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Honest Worship: From False Self to True Praise
When asked by his son why some churches have smoke machines, worship pastor Manuel Luz found himself responding, "Well, technically, you need smoke machines to see the lasers." But when you take down the smokescreen, what do you have left? Where do we encounter the Holy in the midst of all this? Where can we worship with our full selves—heart, soul, mind, and body—in Spirit and truth?
Drawing from his own experience leading worship in a large congregation and feeling the pull of performance, Manuel Luz guides us on a journey through worship that takes us far beyond style and deep into our own souls. He calls us back to an honest worship that moves past facades and pulls us inward toward the true self that God is forming within each of us. Each chapter ends with a spiritual practice designed to help us set aside pretense and enter into the very presence of God.
Drawing from his own experience leading worship in a large congregation and feeling the pull of performance, Manuel Luz guides us on a journey through worship that takes us far beyond style and deep into our own souls. He calls us back to an honest worship that moves past facades and pulls us inward toward the true self that God is forming within each of us. Each chapter ends with a spiritual practice designed to help us set aside pretense and enter into the very presence of God.
224 pages, Paperback
Published August 7, 2018
9 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Manuel Luz
5 books3 followersManuel Luz is the creative arts pastor of Oak Hills Church in Folsom, California, and has been an active advocate for worship and the arts for more than twenty-five years. He is also the author of Imagine That, a working musician and songwriter, and the co-inventer of the musical instrument the WalkaBout.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 22, 2019
Manuel Luz has been the creative arts pastor at a large church in California for a number of years, and he draws on his experience and his increasing concerns about the character of worship in the contemporary evangelical church. In his preface to the book, he gives an extended definition of what he means by "honest worship", which also serves as a good overview of the book:
"Honest worship is worship that is not tainted by the stylistic preferences and vanities of our false selves, nor clouded by the cultural forces of narcissism or consumerism or spectacle but instead comes from our true selves before our holy God. Honest worship is worship that emanates from the depth of your entire soul--your will, intellect, passions, emotions, and body all aligned to the will of God. Honest worship is living the entirety of your life in a way that is increasingly more abandoned to giving God glory, not only on Sundays but on every day of the week. And honest worship is worship that extends beyond yourself to love and care for others, to be an instrument for justice and redemption and peace."
Luz is concerned that we have become passive rather than active in worship; that cultural narcissism has seeped into our worship practices, so that we are more concerned with how we feel in worship than with how God receives and views our worship; that worship has become more about our feelings than our wills; that we rather than God have become the center of worship; that worship has become increasingly personal and less communal in emphasis; that we are neglecting the command and blessing of the Sabbath, as more and more professed believers are absenting themselves from corporate worship; that our worship on Sunday is not informing our work, worship, and life the rest of the week.
You don't have to agree with everything Luz says to acknowledge that he has correctly and incisively identified troubling aspects of worship in the contemporary church. And he's not talking about worship styles so much; he's aiming at the heart, mind, will, feelings, and soul of the worshipper. Be warned: if you read this book, he will challenge your thoughts and attitude about worship. He did mine.
One last quotation, from near the end of the book: "When we show up late to church, when we give an obligatory sleepy nod to worship, when we float halfheartedly in and out from our seats in a spiritual yawning, we reveal what we truly believe about God. It's like we're sitting in the kiddy pool, content to splash in six inches of water." May this book impel us to launch into the deeper end of the pool, and to worship God in the beauty of holiness.
"Honest worship is worship that is not tainted by the stylistic preferences and vanities of our false selves, nor clouded by the cultural forces of narcissism or consumerism or spectacle but instead comes from our true selves before our holy God. Honest worship is worship that emanates from the depth of your entire soul--your will, intellect, passions, emotions, and body all aligned to the will of God. Honest worship is living the entirety of your life in a way that is increasingly more abandoned to giving God glory, not only on Sundays but on every day of the week. And honest worship is worship that extends beyond yourself to love and care for others, to be an instrument for justice and redemption and peace."
Luz is concerned that we have become passive rather than active in worship; that cultural narcissism has seeped into our worship practices, so that we are more concerned with how we feel in worship than with how God receives and views our worship; that worship has become more about our feelings than our wills; that we rather than God have become the center of worship; that worship has become increasingly personal and less communal in emphasis; that we are neglecting the command and blessing of the Sabbath, as more and more professed believers are absenting themselves from corporate worship; that our worship on Sunday is not informing our work, worship, and life the rest of the week.
You don't have to agree with everything Luz says to acknowledge that he has correctly and incisively identified troubling aspects of worship in the contemporary church. And he's not talking about worship styles so much; he's aiming at the heart, mind, will, feelings, and soul of the worshipper. Be warned: if you read this book, he will challenge your thoughts and attitude about worship. He did mine.
One last quotation, from near the end of the book: "When we show up late to church, when we give an obligatory sleepy nod to worship, when we float halfheartedly in and out from our seats in a spiritual yawning, we reveal what we truly believe about God. It's like we're sitting in the kiddy pool, content to splash in six inches of water." May this book impel us to launch into the deeper end of the pool, and to worship God in the beauty of holiness.
January 27, 2019
In Manuel Luz's breathtaking book, Honest Worship, he unpacks our culture's effect on the church's corporate worship in North America today. He defines honest worship as "worship that is not trained by the stylistic preference and varieties of our false selves, nor clouded by the cultural forces of narcissism or consumerism, but instead comes from our true selves before our holy God."
Manuel dives right into the fact that worship in our culture has too often become entirely devoted to stylistic preference, over solid theological truth. He also highlights common contemporary trends such as lightshows, dark sanctuaries, and emotionally-driven worship 'experiences' as a nod to our culture's hyper-individualism. "Instead of seeking communion with God, we often seek experiences of God," Luz comments. Manuel makes the interesting connection of our culture's need for an emotional experience with Israel's narrative of the Golden Calf, found in Exodus 32. Our hyper-individualistic culture has often driven worship to become more about the worshippers, rather than the One worthy of worship. Luz draws this conclusion by the majority of contemporary worship songs featuring "I" or "me" statements. While these statements are not inherently bad, these statements do reduce corporate worship to an individual focus, and also have the tendency to make "our worship conditional to God's ability to meet our needs."
These are just a few of the points from Honest Worship that I found particularly convicting and interesting. Our culture has seeped into the church more than we recognize, and probably more than we care to admit. But we serve a God who is not dictated by culture, and who is forever unchanging, everlasting in His love and that fact that He is worthy of our honest worship. As A. W. Tozer puts it, "Worship is no longer worship if it reflects the culture around us more than the Christ within us."
Special thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for my fair and honest review.
Manuel dives right into the fact that worship in our culture has too often become entirely devoted to stylistic preference, over solid theological truth. He also highlights common contemporary trends such as lightshows, dark sanctuaries, and emotionally-driven worship 'experiences' as a nod to our culture's hyper-individualism. "Instead of seeking communion with God, we often seek experiences of God," Luz comments. Manuel makes the interesting connection of our culture's need for an emotional experience with Israel's narrative of the Golden Calf, found in Exodus 32. Our hyper-individualistic culture has often driven worship to become more about the worshippers, rather than the One worthy of worship. Luz draws this conclusion by the majority of contemporary worship songs featuring "I" or "me" statements. While these statements are not inherently bad, these statements do reduce corporate worship to an individual focus, and also have the tendency to make "our worship conditional to God's ability to meet our needs."
These are just a few of the points from Honest Worship that I found particularly convicting and interesting. Our culture has seeped into the church more than we recognize, and probably more than we care to admit. But we serve a God who is not dictated by culture, and who is forever unchanging, everlasting in His love and that fact that He is worthy of our honest worship. As A. W. Tozer puts it, "Worship is no longer worship if it reflects the culture around us more than the Christ within us."
Special thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for my fair and honest review.
September 24, 2018
It started with a question between a father and a son,the son asking why the church needed smoke machines in worship. This question led to one of the most honest explorations of worship I have read. Manuel Luz is a true artist, musician, worship leader, etc. and he delves deep into what it means to worship from the depth of one's soul. He's not advocating for a style of worship, nor does he denigrate any type of worship. Rather, Luz looks at the heart of the worshipper connecting with the heart of God in ways that are both God-honoring and authentic. This is a fantastic book that I would recommend to anyone involved in worship, from the worshippers in the pews to those responsible for leading people into worship. I have read quite a few books on worship and this one is the best by far. Go out and pick this one up. You will not be disappointed.
November 27, 2018
Review Pending.
August 10, 2018
I must confess, I'm always a bit leary about the use of the words honest and authentic when used as adjectives. Too often these adjectives are used in ways that describe more generational issues or matters of personal taste. Thus, when it comes to worship, free form is authentic and "liturgical" is not. The guitar is authentic, but the organ is not. Ultimately it comes down to personal preference. I will admit that I cam to this book with a bit of that reticence, especially when the subtitle speaks of moving "from false self to true praise." Some of my concerns were confirmed, but in general the author wants to help move his primary audience---evangelicals who worship in mega-church contexts that feature praise bands. Some of what is found here will be of more interest to some readers than others, but in general it is a helpful look at worship.
The author serves as "creative arts pastor" of Oak Hills Church, a megachurch in Folsom, which is essentially suburban Sacramento, California. Apparently he has been in this position for more than twenty-five years, and is often true he was hired to this position because of his training as a musician. As far as I can tell, though I could be wrong, he does not have theological education. The church website doesn't provide much relevant information about education and background, instead informing us about his favorite movies and such.
The book is written in first person, at times autobiographic mode. He shares his own experience as a worship leader. It is from that sense of experience that he tries to navigate the importance of creativity without falling into the trap of judging everything by spectacle and technology. Here is where, I think, his concern for honest worship comes in -- the concern that instead of experience transcendence people simply experience spectacle.
For the most part this is a book written for evangelicals who are seeking to create what some call contemporary worship. I know that many mainline congregations try to imitate this form of worship, usually poorly. Thus, I'm not sure it will be all that helpful to my community, but it is a good reminder that creativity and imagination are important elements in the worship experience. Nonetheless, there is something useful here. I do appreciate that he includes a chapter on compassion and justice (chapter 11), in which he connects what occurs on Sunday morning with life outside the congregation. He notes that biblically the prophets and Jesus connected worship with justice and compassion. This is an important message at a time when worship can be directed at making us feeling happy without reminding us of God's concern for the world.
Written with a general audience in mind, with the prospect of it being used in study groups, there is a discussion guide provided that makes this a possible conversation starter. In addition, each chapter closes with a "Worship Practice," an invitation to dive deeper into the topic at hand.
The author serves as "creative arts pastor" of Oak Hills Church, a megachurch in Folsom, which is essentially suburban Sacramento, California. Apparently he has been in this position for more than twenty-five years, and is often true he was hired to this position because of his training as a musician. As far as I can tell, though I could be wrong, he does not have theological education. The church website doesn't provide much relevant information about education and background, instead informing us about his favorite movies and such.
The book is written in first person, at times autobiographic mode. He shares his own experience as a worship leader. It is from that sense of experience that he tries to navigate the importance of creativity without falling into the trap of judging everything by spectacle and technology. Here is where, I think, his concern for honest worship comes in -- the concern that instead of experience transcendence people simply experience spectacle.
For the most part this is a book written for evangelicals who are seeking to create what some call contemporary worship. I know that many mainline congregations try to imitate this form of worship, usually poorly. Thus, I'm not sure it will be all that helpful to my community, but it is a good reminder that creativity and imagination are important elements in the worship experience. Nonetheless, there is something useful here. I do appreciate that he includes a chapter on compassion and justice (chapter 11), in which he connects what occurs on Sunday morning with life outside the congregation. He notes that biblically the prophets and Jesus connected worship with justice and compassion. This is an important message at a time when worship can be directed at making us feeling happy without reminding us of God's concern for the world.
Written with a general audience in mind, with the prospect of it being used in study groups, there is a discussion guide provided that makes this a possible conversation starter. In addition, each chapter closes with a "Worship Practice," an invitation to dive deeper into the topic at hand.
January 24, 2023
I thought I was getting a book that would set the parameters for true and false worship. You do get that a little. However it changed! It evolved into a self help book. Then lo and behold you end up reading about 'spiritual disciplines' that are more at home in a ashrahm rather than a Bible believing church, (spiritual formation stuff). The implications are that God does not do enough for you in this life, so you must engage in certain practices to get closer to God and to supposedly have fuller life. Well, II Peter 1:3 says "as His divine power has given us ALL things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.". It also says that He who began a good work in you WILL complete it Himself- Philippians 1:6. So yes, this book ultimately recommends practices that are counter to the Bible! If you follow the recommended practices then you are doing a gospel of works, not grace. And grace plus anything equals no grace! How does one get to know someone they love? You spend time with them. You endeavor to learn as much about them as possible. It is the same with God! You spend as much time with Him as possible, (real prayer), you get to know Him as much as possible, (that is why you read the Bible). If I chanted my wife's name over and over again she would be annoyed, angry, and never convinced that I love her. It is very similar with God. This should give you a clue if not a reason why you should stay away from spiritual formation. Remember Jesus warning against vain repititions that the heathen practice in Matthew 6:7? Don't buy this book! If you follow the " spiritual disciplines " you will open a door that you will regret down the road. God has already given us what need to please Him and to have a fulfilling life.
August 17, 2018
Manuel Luz is a meddler of the very best variety. It seems he just can’t leave well enough alone with flat worship gatherings where the congregation takes on the role of audience. He is also discontent with the formula of worship = the songs I sing at church. But his tome isn’t fueled by anger or bitterness or even disappointment like too many modern-day jeremiads. Rather, Luz’s work shimmers with wonder and awe and hope for the church.
In this challenging yet encouraging book, Luz invites the reader to participate in worship that is rich and vibrant. He envisions devotion loosed from a mere hour on Sunday morning and seeping into the rhythms of our days. His heart is to develop worshipers, not simply create worship experiences.
A book with such a scope could easily reside in the realm of theory. Not this one. Luz navigates the distance between concept and practice. He invites the reader to do the same. To this end, he ends each chapter with a “worship practice” section. Perhaps here is where his meddling shines brightest. He encourages the reader to explore potentially new maybe even uncomfortable territory in order to gain fresh insight on his or her own experience of “worship.” The fruit of this is real. Luz has lived this journey.
He writes from his own personal course-correction. This act of courage allows us to learn from him - both his mistakes and his victories. His bravery, imagination, wisdom and experience are offered as a gift for the taking in this book. Luz beckons the reader to join him on journey “further up and further in” a lifestyle of worship
In this challenging yet encouraging book, Luz invites the reader to participate in worship that is rich and vibrant. He envisions devotion loosed from a mere hour on Sunday morning and seeping into the rhythms of our days. His heart is to develop worshipers, not simply create worship experiences.
A book with such a scope could easily reside in the realm of theory. Not this one. Luz navigates the distance between concept and practice. He invites the reader to do the same. To this end, he ends each chapter with a “worship practice” section. Perhaps here is where his meddling shines brightest. He encourages the reader to explore potentially new maybe even uncomfortable territory in order to gain fresh insight on his or her own experience of “worship.” The fruit of this is real. Luz has lived this journey.
He writes from his own personal course-correction. This act of courage allows us to learn from him - both his mistakes and his victories. His bravery, imagination, wisdom and experience are offered as a gift for the taking in this book. Luz beckons the reader to join him on journey “further up and further in” a lifestyle of worship
August 19, 2018
In Manuel's second book (Imagine That was his first - a must-read as well), he continues using his personable and authentic writing style making himself vulnerable by showing us his warts and flaws while weaving a narrative of a theology of worship through the pages. His years as a worship leader and pastor give him plenty of experiences from which to learn but he doesn't preach to us or at us. He walks alongside as a fellow worshiper - "One beggar telling another beggar where to find food."
Full disclosure - Manuel is a close friend whom I've served alongside for 30+ years. I can say he's being authentic and honest because I've watched him live through most of these stories first-hand.
Full disclosure - Manuel is a close friend whom I've served alongside for 30+ years. I can say he's being authentic and honest because I've watched him live through most of these stories first-hand.
September 2, 2018
Honest Worship
From False Self to True Praise
by Manuel Luz
InterVarsity Press
Christian , Religion & Spirituality
Pub Date 07 Aug 2018
I am reviewing a copy of Honest Worship through Intervarsity Press and Netgalley:
Pastor Manuel Luz’s son asked him why churches needed smoke machines after his som had attended a mega Church with a friend, Pastor Manuel Luz had responded that you needed the smoke machine to see the lasers!
What do you have when you take the smoke screen and lasers down? What happens when you strip Worship down to the basics? What exactly does it look like?
Find out what worship, Honest Worship is like when you get down to the heart of it?
I give Honest Worship five out of five stars!
Pastor Manuel Luz’s son asked him why churches needed smoke machines after his som had attended a mega Church with a friend, Pastor Manuel Luz had responded that you needed the smoke machine to see the lasers!
What do you have when you take the smoke screen and lasers down? What happens when you strip Worship down to the basics? What exactly does it look like?
Find out what worship, Honest Worship is like when you get down to the heart of it?
I give Honest Worship five out of five stars!
January 11, 2019
I thing this is a great book to take a small group through a basic theology of worship. Deals with internal heart issues as well as corporate aspects of worship. The best part about this book is the Worship Practice sections at each of the chapters. Love it and will probably try to incorporate it as a textbook in my practical ministry courses in the future.
April 5, 2023
True to its title, Honest Worship (especially its first few chapters) had me probing deep into my mind, heart, and soul. Grateful to have come across this book.
August 2, 2018
Why do we worship? What is the meaning of worshiping God i Spirit and in Truth? How do we do away with any pretense in the house of God? How do we worship? In this impassioned plea for honesty and integration of heart, mind, soul, and strength, we are challenged to lay down our masks and artificial ways and take up the cross of sacrifice and service. We are challenged to let go of self and see God for Who He is, so that we can see ourselves for who we truly are, from God's perspective. Worship is not just about music and songs. It's about truth. It's not just about us. It's about God. It's not just about feelings. It's about honesty from us to God, and of God toward us. Beginning with an observation about smoke, techniques, and drama in a modern worship setting, author and worship pastor Manuel Luz reflects on his journey from "false self to true praise." With state of the art audio-visual systems, it is easy to let the externals wow our fleshly senses to the point of ignoring our spiritual needs. All this is because of the influence of the culture over us. As we let the externals dictate the way we worship, we become tempted with sensational techniques and expensive technological tools to feed the fleshly desires rather than authentic worship. As the late AW Tozer has said it so aptly that:
"Worship is no longer worship when it reflects the culture around us more than the Christ within us."
So true. For if we let the cultural norms dictate the way we sing and worship, we are essentially giving room for the world to enter God's sanctuaries of worship. Luz gives us several notable warnings. He cautions us from adopting worship from a "first person singular" which is a symptom of blatant narcissism in the Church. In our iPhone, selfie, and Me-Too cultural trends, we have turned everything into ourselves, on how we can feed the insatiable appetites of I-Me-Self-dom. Not only has the society become more individualistic, we are also changed into people who care more for ourselves more than our communities. In doing so, we turn the worship of God into some self-driven mechanism for personal spiritual experience. In other words, we use God for our own benefits. I like the way it was said that if we treat worship in a narcissistic manner, God is the director, the worship teams the performers, and the congregation as the audience. This contrasts with the God-honouring model of worship team as director, the congregation as performers, and God the audience. The tackling of the narcissistic self is an important one because it is the single biggest barrier hindering honest worship. Thankfully, Luz shows us the way in what worshiping from the true self looks like. Sharing his experience with some prisoners who were released into real worship, he contrasts the false pretense that many of us in the free society adopt both knowingly and unknowingly. One is the lost but now am found. The other is the lost but refuses to be found.
Gently prodding us along with both biblical injunctions and personal stories, this book lays the groundwork for what honest worship is, what it looks like, and how we can go about growing from activity to authenticity. Using the greatest commandment as a guide, we learn about honest worship through our hearts, mind, soul, and strength. Through the mind, we worship with understanding and discernment of His Truth. Through our hearts, we engage our emotions and experience God's passion. Through our souls, we let the Spirit of God guide us in all truth and worship. Through our strength, we participate with all of our talents, skills, and abilities. Like the late Dallas Willard taught, worship is like a series of concentric circles with the inner circle of the heart and soul that springs out toward the mind, the habit, and the body. Worship is the integration of all toward one goal: Honouring God for who God is with the whole of who we are. Luz's chapter on "Soul Worship" is excellent chapter to describe the way these function as one whole. There is the worship in community where Luz likens worship to a sharing of gifts and serving goodness among ourselves, telling God's story together. Worship also requires a rhythm that we plan into our week. The Jewish Sabbath is a call to worship. There are also everyday opportunities to worship. What is beneficial is the "worship practice" at the end of each chapter. We get practical tips and exercises on:
Worship styles
Cultivating other-centric work
Memorizing Scripture as we prepare our minds for worship
Being honest with our sins and making concrete plans to deal with them
Silence and Solitude
Learning to worship by integrating our heart, mind, body, and soul
Keeping Sabbath
Prayer
Imagination and Worship
Lectio Divina
Experiencing God, and many others
....
My Thoughts
First, I like the honesty that the author maintains throughout the book. One of the best education we can ever have are learning from personal mistakes and setbacks. In what seems like criticisms of others, some readers may be surprised that the author was self-reflective and self-revealing about his own weaknesses. He is right that often the worship scene is filled with smoke that hides us from God and from one another. We let all kinds of things get in the way of authentic worship and one of them is the lack of desire to move out of our comfort zones. Like the Israel of old that clamours for their old lives of enslavement under the Egyptians, modern folks cling on to their comfort zones of worship styles they prefer rather than what authentic worship is. By addressing the barriers we install all around us, we prove to be our own biggest barriers. With Luz leading by example, readers will be more open to accept what he shares in this book.
Second, I am glad to see the integration of worship practices and spirituality. Though he leaves the actual "worship practice" to the end of each chapter, there are hints of the integration of both practice and spirituality throughout the book. This integration theme is consistent throughout the book. Person wise, there is the integration of heart, mind, soul, and strength in our practice of the biblical commandment. Style wise, there is a blending of all kinds of music. From liturgical to contemporary, traditional to modern, meditative to charismatic, there is nothing to keep us from using any of them. He even suggests we go periodically to different churches to experience worship in an alternative environment.
Third, worship is not just about music. It is about the whole of life. It is about our expression of love for God through worship in Church, worship in rhythm, and worship in everyday life. Honest worship means being honest in every way. From the call to worship to the benediction, from Sunday to the Jewish Sabbath, we are urged to move beyond conventional ways of understanding worship toward an inclusive worshipful person, honouring God with our lives as vessels of worship all the time. We are called to be honest not only during worship time but for all of time. This is probably the best reminder we all need.
Manuel Luz is the creative arts pastor of Oak Hills Church in Folsom, California, and has been an active advocate for worship and the arts for more than twenty-five years. He is also the author of Imagine That, a working musician and songwriter, and the co-inventer of the musical instrument the WalkaBout. He blogs regularly in "Adventures in Faith and Art."
Rating:
conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of InterVarsity Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.
"Worship is no longer worship when it reflects the culture around us more than the Christ within us."
So true. For if we let the cultural norms dictate the way we sing and worship, we are essentially giving room for the world to enter God's sanctuaries of worship. Luz gives us several notable warnings. He cautions us from adopting worship from a "first person singular" which is a symptom of blatant narcissism in the Church. In our iPhone, selfie, and Me-Too cultural trends, we have turned everything into ourselves, on how we can feed the insatiable appetites of I-Me-Self-dom. Not only has the society become more individualistic, we are also changed into people who care more for ourselves more than our communities. In doing so, we turn the worship of God into some self-driven mechanism for personal spiritual experience. In other words, we use God for our own benefits. I like the way it was said that if we treat worship in a narcissistic manner, God is the director, the worship teams the performers, and the congregation as the audience. This contrasts with the God-honouring model of worship team as director, the congregation as performers, and God the audience. The tackling of the narcissistic self is an important one because it is the single biggest barrier hindering honest worship. Thankfully, Luz shows us the way in what worshiping from the true self looks like. Sharing his experience with some prisoners who were released into real worship, he contrasts the false pretense that many of us in the free society adopt both knowingly and unknowingly. One is the lost but now am found. The other is the lost but refuses to be found.
Gently prodding us along with both biblical injunctions and personal stories, this book lays the groundwork for what honest worship is, what it looks like, and how we can go about growing from activity to authenticity. Using the greatest commandment as a guide, we learn about honest worship through our hearts, mind, soul, and strength. Through the mind, we worship with understanding and discernment of His Truth. Through our hearts, we engage our emotions and experience God's passion. Through our souls, we let the Spirit of God guide us in all truth and worship. Through our strength, we participate with all of our talents, skills, and abilities. Like the late Dallas Willard taught, worship is like a series of concentric circles with the inner circle of the heart and soul that springs out toward the mind, the habit, and the body. Worship is the integration of all toward one goal: Honouring God for who God is with the whole of who we are. Luz's chapter on "Soul Worship" is excellent chapter to describe the way these function as one whole. There is the worship in community where Luz likens worship to a sharing of gifts and serving goodness among ourselves, telling God's story together. Worship also requires a rhythm that we plan into our week. The Jewish Sabbath is a call to worship. There are also everyday opportunities to worship. What is beneficial is the "worship practice" at the end of each chapter. We get practical tips and exercises on:
Worship styles
Cultivating other-centric work
Memorizing Scripture as we prepare our minds for worship
Being honest with our sins and making concrete plans to deal with them
Silence and Solitude
Learning to worship by integrating our heart, mind, body, and soul
Keeping Sabbath
Prayer
Imagination and Worship
Lectio Divina
Experiencing God, and many others
....
My Thoughts
First, I like the honesty that the author maintains throughout the book. One of the best education we can ever have are learning from personal mistakes and setbacks. In what seems like criticisms of others, some readers may be surprised that the author was self-reflective and self-revealing about his own weaknesses. He is right that often the worship scene is filled with smoke that hides us from God and from one another. We let all kinds of things get in the way of authentic worship and one of them is the lack of desire to move out of our comfort zones. Like the Israel of old that clamours for their old lives of enslavement under the Egyptians, modern folks cling on to their comfort zones of worship styles they prefer rather than what authentic worship is. By addressing the barriers we install all around us, we prove to be our own biggest barriers. With Luz leading by example, readers will be more open to accept what he shares in this book.
Second, I am glad to see the integration of worship practices and spirituality. Though he leaves the actual "worship practice" to the end of each chapter, there are hints of the integration of both practice and spirituality throughout the book. This integration theme is consistent throughout the book. Person wise, there is the integration of heart, mind, soul, and strength in our practice of the biblical commandment. Style wise, there is a blending of all kinds of music. From liturgical to contemporary, traditional to modern, meditative to charismatic, there is nothing to keep us from using any of them. He even suggests we go periodically to different churches to experience worship in an alternative environment.
Third, worship is not just about music. It is about the whole of life. It is about our expression of love for God through worship in Church, worship in rhythm, and worship in everyday life. Honest worship means being honest in every way. From the call to worship to the benediction, from Sunday to the Jewish Sabbath, we are urged to move beyond conventional ways of understanding worship toward an inclusive worshipful person, honouring God with our lives as vessels of worship all the time. We are called to be honest not only during worship time but for all of time. This is probably the best reminder we all need.
Manuel Luz is the creative arts pastor of Oak Hills Church in Folsom, California, and has been an active advocate for worship and the arts for more than twenty-five years. He is also the author of Imagine That, a working musician and songwriter, and the co-inventer of the musical instrument the WalkaBout. He blogs regularly in "Adventures in Faith and Art."
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This book has been provided courtesy of InterVarsity Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.
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November 19, 2018I took my time with Manuel Luz' book. He is a worship leader and a spiritual director combined in one author. You often do not find that combination. It was a nice experience.
In this book he aims to encourage worship and nourish the soul of the reader. It happens as you read. At the end of each chapter is an exercise from classical spiritual direction programs.
In this book he aims to encourage worship and nourish the soul of the reader. It happens as you read. At the end of each chapter is an exercise from classical spiritual direction programs.
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