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Worship Evangelism
In Worship Evangelism, Sally Morgenthaler calls the church to consider the remarkable, untapped potential of worship as an opportunity of those who aren't yet followers of Jesus Christ as well as those who are to encounter the presence of God. Combining the best of traditional and contemporary worship music and practices, Morgenthaler shows how to achieve worship that's both culturally relevant and authentic. She helps pastors, worship leaders, and musicians - Understand worship and its attraction for non-Christians - Tear down walls that keep unbelievers from meeting God in church worship - Make worship evangelism happen--in any culture Morgenthaler draws on sound research and her extensive experience as a worship leader to offer an energetic, hands-on approach. Now with a study guide that encourages group discussion and personal action, this timely book offers fresh vision for worship evangelism and provides the strategies to implement it.
320 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 14, 2012
Written in the mid-90's and in another continent, this book is a real mixed back for this Aussie. Morgenthaler critiques 1990's 'Baby Boomer' seeker sensitive churches, arguing that spiritual seekers can find God in a genuine worship service rather than a canned, seeker-targeted experience. While true, so much of what she writes is out of date as reaching boomers is no longer the big issue for most of the churches I know - they still like Boomers, but reaching 'Millennials' (don't you just love labels) is the challenge. She has some concern with the New Age, which is pretty much passe now. She does devote one chapter to interviewing three buster (Gen-X) worship leaders, but things have moved on and it's not a particularly enlightening chapter. And I'm not sure that a lot of the church-culture issues, even in the 90's, were so relevant to Australia.
All that said, it does have some good things to say. Things like 'worship is for the spiritually hungry' (in contrast to those who say worship makes no sense to unbelievers). She helpfully critiques the overly head-oriented but often doctrinally empty emphasis of many Evangelical churches. We need to worship in spirit and truth. True worship is God focused, spiritually affective, and grounded in Scriptural truth. Chapter 4 on defining relationship and how this applies to worship, and chapter 5 on rethinking cultural relevance were particularly good. In fact, some of her critique in chapter 6 is still very relevant.
In chapter 5 she suggests that meaningful relationship consists of presence, knowledge, vulnerability and interaction. What a great approach to worship!
Chapter 6 suggests something that has taken hold of many emerging churches - rediscovering older traditions and repackaging them for a contemporary culture. She suggests our sterile worship spaces may not be so helpful, and we need to approach worship from a more creative, multi-sensory perspective.
Despite these gems, I'm not sure this book is really worth the time. I notice though that the book is still in print, so it's obviously meeting a need somewhere, but I can't recommend it to Aussies. Two stars = it's OK.
All that said, it does have some good things to say. Things like 'worship is for the spiritually hungry' (in contrast to those who say worship makes no sense to unbelievers). She helpfully critiques the overly head-oriented but often doctrinally empty emphasis of many Evangelical churches. We need to worship in spirit and truth. True worship is God focused, spiritually affective, and grounded in Scriptural truth. Chapter 4 on defining relationship and how this applies to worship, and chapter 5 on rethinking cultural relevance were particularly good. In fact, some of her critique in chapter 6 is still very relevant.
In chapter 5 she suggests that meaningful relationship consists of presence, knowledge, vulnerability and interaction. What a great approach to worship!
Chapter 6 suggests something that has taken hold of many emerging churches - rediscovering older traditions and repackaging them for a contemporary culture. She suggests our sterile worship spaces may not be so helpful, and we need to approach worship from a more creative, multi-sensory perspective.
Despite these gems, I'm not sure this book is really worth the time. I notice though that the book is still in print, so it's obviously meeting a need somewhere, but I can't recommend it to Aussies. Two stars = it's OK.
April 3, 2018
Unbelievers will draw conclusions from what they see in our worship services as well as what they do not see. Is there an effective way to worship, and are we actually doing it? Worship Evangelism requires an unpacking of this paradigm. The author believes that real worship is evangelism. Paul also believes that our worship services can greatly impact unbelievers to want to share the faith we have (read 1 Corinthians 14:23-25). There is much more in this book to unpack.
July 22, 2013
Even though this book was written in the 1990's, it is still very much applicable today in the 21st century. As a matter of fact, the book made several predictions about trends in worship that have come to fruition. The resounding theme of the book is that worship is the most effective tool for evangelism- the premise being that when seekers come to church, they are not looking for an elaborate production; they are looking for an encounter with God. When seekers see authentic worship, they are going to be immediately drawn to God. The idea that seekers are looking for hip and cool could not be further from the truth... They have hip and cool all around them. When seekers come to church, they don't want to be entertained; they want to experience God. Sally Morgenthaler asserts that a lot of "seeker sensitive" churches and services have gotten it wrong because they pour time, energy, and resources into the huge productions they think seekers want when in reality, they should be focused on drawing seekers into the presence of God through worship... Raw, authentic, and real worship. Seekers can spot a fake and see through superficiality. If they see people encountering the living God in powerful and tangible ways, they are going to want to experience God in these ways as well.
With the book geared toward the preferences and desires of the Boomer and Buster generations based on very thorough research, my question for Sally Morgenthaler is this: When are you going to write Worship Evangelism, Second Edition? I would very excitedly purchase and read a book on worship evangelism in the 21st century!
With the book geared toward the preferences and desires of the Boomer and Buster generations based on very thorough research, my question for Sally Morgenthaler is this: When are you going to write Worship Evangelism, Second Edition? I would very excitedly purchase and read a book on worship evangelism in the 21st century!
May 24, 2009
What new insights did I discover in this book?
Not a ton, actually. Morgenthaler’s book is almost 15 years old now and is basically a response agains the seeker services of the 1980s as popularized by Willow Creek Community Church. It is also very focused on the Boomer generation, with a chapter or two near the end on Busters. This is outdated now; the church now is grappling with Millenials. I mean, I’m 26 and I’m a millenial, so when you’re talking about reaching out to current generations, even the Buster category is behind the times. But I think her book was probably more revolutionary back in 1995, when people had this idea that you had to take the spiritual out of church and they quit meeting in sanctuaries and started meeting in “worship centers” and following more of a business/entertainment model. The emergent church movement, and even churches that wouldn’t label themselves “emergent,” is definitely moving toward what has been called “vintage Christianity,” which is basically a simpler service focused on experiencing God that adapts old traditions for a new audience.
What I can say I gleaned from Morgenthaler that I had not read in other books was a more developed theology behind her basic thesis. One statement in particular caught my attention. “In summary, this is why evangelical worship is failing today: We are depriving people of both the reasons for faith and an experience of faith. We are emptying our services of both spirit and truth” (69).
Not a ton, actually. Morgenthaler’s book is almost 15 years old now and is basically a response agains the seeker services of the 1980s as popularized by Willow Creek Community Church. It is also very focused on the Boomer generation, with a chapter or two near the end on Busters. This is outdated now; the church now is grappling with Millenials. I mean, I’m 26 and I’m a millenial, so when you’re talking about reaching out to current generations, even the Buster category is behind the times. But I think her book was probably more revolutionary back in 1995, when people had this idea that you had to take the spiritual out of church and they quit meeting in sanctuaries and started meeting in “worship centers” and following more of a business/entertainment model. The emergent church movement, and even churches that wouldn’t label themselves “emergent,” is definitely moving toward what has been called “vintage Christianity,” which is basically a simpler service focused on experiencing God that adapts old traditions for a new audience.
What I can say I gleaned from Morgenthaler that I had not read in other books was a more developed theology behind her basic thesis. One statement in particular caught my attention. “In summary, this is why evangelical worship is failing today: We are depriving people of both the reasons for faith and an experience of faith. We are emptying our services of both spirit and truth” (69).
May 30, 2007
Basically this book can be summed like this: it identifies and analyzes the issue well in the first half of book, but falls prey to the traps of formulas and structure in the latter half of the book that it seems to be critiquing in the beginning. I thought it is a good primer for your own explorations but not a strong source of solutions. In other words, you are going to have to experiement as a faith community in becoming more evangelistic (in the best sense of the word) through woroship.
August 27, 2008
If you are interested in this topic, the beginning of the book is very good, but I suggest bailing when she gets to the "practical applications" of her theories.
October 21, 2010
If there is a gap between the worship at your church and its evangelistic outreach . . . this author can help. Genuine worship is always going to appeal to the honest seeker.
April 17, 2012
Excellent. Really hits the spot.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews