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Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives on Worship and the Arts
One of Discerning Reader's Best Books We are not created to worship. Nor are we created for worship. We are created worshiping. Too often Christians have only thought of worship in terms of particular musical styles or liturgical formats. But a proper view of worship is far larger than what takes place in churches on Sunday mornings. Worship is not limited to specific times, places or activities. God is by his very nature continuously outpouring himself. Because we are created in his image, we too are continually pouring ourselves in various directions, whether toward God or toward false gods. All of us, Christian or not, are always worshiping, whether or not that worship is directed toward God. We are unceasing worshipers. The fruition of a lifetime of study, reflection and experience, this volume sets forth Harold M. Best's understanding of worship and the arts. Widely respected as one of the foremost thinkers and practitioners in his field, Best explores the full scope of worship as continuous outpouring in all settings and contexts. With careful exposition and eloquent analysis, Best casts a holistic vision for worship that transcends narrow discussions of musical style or congregational preference. On this broader canvas, Best addresses popular misunderstandings about the use of music and offers correctives toward a more biblically consistent practice of artistic action. Incisive, biblical, profound and comprehensive, Best's landmark volume is one by which all other statements on worship and the arts will be measured.
226 pages, Paperback
First published October 31, 2003
48 people are currently reading
407 people want to read
About the author
Harold M. Best
10 books4 followersHarold M. Best is emeritus professor of music and dean emeritus of the Wheaton College (Illinois) Conservatory of Music.
Prior to joining the Wheaton faculty in 1970, Dr. Best served as professor of organ and theory at Nyack (N.Y.) Missionary College. During his last two years at Nyack he served as Chairman of the division of music. Dr. Best received the B.S.B. form Nyack College, the M.A. from Claremont Graduate School, and the D.S.M. from Union Theological Seminary. His retirement in May 1997 was celebrated with the publication of a Festschrift, "The Oil is our Worship, The Water is our Service".
Dr. Best is the author of numerous articles on the relationship of Christianity to the fine arts, issues in arts education, and curriculum. His book Music Through the Eyes of Faith was published by HarperSanFrancisco in 1993. He composes in a wide range of media and styles, and his publications include both choral and organ compositions. He is also active at the national level as a lecturer, consultant and workshop leader.
Dr. Best is active at the national level of music and higher education. He is Past President of the National Association of Schools of Music and past Chairman of the Commission on Accreditation. In connection with this, he also serves regularly as a lecturer, evaluator and consultant in accreditational and curricular matters. In addition, he is a member of the ASCAP Standard Awards Panel.
At the local level, he is past President of the Board of Directors of the Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus and is Chairman of the Wheaton Municipal Band Commission.
Besides his professional work in music, Dr. Best has restored a 1954 Studebaker coupe and a 1956 Hawk and is presently at work on a 1953. He enjoys constructing radio-controlled airplane models, and furniture refinishing.
Dr. Best and his wife, Juel, have three children and four grandchildren. They are members of the Glen Ellyn Covenant Church where he was choir director from 1971 to 1996.
Prior to joining the Wheaton faculty in 1970, Dr. Best served as professor of organ and theory at Nyack (N.Y.) Missionary College. During his last two years at Nyack he served as Chairman of the division of music. Dr. Best received the B.S.B. form Nyack College, the M.A. from Claremont Graduate School, and the D.S.M. from Union Theological Seminary. His retirement in May 1997 was celebrated with the publication of a Festschrift, "The Oil is our Worship, The Water is our Service".
Dr. Best is the author of numerous articles on the relationship of Christianity to the fine arts, issues in arts education, and curriculum. His book Music Through the Eyes of Faith was published by HarperSanFrancisco in 1993. He composes in a wide range of media and styles, and his publications include both choral and organ compositions. He is also active at the national level as a lecturer, consultant and workshop leader.
Dr. Best is active at the national level of music and higher education. He is Past President of the National Association of Schools of Music and past Chairman of the Commission on Accreditation. In connection with this, he also serves regularly as a lecturer, evaluator and consultant in accreditational and curricular matters. In addition, he is a member of the ASCAP Standard Awards Panel.
At the local level, he is past President of the Board of Directors of the Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus and is Chairman of the Wheaton Municipal Band Commission.
Besides his professional work in music, Dr. Best has restored a 1954 Studebaker coupe and a 1956 Hawk and is presently at work on a 1953. He enjoys constructing radio-controlled airplane models, and furniture refinishing.
Dr. Best and his wife, Juel, have three children and four grandchildren. They are members of the Glen Ellyn Covenant Church where he was choir director from 1971 to 1996.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
June 7, 2021
Easily the best book I read in 2017! It's truly written for everyone, but especially if you are at all musical, artistic, or creative in any other sense, you have to read this!
April 28, 2022
Worship does not begin and end on a Sunday morning gathering. Believers are worshipers created for continuous outpouring. Harold Best, in his book Unceasing Worship, sets out to give a biblical perspective on the continuous and pervasive nature of worship, and how it encompasses every part of our Christian lives, including the arts in corporate gatherings. The book is divided into two halves, the first being devoted to unceasing worship as continuous outpouring, and the second its more specific application to the arts.
The author, Harold Best, served as dean at the conservatory of music at Wheaton College. He is also an organist and composer, a prolific musician involved in the arts in many levels. Best also served as president of the National Association of Schools of Music, and has written much, his other works including Music through the Eyes of Faith. In Unceasing Worship, his book lays out the implications of his definition of worship in all aspects of the Christian walk and its perspective changes on the role of arts in the church.
Summary
Harold Best begins by clearly defining and laying out his definition of worship. He asserts that worship is the “continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing god” (18). Much of his emphasis relies on the “continuousness” of worship, its relentless nature in all aspects of life. Best points to the fact that God is the “uniquely Continuous Outpourer” (21). At the Fall, humanity did not stop worshiping, but exchanged gods.
As New Covenant believers, Christ has come and accomplished redemption, which changes our worship. In the next chapter, Best articulates that “authentic worship can only be in Christ” (27). In answering the question of what authentic worship is, Best outlines authentic worship in relation to faith, hope, and love. Faith is the substance and evidence of authentic worship. Hope, in turn, is the “forward joy of substance and evidence” (31). Finally, love is the “rooting and the grounding of the whole” (33). Worship is also not dependent on time or place, they are only incidental. Therefore, authentic worship “is to be undertaken by faith, driven by love, designed by hope and saturated with truth, whatever the context, time and place” (40-41).
The reader’s attention is then drawn to the word in, specifically highlighting what Harold Best deems “mutual indwelling,” referring to the believer’s benefits found in Christ, and therefore with others who are also indwelt by Christ. In Christ we are “members of one another” and are indwelt by Christ only through infinite grace (52).
Mutual indwelling then leads to implications in the corporate gathering, with other mutually indwelt believers. Best argues that Christ in us demands that we gather: “Christ in us demands that each of us seek out who the rest of us are” (62). There is also a beautiful unity to the diversity of the Bride of Christ. It is in Christ’s “very changelessness that he becomes wonderfully variable to each believer” (64). Continuous outpouring within the body of Christ also demands continuous intaking, through the teaching of God’s Word. Best at the end of this chapter brings this issue home by addressing style preferences and age differences in the corporate gathering. He asserts that the very coming together of differing tastes in styles and age groups “could bring about the stylistic syntheses that the body of Christ so desperately needs” (75). Continuous worship transcends generational preferences and strives for unity around the person of Christ that indwells each and every church member.
Continuous worship is then observed in the area of witness, and is defined as “both a general and a specific out-toward and outpouring testimony that verifies [one’s continuous worship]” (77). The fact that believers are continuously worshiping means that they are always ready and equipped to make any conversation a gospel conversation, since worship is something that is continuously outpoured, including in conversation. This should also take away any anxiety when it comes to witnessing, because the believer should be “peacefully prepared” (83). There need not be any rigid evangelistic formula or outline, but natural outflow of one’s worship into everyday conversation.
Unceasing worship also works its way into a believer’s prayer life and the preaching on Sunday mornings as well. Best emphasizes the idea of “ceaseless prayer,” in which he defines it as the “condition of perpetual spiritual readiness in which specific praying…is freely undertaken in the continual now-and-then-ness of God’s leading us to pray” (95). Prayer for the Christian is a never-ending endeavor that should be sought with urgency, so that we never run out of spiritual breath for lives of continuous outpouring. In preaching, the preaching pastor should be “the chief teacher about worship as continuous outpouring” (107). God pours out His message to the preacher, and the preacher continuing his life of worship teaches in light of his life of worship.
Best then shifts to focus on the role of arts and its relation to continuous worship. In his chapter on the uniqueness of music and its role in the church, he emphasizes the importance of congregational song. Song is “music of the human voice,” and is the only medium where art can be applied to spoken word (144). The importance of song is twofold in Scripture: the role of the text and the role of the music. The truth of the text is primarily horizontal (towards each other) and the music is primarily vertical (towards God) (147). It is also important that we must allow “art to be art,” and never allow it to mediate the presence of God in our worship to raise it to the level of idolatry (159).
There are many ways in which music can become idolatry, Best argues, in worship. When art assumes the role of mediator for God’s presence, beauty and quality of art become forefront, or the results become preeminent, idolatry has crept in (166-168). Art is a gift from God, but should only be used so far as to give God the creative glory as image bearers, similar to His glory in creating the universe.
Finally, the Christian should be engaged in culture by creating good art as image-bearers. Best postulates that “those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ are intellectually and artistically incomplete until they engage as fully as possible in every combination represented in the spectrum [of culture]” (186). The Church should be the frontrunners of culture, seeking to make culturally beautiful art to the glory of God, as a means of continuous worship.
Critique
Harold Best provides a very helpful Biblical perspective on the unceasing nature of worship in the believer’s life, and its profound effects. The first half of the book, dealing with the Biblical theology of continuous worship and its numerous implications on the Christian, was especially helpful. It is clear that his theology on the continuous outpouring of worship is well thought out, and deeply devotional in the many effects on the Christian life.
I thought his emphasis on the significance of Christ dwelling within each believer was both fascinating and insightful. I had never thought about the implications of Christ indwelling every Christian, but there are numerous, and he does well in drawing them out. If every believer has Christ in them, there is profound unity to be had. It is not at all in our likeability or ability to gain God’s approval, but only in His infinite grace that He indwells each and every Child of God.
The implications on the corporate gathering of believers were many as well. Best did a good job linking the fact of believers being indwelt by Christ and the need for gathering. Continuous outpouring “demands fellowship” (62). The author also helpfully applied his thoughts to the current controversies of the church today, specifically surrounding style preferences in the music. He did this well throughout the book; applying biblical ideas of continuous worship to the current scene of the church. This made his thoughts especially applicable to the reader.
The chapter on Christian witness was an especially helpful and convicting chapter as it relates to his theme on unceasing worship. The relation between witnessing and continuous worship was seamlessly drawn. Best connected it by pointing to the ease of connecting everyday conversation to gospel conversation, out of worship in one’s life. This also relieves the pressure and necessity for a gospel structured conversation; true gospel witness flows from a continually worshiping life. This perspective is so helpful and applicable to the reader, a ready application of the Christian characterized by unceasing worship. I thought Best’s application to ceaseless prayer was helpful as well, connecting the need for dependance on the Lord and the everyday needs that come up in the believer’s life. Finally, Best’s comments on the unique roles of music in the church were insightful. Congregational song is especially unique because it is the only art form that involves speech.
Despite his helpful survey of the implications of continuous worship, Best’s writing style was not always helpful. Throughout the entirety of his book, Best would expound his points over the span of many words, overly drawing out a single point with long illustrations and the abundance of words. It often times made tracking his original point very difficult, when the point could have been made a lot more concisely and therefore would have been easier to comprehend. Overall, most of his points could have been made a lot more concisely to assist the reader in comprehension.
Also, the first half of the book was very helpful and insightful for Christians and worship leaders for the church, but the second half was often obscure and lacked a lot of the ready application that the first half was characterized by. For example, there was an entire chapter devoted to artistic action, which is a more philosophical and esoteric topic that does not necessarily deserve an entire chapter’s devotion to the topic. This also relates back to the point earlier of being more concise in points; a lot of the topics drawn out in the second half of the book did not need as much ink spilt on it. More time could have been spent on addressing the current issues with church music today, like he addressed at times.
Overall, I really enjoyed Unceasing Worship by Harold Best, and I thought his implications for the Christian life, especially in the first half of the book, were extremely applicable and convicting for my life. It is an extremely helpful perspective to see the Christian life as continuous outpouring, and I will continue to strive, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to worship the Lord always with my heart, soul, mind, and strength, regardless of the time, place, or context.
The author, Harold Best, served as dean at the conservatory of music at Wheaton College. He is also an organist and composer, a prolific musician involved in the arts in many levels. Best also served as president of the National Association of Schools of Music, and has written much, his other works including Music through the Eyes of Faith. In Unceasing Worship, his book lays out the implications of his definition of worship in all aspects of the Christian walk and its perspective changes on the role of arts in the church.
Summary
Harold Best begins by clearly defining and laying out his definition of worship. He asserts that worship is the “continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing god” (18). Much of his emphasis relies on the “continuousness” of worship, its relentless nature in all aspects of life. Best points to the fact that God is the “uniquely Continuous Outpourer” (21). At the Fall, humanity did not stop worshiping, but exchanged gods.
As New Covenant believers, Christ has come and accomplished redemption, which changes our worship. In the next chapter, Best articulates that “authentic worship can only be in Christ” (27). In answering the question of what authentic worship is, Best outlines authentic worship in relation to faith, hope, and love. Faith is the substance and evidence of authentic worship. Hope, in turn, is the “forward joy of substance and evidence” (31). Finally, love is the “rooting and the grounding of the whole” (33). Worship is also not dependent on time or place, they are only incidental. Therefore, authentic worship “is to be undertaken by faith, driven by love, designed by hope and saturated with truth, whatever the context, time and place” (40-41).
The reader’s attention is then drawn to the word in, specifically highlighting what Harold Best deems “mutual indwelling,” referring to the believer’s benefits found in Christ, and therefore with others who are also indwelt by Christ. In Christ we are “members of one another” and are indwelt by Christ only through infinite grace (52).
Mutual indwelling then leads to implications in the corporate gathering, with other mutually indwelt believers. Best argues that Christ in us demands that we gather: “Christ in us demands that each of us seek out who the rest of us are” (62). There is also a beautiful unity to the diversity of the Bride of Christ. It is in Christ’s “very changelessness that he becomes wonderfully variable to each believer” (64). Continuous outpouring within the body of Christ also demands continuous intaking, through the teaching of God’s Word. Best at the end of this chapter brings this issue home by addressing style preferences and age differences in the corporate gathering. He asserts that the very coming together of differing tastes in styles and age groups “could bring about the stylistic syntheses that the body of Christ so desperately needs” (75). Continuous worship transcends generational preferences and strives for unity around the person of Christ that indwells each and every church member.
Continuous worship is then observed in the area of witness, and is defined as “both a general and a specific out-toward and outpouring testimony that verifies [one’s continuous worship]” (77). The fact that believers are continuously worshiping means that they are always ready and equipped to make any conversation a gospel conversation, since worship is something that is continuously outpoured, including in conversation. This should also take away any anxiety when it comes to witnessing, because the believer should be “peacefully prepared” (83). There need not be any rigid evangelistic formula or outline, but natural outflow of one’s worship into everyday conversation.
Unceasing worship also works its way into a believer’s prayer life and the preaching on Sunday mornings as well. Best emphasizes the idea of “ceaseless prayer,” in which he defines it as the “condition of perpetual spiritual readiness in which specific praying…is freely undertaken in the continual now-and-then-ness of God’s leading us to pray” (95). Prayer for the Christian is a never-ending endeavor that should be sought with urgency, so that we never run out of spiritual breath for lives of continuous outpouring. In preaching, the preaching pastor should be “the chief teacher about worship as continuous outpouring” (107). God pours out His message to the preacher, and the preacher continuing his life of worship teaches in light of his life of worship.
Best then shifts to focus on the role of arts and its relation to continuous worship. In his chapter on the uniqueness of music and its role in the church, he emphasizes the importance of congregational song. Song is “music of the human voice,” and is the only medium where art can be applied to spoken word (144). The importance of song is twofold in Scripture: the role of the text and the role of the music. The truth of the text is primarily horizontal (towards each other) and the music is primarily vertical (towards God) (147). It is also important that we must allow “art to be art,” and never allow it to mediate the presence of God in our worship to raise it to the level of idolatry (159).
There are many ways in which music can become idolatry, Best argues, in worship. When art assumes the role of mediator for God’s presence, beauty and quality of art become forefront, or the results become preeminent, idolatry has crept in (166-168). Art is a gift from God, but should only be used so far as to give God the creative glory as image bearers, similar to His glory in creating the universe.
Finally, the Christian should be engaged in culture by creating good art as image-bearers. Best postulates that “those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ are intellectually and artistically incomplete until they engage as fully as possible in every combination represented in the spectrum [of culture]” (186). The Church should be the frontrunners of culture, seeking to make culturally beautiful art to the glory of God, as a means of continuous worship.
Critique
Harold Best provides a very helpful Biblical perspective on the unceasing nature of worship in the believer’s life, and its profound effects. The first half of the book, dealing with the Biblical theology of continuous worship and its numerous implications on the Christian, was especially helpful. It is clear that his theology on the continuous outpouring of worship is well thought out, and deeply devotional in the many effects on the Christian life.
I thought his emphasis on the significance of Christ dwelling within each believer was both fascinating and insightful. I had never thought about the implications of Christ indwelling every Christian, but there are numerous, and he does well in drawing them out. If every believer has Christ in them, there is profound unity to be had. It is not at all in our likeability or ability to gain God’s approval, but only in His infinite grace that He indwells each and every Child of God.
The implications on the corporate gathering of believers were many as well. Best did a good job linking the fact of believers being indwelt by Christ and the need for gathering. Continuous outpouring “demands fellowship” (62). The author also helpfully applied his thoughts to the current controversies of the church today, specifically surrounding style preferences in the music. He did this well throughout the book; applying biblical ideas of continuous worship to the current scene of the church. This made his thoughts especially applicable to the reader.
The chapter on Christian witness was an especially helpful and convicting chapter as it relates to his theme on unceasing worship. The relation between witnessing and continuous worship was seamlessly drawn. Best connected it by pointing to the ease of connecting everyday conversation to gospel conversation, out of worship in one’s life. This also relieves the pressure and necessity for a gospel structured conversation; true gospel witness flows from a continually worshiping life. This perspective is so helpful and applicable to the reader, a ready application of the Christian characterized by unceasing worship. I thought Best’s application to ceaseless prayer was helpful as well, connecting the need for dependance on the Lord and the everyday needs that come up in the believer’s life. Finally, Best’s comments on the unique roles of music in the church were insightful. Congregational song is especially unique because it is the only art form that involves speech.
Despite his helpful survey of the implications of continuous worship, Best’s writing style was not always helpful. Throughout the entirety of his book, Best would expound his points over the span of many words, overly drawing out a single point with long illustrations and the abundance of words. It often times made tracking his original point very difficult, when the point could have been made a lot more concisely and therefore would have been easier to comprehend. Overall, most of his points could have been made a lot more concisely to assist the reader in comprehension.
Also, the first half of the book was very helpful and insightful for Christians and worship leaders for the church, but the second half was often obscure and lacked a lot of the ready application that the first half was characterized by. For example, there was an entire chapter devoted to artistic action, which is a more philosophical and esoteric topic that does not necessarily deserve an entire chapter’s devotion to the topic. This also relates back to the point earlier of being more concise in points; a lot of the topics drawn out in the second half of the book did not need as much ink spilt on it. More time could have been spent on addressing the current issues with church music today, like he addressed at times.
Overall, I really enjoyed Unceasing Worship by Harold Best, and I thought his implications for the Christian life, especially in the first half of the book, were extremely applicable and convicting for my life. It is an extremely helpful perspective to see the Christian life as continuous outpouring, and I will continue to strive, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to worship the Lord always with my heart, soul, mind, and strength, regardless of the time, place, or context.
April 9, 2020
This is a great book. While this book takes some thought and concentration it is not difficult to navigate. In that I mean it is not a superficial book about worship but more of a theology of worship.
The first part of the book is to me the strongest. Best starts by giving one of the best definitions of worship (continuous outpouring...). He reminds us we are all worshiping something(s) continually. Best goes on to unpack what has gone wrong with worship. He then reminds us of our motivation to worship. If God is unceasingly pouring Himself out, then we who are the Imago Dei are to unceasingly pour ourselves out.
Best also lays out the relationship between the arts and worship. He points out that all forms of the arts, from dance and painting to music are all tools for worship. But we must be careful to hold them in their proper place. To say I really felt God's presence in the music runs close to idolizing music and giving it a greater place than it should have.
You will not find an argument for any particular style of worship, type of music or anything else like that here. What you will find is a book packed full of truth about worship, and how the things we use aid our worship without becoming objects of worship.
The only thing missing was a soundtrack. I think Michael Card was playing in my head the whole time I was reading this book.
The first part of the book is to me the strongest. Best starts by giving one of the best definitions of worship (continuous outpouring...). He reminds us we are all worshiping something(s) continually. Best goes on to unpack what has gone wrong with worship. He then reminds us of our motivation to worship. If God is unceasingly pouring Himself out, then we who are the Imago Dei are to unceasingly pour ourselves out.
Best also lays out the relationship between the arts and worship. He points out that all forms of the arts, from dance and painting to music are all tools for worship. But we must be careful to hold them in their proper place. To say I really felt God's presence in the music runs close to idolizing music and giving it a greater place than it should have.
You will not find an argument for any particular style of worship, type of music or anything else like that here. What you will find is a book packed full of truth about worship, and how the things we use aid our worship without becoming objects of worship.
The only thing missing was a soundtrack. I think Michael Card was playing in my head the whole time I was reading this book.
July 28, 2017
This book was awesome. I loved it. I have led worship for years, but this book reinvigorated a deeper, richer understanding of what we do when we gather on a Sunday. His premise is that we are always worshipping, we are 'continual outpourers' - a scriptural understanding of worship is one that seeks to be 'pouring out' our lives in worship to God continually, in everything we do... Making Sunday morning a "continuation" of our worship rather than a time when we come to "worship." This simple premise has immense implications... as you see through page after page in reading this book. Highly recommended for all worship leaders.
April 22, 2024
This was a valuable and challenging read, with lots of great insight into a biblical philosophy of worship and the arts. The author makes the case that worship is "the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do, and all that I can ever become," and that no human being is ever *not* worshiping. He goes on to discuss how music and the arts fit into this picture of whole-life worship, and how we can make various aspects of them into idols and worship our own created thing rather than our Creator.
I found lots to agree with in this book, lots to disagree with, and most importantly, lots to think about as I continue to worship God as an artist and guide others in worship through music.
I found lots to agree with in this book, lots to disagree with, and most importantly, lots to think about as I continue to worship God as an artist and guide others in worship through music.
May 31, 2019
Lots to ponder in this one! All of life as worship — and how that works out.
Read
January 24, 2020Unceasing Worship is not currently available at local libraries.
January 31, 2023
This is the most theologically deep book I’ve read on worship. This was a needed reminder that as believers we are called to unceasing worship!
January 1, 2021
Best takes the Biblical definition of worship and applies its use for all members of a church.
February 11, 2013
Do You Hear What I Hear?
It all comes down to the music, seemingly. A bad voice, inexperience on the drums, a bloated worship team—they all influence attendance greatly. You’ve probably heard the complaints.
“I can’t worship to this.”
“I’d go to that church, but the music is horrible.”
“Why do they only sing hymns, don’t they realize what century we are in?”
Such statements raise the question: why does music, and by default, worship, matter so much? Harold M. Best’s Unceasing Worship seeks to answer this question.
Continuous Outpouring
Best begins his thesis with a definition for worship. He expands worship to move past the melody of a song and beyond the walls of church. Worship is every action and every decision made in life. Best writes,
While most Christians consider worship the musical set before a sermon on Sunday morning, Best urges us to think about worship through a wider lens. Worship is our work during the week; worship is the food we prepare for supper; worship is our creative output, whether painting, writing, or composing; worship is the way you speak to your neighbor. In short, it is a continuous outpouring of who you are to everything around you.
Mutual Indwelling
Worship defined as continuous outpouring, then, only exists within the context of community. We can only express ourselves through continuous outpouring when there is an object to receive our expression. Best notes,
Continuous outpouring occurs from mutual indwelling. As the triune God lives in relationship, so do Christians. We live in a community of family, church, and city. Continuous outpouring occurs within the context of the community.
Live Beautifully
If everything we do meets the criteria of worship and worship only occurs within the context of community, it stands to reason that Christians ought to worship well, that their life and creative output ought to be pleasing to others. Best agrees,
Our work and our expression in community is a manifestation of God both through outpouring and indwelling. We are called to create and work beautifully because that is the core of worship.
The tintinnabulations you hear on Sunday morning matter, because music is one form of continuous outpouring and mutual indwelling. But to choose your church community around the style and substance of music is to miss the mark. Christians are called to worship well in all things. Whether at your job on Tuesday morning, in the evening on Thursday, or during mass on Sunday, a Christian continuously outpours as a response to who God is.
If you are interested in a comprehensive look at worship, I recommend Harold M. Best’s Unceasing Worship.
Originally published at http://www.wherepenmeetspaper.com
It all comes down to the music, seemingly. A bad voice, inexperience on the drums, a bloated worship team—they all influence attendance greatly. You’ve probably heard the complaints.
“I can’t worship to this.”
“I’d go to that church, but the music is horrible.”
“Why do they only sing hymns, don’t they realize what century we are in?”
Such statements raise the question: why does music, and by default, worship, matter so much? Harold M. Best’s Unceasing Worship seeks to answer this question.
Continuous Outpouring
Best begins his thesis with a definition for worship. He expands worship to move past the melody of a song and beyond the walls of church. Worship is every action and every decision made in life. Best writes,
“Worship is the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing god” (18).
While most Christians consider worship the musical set before a sermon on Sunday morning, Best urges us to think about worship through a wider lens. Worship is our work during the week; worship is the food we prepare for supper; worship is our creative output, whether painting, writing, or composing; worship is the way you speak to your neighbor. In short, it is a continuous outpouring of who you are to everything around you.
Mutual Indwelling
Worship defined as continuous outpouring, then, only exists within the context of community. We can only express ourselves through continuous outpouring when there is an object to receive our expression. Best notes,
“Here, in summary, is mutual indwelling as compressed as I can get it: the triune God dwells within himself in an infinite glory and continuous outpouring. Through uncountable mercies, we are invited and authorized to say this: Christ comes to us; Christ redeems us: Christ is in us; we are in each other; God is our sanctuary; Christ is the everlasting Temple; the body of Christ is a living temple; Christ is knit into it as chief cornerstone; each believer is a living stone and yet a temple; each believer indwells all other believers; and Christ is all in all” (57).
Continuous outpouring occurs from mutual indwelling. As the triune God lives in relationship, so do Christians. We live in a community of family, church, and city. Continuous outpouring occurs within the context of the community.
Live Beautifully
If everything we do meets the criteria of worship and worship only occurs within the context of community, it stands to reason that Christians ought to worship well, that their life and creative output ought to be pleasing to others. Best agrees,
“All Christians everywhere should seek to make, to do and to articulate things as beautifully as possible” (166).
Our work and our expression in community is a manifestation of God both through outpouring and indwelling. We are called to create and work beautifully because that is the core of worship.
The tintinnabulations you hear on Sunday morning matter, because music is one form of continuous outpouring and mutual indwelling. But to choose your church community around the style and substance of music is to miss the mark. Christians are called to worship well in all things. Whether at your job on Tuesday morning, in the evening on Thursday, or during mass on Sunday, a Christian continuously outpours as a response to who God is.
If you are interested in a comprehensive look at worship, I recommend Harold M. Best’s Unceasing Worship.
Originally published at http://www.wherepenmeetspaper.com
November 7, 2013
I wholeheartedly agree with the title of the book as to what worship should be. Worship should be unceasing, our very breathing and living, much more than just singing on Sunday mornings. However, while there's much I agree with Best on, there's much with which I disagree. He is obviously a brilliant man (much smarter than I), with decades of ministry & reflection under his belt, so I'm not going to try to dispute specific points. I'll just give a few of my impressions of the book.
I did not enjoy reading Unceasing Worship. I found it inaccessible and unnecessarily high brow. It reads more as a text book than anything else. And there's nothing wrong with that. We need those kinds of books. I just prefer informative books that are also enjoyable.
Although Best states in the Introduction that he hopes he doesn't come across as snobbish or angry, this is exactly how he comes across in parts. In most every chapter, he appears ticked off. Granted, God's worship is something to get riled up about, and I do greatly appreciate Best's passion on the subject, but he straddles the accusatorial line a little too often for my liking. I think there's much more freedom in living out worship than Best accounts for.
To be fair, this book challenged me and expanded my thinking on some of my own worship leading practices. Which is great. That's what you want a book to do. But I've read many other more accessible and less critical books that have also done the same for me.
In short, you could certainly learn a lot from this book. But you could also learn a lot from other books written on living out our worship, and I'd personally recommend you read one of those.
I did not enjoy reading Unceasing Worship. I found it inaccessible and unnecessarily high brow. It reads more as a text book than anything else. And there's nothing wrong with that. We need those kinds of books. I just prefer informative books that are also enjoyable.
Although Best states in the Introduction that he hopes he doesn't come across as snobbish or angry, this is exactly how he comes across in parts. In most every chapter, he appears ticked off. Granted, God's worship is something to get riled up about, and I do greatly appreciate Best's passion on the subject, but he straddles the accusatorial line a little too often for my liking. I think there's much more freedom in living out worship than Best accounts for.
To be fair, this book challenged me and expanded my thinking on some of my own worship leading practices. Which is great. That's what you want a book to do. But I've read many other more accessible and less critical books that have also done the same for me.
In short, you could certainly learn a lot from this book. But you could also learn a lot from other books written on living out our worship, and I'd personally recommend you read one of those.
October 1, 2016
It's pretty amazing that Best's book from 2003, which wades into the contemporary/traditional church music debate, remains incredibly relevant almost 15 years later. This is largely due to Best's timeless prose - he wisely focuses on a carefully articulated philosophical-theological basis for worship practice, before diving into any practical applications of his ideas. Even when he does move into application, he deftly avoids heavy rhetoric or a 'preachy' tone.
Readers should know that Best's writing is fairly dense, and this reads like a philosophy textbook at times. However, for those willing to take the time, his work yields bountiful rewards to the reader. I have never read a more thoughtful, and yet passionate, manifesto for the practice of worship in the Christian life. Anyone in ministry leadership, or interested laity, should set aside the time and willpower to "sit at Harold's feet."
Readers should know that Best's writing is fairly dense, and this reads like a philosophy textbook at times. However, for those willing to take the time, his work yields bountiful rewards to the reader. I have never read a more thoughtful, and yet passionate, manifesto for the practice of worship in the Christian life. Anyone in ministry leadership, or interested laity, should set aside the time and willpower to "sit at Harold's feet."
August 6, 2012
While there is a bit too much jargon for my liking at times (particularly the start) this is an excellent overview of biblical perspectives on the arts, artists, worship and idolatry doctrine from the perspective of the author. Of particular interest to the average reader is Best's explanation of the role of worship in average people's lives and what role corporate worship plays if we are to be continuous outpourers of praise. Most importantly, what does this look like in a practical context?
Of interest to readers with a background in the arts is the exploration of what is the purpose of producing art and what role does the pursuit of quality play within the hazardous lines of artistic superiority.
Of interest to readers with a background in the arts is the exploration of what is the purpose of producing art and what role does the pursuit of quality play within the hazardous lines of artistic superiority.
October 22, 2008
The best part of this book is where it really explored what "worship style" is and how it fits in the church. I loved how it spoke of worship and that our style should be more reflective of the best expression of our community's worship for God and should not be used simply as a means of attracting people to church. If attraction is the focus of the worship, it's not worship God. Any attraction happening should be an attraction to authentic worship, not necessarily to cool music.
March 11, 2009
Good and awful in places. Best has insights on the nature of worship and idolatry. Although he isn't an aesthetic relativist, he concludes that "style turns out not to matter much so long a we understand that (as Calvin Miller likes to say) when the Holy Spirit puts the hurt on the human spirit, style becomes curiously irrelevant." The book is better than this quote indicates, but still, these quotes are there.
December 24, 2016
I did not like this book. While Best has some interesting things to say about worship being continuous and the use of art in worship, I do not like some of his conclusions and disagree with them. His theology is lacking in certain places and his exegesis is clearly not refined. Best is an artist, not a theologian. His subtitle would better be "A Christian Artist's Perspective on Worship and the Arts."
April 19, 2007
I've read through this book a few times now and it never seems to lose it's original punch. Best presents a great look at what worship really is and explores different forms of worship. I am always challenged when I read it.
October 30, 2007
A remarkable book, one that I will reread throughout my life. Best's ability to poetically express truth is quite refreshing, though his concepts were so large that it took me a long time to get through the book.
Read
January 26, 2011Unceasing Worship, by Harold Best. We read this extraordinary work for a Sunday school "semester". Aimed at servants in the worship/music ministry, and presented with a college-level vocabulary, this work still has a lot to offer anyone interested in communal worship.
September 27, 2021
This is the most important (albeit, likely most challenging, as well) book you may ever read on worship. Anything else I add would be spoilers. Take your time, & read it more than once.
September 19, 2008
If you want to read something deeper than the current 'worship industry' allows, this is the text. Tangible and accessible and very meaningful.
March 1, 2016
Best is well versed and extremely wise and knowledgeable. However, his writing was long winded and sometimes felt like a rant. All amazing content that I'd suggest anyone to read this book
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