fathers designed an architecture for worship that is still reflected in churches today. As early as the second century, records indicate that the church divided its worship into major segments: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Upper Room… By moving from Proclamation to Communion in the order of worship, churches through the ages retell the story that those who truly hear God’s Word will share his love (19).

It was this idea that the structure of the service could be an effective tool to communicate and reinforce the gospel message, that whet my appetite for a more intentional liturgy.

Chapell claims that our goal should not be to replicate historical liturgies, “but to learn how the church has used worship to fulfill gospel purposes through the ages so that we can intelligently design worship services that will fulfill gospel purposes today” (21). This goal dictates the outline of the book. The first half of the book explores common elements found in Catholic, Reformed, and modern liturgies, then proceeds to explore several factors that should influence how we structure our services today. The second half of the book provides a number of “Gospel Worship Resources,” including examples of various liturgical elements such as calls to worship, affirmations of faith, creeds and confessions, etc.

The five chapters exploring historical liturgies leave little doubt regarding the precedent set throughout Church history. It was remarkable to see the common elements in liturgies employed by Rome, Luther, Calvin, and the Westminster Divines, but this still begs the question as to whether or not such structures are based more on tradition than Scripture. Chapell uses chapter 8 to formulate a biblical theology of worship structures. He demonstrates common elements repeated throughout the Bible as God’s people worship Him. Examining instances of both individual and corporate worship, Chapell provides a fascinating analysis revealing that the same elements show up again and again, from Mount Sinai to worship at the temple to the eschatological worship in the book of Revelation. These consistent elements are summarized as:

Recognition of God’s Character (Adoration)
Acknowledgement of Our Character (Confession)
Affirmation of Grace (Assurance)
Expression of Devotion (Thanksgiving)
Desire for Aid in Living for God (Petition and Intercession)
Acquiring Knowledge for Pleasing God (Instruction from God’s Word)
Communing with God and His People (Communion)
Living unto God with His Blessing (Charge and Benediction) (118)

Chapell conceives of the corporate worship service as “nothing more, nothing less, than a re-presentation of the gospel in the presence of God and his people for his glory and their good” (120). This definition has a strong vertical dimension (God’s story being re-presented in God’s presence for God’s glory), but Chapell also believes the inward and outward elements should have bearing on the Sunday service. He argues that concern for God’s people to understand his glory and grace should lead us to design worship that ministers to the “necessities and capacities” of God’s people (127). While church leaders have a responsibility to preserve the necessary elements of the gospel story, these gospel truths will not lead to worship or transformation into the image of Christ if people cannot understand them. Chapell recounts how both Luther and Calvin insisted that worship be in the common language of the people. They also made music choices that they believed would allow people to more readily enter into the praise of God (128). Discerning the balance between the necessities and capacities of worshippers–the balance between sensitivity and compromise–is sometimes a difficult task, but one with which we must wrestle. In addition to considering the necessities and capacities of the congregation, Chapell advocates a horizontal dimension in the worship service that reflects God’s love to one another through “sharing our praise, praying for one another, corporately confessing sin, encouraging one another in song, collecting alms, receiving instruction together, demonstrating concern for the lost, and communing together” (120). Chapell also believes that the Sunday service should not be seeker driven, but “seeker-sensitive.” He suggests that worship priorities cannot ignore the needs of the members of the body, yet at the same time worship choices cannot ignore the needs of those God has yet to gather into the body of Christ. Chapell recalls a term used by the late Ed Cowney to describe corporate worship: “doxological evangelism” (132). Thus, Christ-Centered Worship advocates a liturgical model that builds upon Scripture as well as church history, taking into account the upward, inward, and outward priorities of church.

As with Christ-Centered Preaching, this book has already proved to be a valuable resource to which I have repeatedly returned. The main arguments as well as the practical suggestions are clearly tied to the gospel. Chapell has provided a rare combination of historical perspective, biblical theology, sensible advice, and practical resources that set Christ-Centered Worship apart from every other book on worship that I have read.

[Adam Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Christ-Centered Worship" by Bryan Chapell shows how the liturgy of a church's weekly gathering/service can be structured so as to conform to the contours of the gospel. By referring to two things, the church's liturgy in history and descriptions of people meeting God in the Bible, he shows how the good news is such that it tends to shape the containers in which God places it. He makes the strong point that the gospel is like a trumpet that will marshal the troops with a clear call only if it resounds in our gatherings not only in Word and sacrament, but also in liturgy. The liturgy itself can re-present the gospel story. After making that point, the second section of the book provides helpful resources for the gospel-shaped services he argues for.

The common shape Chapell sees in history and the Bible is the following (on page 100):

1. Recognition of God's Character (Adoration)
2. Acknowledgement of Our Character (Confession)
3. Affirmation of Grace (Assurance)
4. Expression of Devotion (Thanksgiving)
5. Desire for Aid in Living for God (Petition and Intercession)
6. Acquiring Knowledge for Pleasing God (Instruction)
7. Living unto God with His Blessing (Charge and Benediction)

If you are wondering where communion fits in all this, the typical way services have been structured in history is twofold: 1.) The Liturgy of the Word, which is represented above, and 2.) The Liturgy of the Upper Room, where the Lord's table is celebrated. But the biblical examples he gives seem to show a time for communion and fellowship in the same gathering.

After reading this I wondered why no one ever explained liturgy this way to me before. I come from a "low church" background, so the impression I had of liturgy was something stuffy or high-falutin'. But this makes so much sense, especially if we are to bring the gospel in a palatable way to center-city dwellers. If "the medium is the message" then we want the message of Christ consistently heard in every aspect of our Sunday morning gathered worship.

Where I felt the book was weak was in Chapell's treatment of God as a living person. For example, in his chapters on Scripture reading and Preaching, there was not even a breath about praying for the preparation for or proclamation of God's word. We had better talk to this Author in order to read or preach his work aright! I am sure this is important to Chapell, but it is just a glaring omission in his book. It is just one example of an overall lack of treating God as personal and present. His emphasis on the objective gospel seems to crowd out the subjectiveness of our relationship with God. This is a better error than for the gospel to be crowded out, but I believe it can tend to fashion God into a historical, distant, theoretical object. God is a Person, not an object. But he can save us from objectifying him, through the gospel.

Bob Kauflin, one of the main worship leaders for Sovereign Grace Ministries, makes points in his teaching that fill in where this book is lacking. I really think Kauflin and Chapell need to hang out and put their heads and hearts together regarding corporate worship. What Kauflin said contained so much of the stuff I wish Chapell would have said, and vice versa. Kauflin relied on a lot of what Paul has to say in 1 Corinthians 12-14 about the spirits of prophets being subject to prophets and simplifying our liturgy so as to allow breathing room for the Spirit. In our concern for structuring our services in a gospel shape, we should expect God to move and work among us, which may involve some necessary changes in what we think is a well-planned liturgy. Chapell himself says that the point is not to have a perfectly planned service, but for people to meet God, repent of their sins, and cherish the Savior with his transforming, loving, and missional power and glory. And sometimes God may want to break into a person's life through a brother or sister in the congregation who had nothing to do with the liturgy's planning. So it would behoove pastors and worship leaders to be in incessant prayer and sensitive and submissive to the Spirit's voice and promptings.

If the gospel is what we want presented and re-presented, then the main thing worship leaders need is not to study liturgy (as helpful as that can be), but to cherish Christ, clothed with his own gospel. If the good news is to be proclaimed, then it must first be enjoyed! So we had better not get legalistic about liturgy. And we had better not look down on other churches who might not seem to care about this formal stuff. We are not justified by these works but by Christ. Paul said,

"One person prefers one day over another day, and another person regards every day alike. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who is intent on the day is intent on it for the Lord, and the one who eats eats for the Lord, because he is thankful to God, and the one who does not eat does not eat for the Lord, and he is thankful to God." (Romans 14.5-6, LEB)

We might apply this with similar language: One person prefers well-planned liturgy while another prefers spontaneity in his services. The main thing is not preference, but love for God and neighbor. And to do so, we must all believe in the God who became our neighbor and loved us as himself.

The above passage also brings to mind further application. If we can agree that any given liturgy can be more or less gospel-shaped, can we not also take that Sunday morning thing and apply it to other forms of worship? If we can shape our Sunday mornings, then why not also shape our whole year? If we can shape our gathered worship, then why not also shape our alone time with God? If we can have gospel-shaped worship for the gathered church, then why should we not also strive to have that same thing for the gathered family?

I am thankful to the elders of IBC (www.immanuel-baptist.net) for encouraging me to read this book. It has been interesting, and I think it has (along with "Worship by the Book" edited by D. A. Carson) equipped me to help others exalt our God and Savior more appropriately, effectively, and intentionally.

If you would like a copy, let me know and I would be happy to send you mine, if you will put it in the service of Christ's church. Otherwise one of your pastors or your local library might have a copy you can borrow.

Another option is that you can buy a copy from Amazon at the link below. It's an affiliate link, so it will help me out and won't cost you anything extra for it.

Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice

[Daniel Calle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bryan Chapell, pastor emérito de Grace Presbyterian Church y presidente emérito de Covenant Theological Seminary, ha escrito este excelente libro acerca de la adoración en la iglesia. La liturgia (orden del culto) narra la historia de Cristo. Él dice: "Proclamamos el evangelio por la forma en que adoramos" (p. 19). Por lo tanto, todas las iglesias que creen el evangelio de nuestro Señor tienen patrones de adoración que las unen y que trascienden el tiempo. Pero, no solo, nuestra liturgia nos une a otros cristianos en la historia, sino que comunica al mundo perdido el evangelio de salvación. La primera parte del libro presenta las liturgias de diferentes tradiciones cristianas, mostrando sus similitudes y diferencias, las cuales reflejan su entendimiento del evangelio. Lo increíble es que los diseñadores de las liturgias tuvieron objetivos sagrados: no entretener a la gente o satisfacer sus preferencias personales, sino comunicar lo que ellos entendían de las Escrituras para el beneficio del pueblo de Dios. El libro analiza las dos grandes secciones del culto cristiano: la liturgia de la Palabra y la liturgia del Aposento Alto, en las tradiciones católica, de Lutero, de Calvino, de Westminster y contemporánea (Rayburn). Luego, explica la necesidad de una adoración Cristocéntrica, listando los aspectos y los componentes de la liturgia. Finalmente, la última sección es de gran utilidad porque describe e ilustra la forma en que podemos elaborar Llamados a la adoración, oraciones de confesión de pecados, lecturas bíblicas, transiciones, sermones, centrados en Cristo y en su Palabra, respetando la rica tradición del cristianismo y siendo relevantes a las necesidades contemporáneos. Este libro será de gran ayuda para pastores y líderes de adoración en a planificación de la adoración corporativa centrada en Cristo y para la gloria de Dios.

[Stephen Angliss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapell is one of the best persuasive writers in Christian publishing. He communicates clearly and in a captivating manner. He is easy to read but teaches with depth.

While as encouraging a read this is as a work of church history (plus richly devotional to boot) several presuppositions can lead the unsuspecting reader to make poor pastoral choices. Chief among these: Chapell’s infamous preference for the redemptive historical hermeneutic, and how he applies it, not just to preaching, but to forming liturgies. This manifested itself in several ways, such as, to give one example, Chapell’s belief that the Gospel—not God’s attributes—must be the immediate and ultimate focus of all aspects of a worship service.

The book is full of practical instruction, examples, and sources for pastors. Its digestion of church worship history is superb. This book starts high on the “high church/low church thermometer” and the temperature only climbs chapter by chapter. Members of low church liturgical traditions will feel out of place in its pages. Members of high church liturgical traditions will feel the authored pandered too much to other perspectives.

But most of all, even if the holy underwear and oversized pulpits are kept in the church basement, there is room for all faithful pastors to be rightly challenged by both history and Scripture to intentionally structure their services to glorify God and make disciples.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is laid out in two main parts. The first section discusses, as it were, the doctrine of Christ-centered worship. An honest discussion of liturgy begins at the outset and flows into an in-depth analysis of historical liturgy from the Catholic Church (pre 1570) to Luther to Calvin to Westminster and eventually to the Modern Church. I must confess that, as a Baptist, I found the topic of liturgy and the discussion of what seemed to me as rigid worship forms to be quite disconcerting. Was Chapell, a staunch Presbyterian, going to advocate a strict, super-formal liturgy to be used in all churches? Chapell's conclusion to the historical analysis, however, did not demand such a liturgy. Chapell uses the historic forms of church worship to demonstrate patterns and then applies these patterns to the church. He does not seek to impose a specific order of service, but rather presents the basis for elements that were used in the past and should continue to be used in modern worship. Full explanation of these elements will have to wait, though, because Chapell quickly turns to a biblical theology of liturgy. What does the Bible say about liturgy? How is liturgy practiced in the Old Testament and New Testament? What about corporate and individual worship? All of these questions are answered in this chapter. Having established a further, biblical, basis for the elements he has thus far presented, Chapell now moves to explain their purpose. The purpose of Christ-centered worship is to re-present the Gospel. In other words, every worship service should retell the story of the Gospel. But I thought worship was all about the glory of God? Chapell counters with a two-fold response: (1) The Gospel is the means by which God receives His greatest glory. (2) A proper reading of passages such as Colossians 3:16 would demand that worship is both for God's glory and man's good. Without glorifying God through the Gospel, we have failed to truly worship. Without ministering to the needs of the saved and the lost in the worship, we have failed to truly worship. True worship demands both sides of the coin. In the following chapter, Chapell plays further on the theme of worshipping for the good of others by describing the mission of Christ-centered worship. Christ-centered worship ends the struggle of worship wars because it focuses on the true substance of worship rather than its style. The writer envisions the worship of the Lamb (Rev. 7) by all nations from all time. Their worship is unified, not by their nationalities, cultures, or race, but by the Christ whom they worship. After reading this chapter, I was suddenly asking myself, should believers find unity with other believers based on the style of their worship or the substance, or should I say, focus, of their worship? Now Chapell is ready to rekindle his initial presentation of central components of worship. He begins his ascent by demonstrating that our values determine our worship. If we value the traditional, we risk losing relevance. If we value the subjective, we may lose focus on presenting objective truth. If our value is solely doxological, we may soon find that God's people no longer delight to praise Him. If we valuable accessible worship, we may soon stop demonstrating the transcendence of God. If our concern is simply for a solemn worship service, we will soon let go of the joy of worshipping our Father. If we pit the excellent against the common, we may lose focus on the substance of worship. True worship moves beyond these debates, recognizing that there is biblical merit for all of them. Biblical, Christ-centered worship values the glory of God and the good of man and therefore serves both. Christ-centered worship is not seeker-sensitive; however, it is seeker-oriented. Christ-centered worship does not focus its worship on the unbeliever, but does not forget them in the process. A true focus on the Gospel moves beyond these worship wars to the core components of worship: (1) Adoration, (2) Confession, (3) Assurance, (4)Thanksgiving, (5) Petition and Intercession, (6)Instruction, (7)Communion/Fellowship, and (8) Charge and Blessing.

The second section continues by developing the practice of Christ-centered worship. The writer describes how "traditional" and "contemporary" churches (terms which the author expresses some distaste for) might carry out each of these elements in their worship. Chapell also includes a section on the communion which is quite insightful as well as a section on musical styles, which serves to reemphasize points made in the first section of the book. The book closes with a number of worship resources on the internet, which will be quite helpful to the music pastor or worship leader of any church.

The purpose of the book is best stated by the author himself: "My intention has not been to take sides in the traditional/contemporary worship debate or to try to mandate a liturgy for all churches. Rather my goal has been to encourage church leaders to identify their churches' specific calling as the basis for making decisions about worship approaches and resources that may be traditional, contemporary, or something even better." (154)

Christ-Centered Worship is just as revolutionary, if not more so, than his homiletics title: Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon. The book is also just as practical as the author's inspirational title Holiness by Grace: Delighting in the Joy That Is Our Strength. The book serves as an academic, yet practical look at worship and liturgy. The writer's conclusions are able to be implemented in churches regardless of worship style and serve only to strengthen the substance of their worship. If truly implemented across the breadth of evangelical Christianity, what has been a major barrier to fellowship would fall and would actually become a bridge to fellowship. Truly the reader, regardless of worship background, baggage, and convictions will not be disappointed as Chapell's insights do not fail to instruct and guide the attentive reader to, as he states: "something better."

[Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chapell offers insights based on scriptural and historical to help us re-present the gospel in our worship so as to encourage the hearts of believers and draw the unbelievers to Christ.

In some points Chapell is a bit repetitive, particularly in Part 2. He offers resources at the end of chapters 13-17 and 21. This is indeed helpful, but Chapell repeats so.e of these resources for every chapter. For instance, in every chapter Chapell lists a number of hymnals which include resources for the component at hand; this very same list is repeated every chapter. It seems to be a somewhat inefficient use of space.

Chapter 20, on Christ Centered sermons also seems to be a little long, as it distills ideas Chapell expounds in another book. As wonderful a chapter as it is, I feel it could have been shorter.

However, aside from being a little repetitive in places, and being a little long winded in chapter 20, Chapell offers an excellent, informative, and irenic discussion of worship.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book with accessibility, but a good amount of breadth and depth. Chapell discusses Christ-centered/Gospel-centered by comparing liturgies historically and then discussing the main elements of Christian worship services each individually. No matter what Chriatian tradition the reader comes from, Chapell connects them to the historical conversation of worship liturgies comparing and contrasting Medieval Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Calvin, Westminster, and Rayburn liturgies. The common elements are noted as weekly corporate re-tellings of the Gospel. He then discusses main elements individually, such as public scripture readings, songs, preaching, benedictions, etc. The sermon structure examples are also helpful. This is a helpful book for pastors, elders or church leaders thinking through how best to order the church's weekly gatherings and why.

[J. Alfred · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a person interested in the whys and of the Christian worship service in its various permutations-- like if you're a historically minded worship leader or a pastor getting ready to launch a church plant and needing to talk through the basic service from the ground up with your elder team-- this is the book for you. For the rest of us, there are some really interesting bits. I especially enjoyed the chapter on "Christ-Centered Sermons" (and the author has a whole book entitled Christ-Centered Preaching, which means perhaps I read the wrong text).
The whole is healthful and worth reading, with occasional moments of spice.

[Joshua Lister · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is indispensable for pastors and worship leaders. Chapell understands the complexities of various issues surrounding corporate worship. He gives an honest and fair assessment of the “sides” and knows what the most important things are to maintain. He takes an academic approach, which is charitable and subtle, without being dishonest. I really like his commitment to learning from tradition and study of the historic church. However, I did find his plug in the final chapter for worship songs he wrote coy and kind of awkward.