Worship Old and New

by Robert E. Webber

A reexamination of the actual practice of worship that goes beyond the merely academic to provide a practical perspective through the eyes of the worship leader and the congregation. The most effective approach to worship is one that blends historical and traditional practices with contemporary elements. Worship Old and New is a scholarly, up-to-date, and thought-provoking resource for anyone serious about exploring worship and how to bring about a worship renewal in the church. Now reformatted and updated for an easier, more logical approach to worship theology, this revised edition is divided into four major sections, New information is incorporated into each section to give you a better grasp of the biblical themes of worship, a deeper understanding of Old Testament customs, and a solid grounding in modern-day renewal movements. This book is ideal for ministerial, classroom, and congregational settings.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Nonfiction, Church, Faith, Church History, Religion

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Nathan Marone]

Designed as a survey text on worship and is good as such. Though directed at evangelicals, WO&N presents a spectrum of Western worship practices. If it has a deficiency, it is that there's not enough here on practices from other parts of the world.

One thing I appreciated about Webber's approach is that he manages to critique evangelical worship without getting heavy-handed. The primary critique is that evangelical worship is too song-oriented and too experience-oriented. Neither of those things are bad, of course, but a heavy emphasis on them can distort our worship quite a bit. And this is true of other worship traditions as well; they just have different areas of focus.

Read for a class, 2nd edition. Could use some updating, which may remedy my main complaint about the lack of survey on global worship practices.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and very well researched and written, but ultimately unnecessary. Obviously there's conclusions I don't agree with and disagreements over minor theological ideas, but my main problem is that this book didn't seem to contribute anything into practical Christianity: reaching the lost, encountering God in a deeper way, discipleship, etc. It seemed more like a call to return to tradition rather than adapt. Individual contexts are not considered, nor how disastrous it would be in a post-Christian setting to return to a more "legalistic" if much richer worship concept. I recommend reading it, I recommend owning a copy of this book, but as a church leader, nothing in this book is relevant to my ministry and purpose.

[Jamey · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was initially a struggle for me to get into this book, but I am glad I stuck with it. There is such a wealth of information here: historical, liturgical and all encompassing. Webber not only outlines the history of Christian worship, he also analyzes the Biblical texts that speak on worship, and pulls his views from what the early church practiced. At the end of the book are numerous resources to help worship leaders apply what they learned to their own practice. This is a great resource and if you happen to get your hands on it, I’d recommend you hold on to it for further use and study.

[Matthew Gage · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very mixed value. Some of the historical information is well done though too limited in scope. Much of the debates surrounding modern worship have moved past this book. The basic premise of the book is (a) churches worship wrong today, (b) here’s how groups worshipped in the past and they probably did it better, and (c) the charismatic influence in the past century is awesome. It is funny that that the only ones that are wrong are the “traditional” or free church approaches of today (or the 1990s when this was written).

[Luke Schmeltzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best part of the book was the depth of analysis of historical worship practices and how it connected those to each other and the present. However, I don’t think Webber’s personal arguments and application suggestions were as helpful. Some of this is due to the dated-ness of the book; some is due to my own theological differences with the author. Read for a Preaching and Worship class.

[Alex Monseth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, a little outdated now. Weber has a lot of tidbits on a wide variety of topics that can be helpful.

[Wesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book! Despite being written for the broader Evangelical community, Weber highlights a tension that exists in a particularly obvious way in the Anglican Church in North America: traditional vs. contemporary (or catholic vs. Protestant).

While he remains open to innovation, he does so without losing sight of the beauty of liturgical worship that's been passed down through the ages by the earlier Christians.

Every worship leader should have to read this book because his assessment is absolutely accurate: "Unfortunately, many evangelicals are drawn to a market-driven worship that views worship in a mere functional, presentational manner. Eventually, such a worship will produce shallow believers. Hence, the urgency to perfect a biblically informed worship." This is exactly what's happened since the writing of this book (in 1994), making Weber's message more relevant than ever before.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like history, this is a good book about the history of why Christians worship. Webber discusses the reasons behind certain practices and why we should still worship with the same fervor that our early ancestors did.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book and other of Webber's writings opened my eyes to a much broader understanding of worship than I had ever had before.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book sent this Pentecostal on a liturgical journey

[Oladipo Shoyoola · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book on the subject and all encompassing

[Kris Rolls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great primer on worship. Webber covers theological, historical, and methodological foundations of worship. Compelling anecdotes that call churches to acknowledge historic practices and forms.

[Marc Volgers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough introduction to Worship

[Jt]

Webber