In The Splendor of Holiness: Rediscovering the Beauty of Reformed Worship for the 21st Century

Few topics generate more opinions in the 21st century church than the topic of worship. In fact, it would be safe to say that most Christians have pretty strong views about what they like, and don't like, about their church's worship service. Some of you reading this review have probably left or joined a particular church based on how their worship service was structured. While subjectivity and opinions are legion when it comes to the area of worship, all Christians should be able to agree that the Bible should have the final word on true worship. After all, it is the Writer of the Bible who we claim to be worshiping, so His Word should have the ultimate authority. Sadly, this is not the case. Too often, the Bible is the last source which is consulted in many modern books on corporate worship. In a well-intentioned but misapplied attempt to make church relevant to everyone, modern church-growth gurus have made the church relevant to no one. Worship services have become nothing more than hour-long praise concerts, complete with smoke machines and light shows. Our favorite preachers have become our version of rock-stars—and we treat them as such—unwilling to question any words that happen to fall from their purpose-driven lips. It was because of this confusion in the area of worship that Dr. Jon D. Payne began writing short pastoral letters to his own congregation, explaining why they worshiped the way that they did. These letters have been collected and published in a small but powerful new book called In the Splendor of Holiness: Rediscovering the Beauty of Reformed Worship for the 21st Century. Rather than looking for advice in modern seeker-sensitive manuals on how to grow a church numerically, Dr. Payne gets his insights on worship from the Bible itself, by what is known as the "regulative principle." Finish reading this review here: http://christianreader.typepad.com/christian_reader/2009/02/review-splendor.html