Ancient-Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative

by Robert E. Webber

Publisher:

Baker

, 2008

Overview

There is a crisis of worship today. The problem goes beyond matters of style—it is a crisis of content and of form. Worship in churches today is too often dead and dry, or busy and self-involved. Robert Webber attributes these problems to a loss of vision of God and of God's narrative in past, present, and future history. As he examines worship practices of Old Testament Israel and the early church, Webber uncovers ancient principles and practices that can reinvigorate our worship today and into the future.

The final volume in Webber's acclaimed Ancient-Future series, Ancient-Future Worship is the culmination of a lifetime of study and reflection on Christian worship. Here is an urgent call to recover a vigorous, God-glorifying, transformative worship through the enactment and proclamation of God's glorious story. The road to the future, argues Webber, runs through the past.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Fragmentation in worship is expressed in a worship that emphasizes one or another aspect of God’s story but neglects the story as a whole.” (Page 41)

“Two words capture what is new. New understanding and new empowerment.” (Page 30)

“What does it mean to say, ‘Worship does God’s story?’ It is this: Worship proclaims, enacts, and sings God’s story. Worship is not a program. Nor is worship about me. Worship is a narrative—God’s narrative of the world from its beginning to its end. How will the world know its own story unless we do that story in public worship?” (Pages 39–40)

“Reflection on the incarnation and its connection to every aspect of God’s story is the missing link in today’s theological reflection and worship. The link is found in these words: God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.” (Page 35)

“ brief, the saving deeds of God are remembered through historical recitation and dramatic reenactment.” (Page 48)

Praise for the Print Edition

[Robert Webber has] introduced so many of us to the early church as a period of unique theological insight, spiritual vitality, and prophetic correction. [He does so] in a way that energizes practicing pastors and lay Christians. It was said of Princeton’s Peter Brown, ‘He rescued the past from the tyranny of stereotypes.’ That is also true for Robert Webber, especially when it comes to worship.

—John D. Witvliet, director, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and professor of worship, Calvin Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Title: Ancient-Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative
• Author: Robert Webber
• Publisher: Baker
• Publication Date: 2008
• Pages: 192

About Robert E. Webber

Robert Webber (1933–2007) was known for his work on worship and the early church. The son of a Baptist minister, Webber was raised in the Belgian Congo where his parents were missionaries. He studied at Bob Jones University, Reformed Episcopal Seminary, Covenant Theological Seminary, and Concordia Seminary.

Webber taught theology at Wheaton College for 32 years and was the Myers Professor of Ministry at Northern Seminary. In 1998, as a part of the Convergence Movement, Webber founded The Robert E. Webber Institute of Worship Studies school which focused exclusively on worship education.

Later in his life, Webber took a special interest in Christian worship practice and wrote and edited more than 40 books on this topic including the Ancient-Future series and The Complete Library of Christian Worship.