Music and the Arts in Christian Worship (Library of Christian Worship: Volume 4 books A&B)
Overview
In the past two decades the Christian community has experienced a dynamic rebirth as churches around the world have turned their hearts and minds toward a deeper understanding of what it means to worship the Living God. The Complete Library of Christian Worship brings the theory and reality of worship together in an educational, applicational, and inspirational package. Music and the Arts in Christian Worship, Books 1 & 2 opens with an explanation of how church music is conducted in some fifty different church groups and denominations. The second section deals with the history of philosophy of music in worship and includes chapters relating to the history of congregational song, singing in worship, instruments in worship, and music for the "four acts" of worship. Writers for the third section discuss the arts in worship and include articles on the worship environment and the visual arts. The final section addresses drama and dance in worship. Various chapters deal with an introduction to drama, examples of the dramatic arts found in Scripture, and examples of dance and mime worship.
Product Details
- Title: Music and the Arts in Christian Worship (Library of Christian Worship: Volume 4 books A&B)
- Author: Robert Webber
- Publisher: Star Song
- Publication Date: 1994
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.
Reviews
2 ratings
Glenn Crouch
11/18/2015
This is a huge volume - over 800 pages (2 books in print) - and when I started I was quite sceptical that so much space could be spent on the Arts in Christian Worship (ie given the approach down in the 3 previous volume) - but I was wrong. This is quite a thorough and extensive coverage - with many surprises. Whilst I do believe it is more focused towards larger liturgical churches, the articles do cover all "flavours" of Christianity. I expected mainly Music and some items on Visual Arts (such a paintings and sculptures) but the Authors cover a plethora of items that are of course Art - which probably reflect more on me that I didn't properly consider such things before reading this book. Some examples of extras that I hadn't expected: How to Read the Bible in Worship; How to write Prayers for Worship Service; The use of Mime; etc... Like the previous volumes, this is once again a collection of articles - and some article writers are naturally more proficient then others - however this "many voices" approach does mean a better coverage, I think - and thus has helped me have a better appreciation for approaches that are used in other Churches.