How Then Should We Worship

by Sam E. Waldron

How Then Should We Worship sets out guidelines for a distinctively Reformed worship, according to the regulative principle of the church.

Genres: Theology

320 pages, Hardcover

Published August 22, 2022

Reviews

[Timothy Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple but helpful read for the churchman. Should be required reading for church planting.

[Zachary Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is extremely helpful in seeking to rightly understand the Regulative Principle of the church. Even if you do not come from the Reformed tradition, Waldron does an adequate job of providing scriptural warrant for why churches have historically followed this principle and everyone can benefit from reading it. Two things that were helpful for me from this book was his definition of the Regulative Principle and his careful following of the text to support this definition.

[Andrei Neacsu · Rating 4 out of 5]

O carte excelenta! Am apreciat ca autorul a început cu biserica ca fiind sfântă și ce implica acest adevăr. Apoi a abordat fiecare element al închinării, făcând distincția dintre părțile principale și cele secundare.
Singurul minus, mi-aș fi dorit sa dezvolte mai mult ideea de a canta psalmii asa cum sunt împliniți în Hristos. Recomand cărțile Learning to love the psalms de W Robert Godfrey și Cristos în fiecare psalm de Christopher Ash.

[Johnny Zacchio jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Waldron’s work on this topic is foundational to a true understanding of the corporate worship of God’s people. You may not agree with every conclusion, but it will prove difficult to come up with biblical arguments to refute them. Richly exegetical and pastoral. I’m thankful to have been trained under him in seminary these last 3 years!

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book that, contrary to the title, has to do with far more than worship but extends to the very foundation of ecclesiology. Waldron argues for the Regulative Principle and shows that it is not merely the Regulative Principle of Worship but extends to all the formal actions and structures of the church. He then applies this to formal worship (as suggested by the title).

The book does have some significant drawbacks. If you have read much of Waldron's other material, this book *feels* very different; he is not at his top form here in that he doesn't seem to have his usual iron-clad outline; to be sure, each chapter is preceded by an outline marker, but some chapters wander a bit and can be repetitive. The book needs better editing as well; there are a number of spelling errors and a few "left over" words that seem to be from first-draft sentence structures. And, for those who have read Waldron's booklet on the Regulative Principle, it is pretty obvious that this book is an expansion of that material; nothing of course is wrong with that, but the old material feels stretched out and interrupted here.

Nevertheless, this book is quite good. It is written accessibly and mostly straightforwardly in a way that most church members will have no difficulty reading. There is a wealth of practical advice mixed in from Waldron's years of experience and he offers good (though sometimes far too brief) explanations of some difficult texts. Pick the book up if you want to know what the Scriptures teach concerning worship (and the church), but if you are just looking for the proofs of the Regulative Principle, read Waldron's Regulative Principle of the Church.

[Michael Beatty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dr. Waldron is to be commended for addressing the RPW and its implications for church life. The material on the amen and the holy church are excellent. These chapters have given me a lot to consider and to implement in the life of the local church.

The book contains some glaring errors regarding citation, argument, and consistency. Some of my concerns with the volume:
-material is being directly or indirectly cited without citation
-John 4:24 seems to be used as a central dogma
-the etymological fallacy is employed to defend instruments in God’s worship

I sincerely wish Dr. Waldron employed a careful editor to catch basic citation errors. In a day where plagiarism is causing many men to be disqualified from the ministry, ministers of the gospel must aspire to not even give the appearance of evil.

[Gregg Kite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Waldron presents an extremely lucid case for the Regulative Principle of Worship, making clear distinctions between the parts and circumstances of worship, a needed distinction in our day. This is a book that any pastor or music leader ought to get familiar with, to set up appropriate and biblical guardrails on their practice in corporate worship, and also to distinguish how to apply this principle.

[En Yi WEI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful and insightful explanation of the RPW (RPC), clearly shunning the extreme view of EP.

Part 2.2.2 on “Offering” is worth more study and reflection

Part 2.2.5 on “Amen” is great!

Part 2.2.9 on “The Parts”, whereby “clapping” and “raising hands” were discussed, they are insightful and helpful.

Overall, the book is so SAM. Thankful for his ministry.

[Travis Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book overall, but there are certainly some places where Dr. Waldron makes assumptions, doesn't back them up, and then declares them to be a dogmatic truth. Aside from those few areas, this is a great book on how the Regulative Principle of Worship should govern corporate worship.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The regulative principle has been dogmatically asserted and rigorously defended but never has been presented as clear as how Dr. Waldron writes in this welcome volume.

It is indeed the regulative principle of the church first that governs everything the church does, including her worship.

[Matthew Ranck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly repetitive in some spots. 300+ pages, could have been 200-225. Other than that, good analysis and breakdown of an often misunderstood concept.

[Chris Land · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book on how worship should be done in the local church.

[Matthew Dolezal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very Biblically-supportive argument for the implementation of the Regulative Principal in corporate worship. Certainly helpful in discernment, but not exactly an easy-read, but more academic.

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful outline of the RP. Possibly a little longer than needed, due to the occasionally sermonic outline.