It is significant, I think, to note that both the liturgical and contemporary movements, out of opposite histories, recognized the need to prioritize worship as the first thing—or at least, one of the firsts among several equals—that the church must be about. Worship is a first, because it is a source from which the mission...Read More
This article originally appeared in the September 2005 issue of Worship Leader Magazine. Many of you know that I have been struggling with the issue of me-oriented worship. Those of you who have walked this path with me—some agreeing, others disagreeing—are probably saying “Oh no, not another article on the same subject!” Well, yes, but...Read More
DO NOT read an academic book word for word, page for page, chapter for chapter. DO read a book like you would look at a picture, study its frames, and finally examine its details. Here’s how: 1. Get the big picture in sight. Read the back cover, the Contents page, the Introduction, the Conclusion. Spend...Read More
Dr. Webber was scheduled to speak at a conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Radical Orthodoxy, where Homiletics was to meet up with him for this interview. But he called a few days before the conference to say that he had had back surgery and wouldn’t be there. So we met with him in his...Read More
CM: We are aware that you probably didn’t start out to be an “expert” in the art of worship. What sequence led you to be so involved and active in the worship arena? RW: My Doctorate is in Historical Theology. As I studied the origins of Christian thought, I realized that all truth was first...Read More
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2003 edition of Worship Leader magazine. I have been greatly challenged by many of my readers who have taken me to task for my statement that “a romantic relationship with Jesus is a lie.” The most common concern articulated by these writers has to do with the Song...Read More
Jordon Cooper interviews Robert Webber, author of The Younger Evangelicals. 1) If I am a leader of pragmatic evangelical church who came from a pragmatic evangelical seminary who is now faced with what appears to be a very incompatible world, what advice for me? Where do I turn next? RW: I think you have to...Read More
Reformed Worship asked Robert Webber, a long-time friend, to write an editorial for this issue in which we explore ways churches are dealing with the intersection of worship, culture, and evangelism. In this issue you’ll find several different approaches from a variety of denominational traditions that we hope will stimulate discussion in your worship committees,...Read More
At Biola University, a fifty-minute chapel is offered every day, Monday through Friday, but is required three times a week (M, W, F). Students have also initiated their own, student-led, worship services (mostly praise) on Wednesday and Sunday evenings. Two to three hundred students attend these guitar-based events. Here are some changes I’ve witnessed in...Read More
The Billy Graham Center center has a great archive of <a href=”http://www2.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/033.htm” target=_blank”>Background Information on the 1977 ‘Chicago Call’. Alden Swan at smallvoices.net has preserved the full text of the Chicago Call: An Appeal to Evangelicals. For further reading: Robert Webber’s Final Call.Read More
There is a story in the Russian Primary Chronicle that tells how Christianity came to Russia. According to this true story Vladimir, Prince of Kiev, sent several of his followers in search of “true religion.” They made a trip to Constantinople, where they visited the Church of the Holy Wisdom, and here they found what...Read More
A new style of worship has been spreading throughout North America and other parts of the world in the last several decades. While this worship approach is described by a variety of names, the one that seems to be gaining most acceptance is “Praise and Worship” (P&W). I want to explain what this style of...Read More
“This is a very special meal,” Yechiel said, “not only because you are here but because this meal represents the beginning of our Jewish Shabbal.” I listened intently as he continued. “It’s a day of rest, a time to remember our Creator and Redeemer, a time to be with the family, a time to establish...Read More
