Proclaimer Blog
EMA featured books #1
Over the next few weeks I want to do some mini reviews and highlight some of the featured books at this year's EMA. You can buy the book before the EMA of course, but if you're coming along, it's a good way of highlighting some titles to look out for. First up is Rhythms of Grace by Mike Cosper, a book about worship. It's rarely said, but here's a book about worship that I agree with! It's theologically robust and practically reliable. As someone who fulfills a dual role of pastor and church musician, I really found it beneficial. I think it will be good for church leaders and church musicians both. Here are some of my highlights:
- it includes a good biblical theology of worship in the broadest sense starting in the garden and drawing heavily on Greg Beale's temple imagery
- it draws a useful and robust distinction between scattered worship (all of life) and gathered worship (what we do when we come together). It neither denigrates nor elevates one above the other but maintains a healthy balance.
- it understands some of the turf wars in terms of confusion about what gathered worship is for and who its primary and secondary audiences are and, like others before, traces some of the current errors back to 19th Century revivalism where worship became a spectator sport rather than something that was intrinsically participative. This section on purposes of gathered worship is the strongest part of the book.
I think the author is a bit harsh on liturgical Anglicanism (seeing the imposition of the prayer book as having both positive and negative effects, but mostly negative: he sees the imposition of the prayer book as akin to modern video technology, robbing the local congregation of authentic worship). However, that criticism aside, this is a robust and helpful book. Mike Cosper, the author is from the Sojourn Music stable, but even if you don't share his musical tastes, you will find something useful here for local church life.
At present it's only available in the UK as an ebook, but it will be out and about in time for the EMA. See you there, book in hand.