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Protestant
Worship: Traditions in Transition (Westminster/John Knox Press,
1989), by James F. White. Reviewed
by Dr. Barry Liesch
Are you lacking perspective? Would you like to obtain some perspective of your own worship tradition
and learn how contemporary worship continues to be influenced by the
past? Then this book is for
you. James White, probably the foremost worship historian
of our era, tracks the history of worship in the Protestant church in
a unique way that provides an up-close, kaleidoscopic picture of nine
historic, Protestant traditions. While many history books on worship follow the Catholic
model and center mostly on written, liturgical texts, White offers a
more comprehensive representation by looking at each tradition through
the lens of a seven point grid. Four
of the seven points deal with the circumstances in which each worship
tradition is conducted: (1) the
people and their cultural inclinations; (2) their concepts of appropriate
piety; (3) the church year and the kinds of festivals celebrated; and
(4) the church architecture. The remaining three points deal with the
acts of worship performed: (1) prayer; (2) preaching; and (3) music. This grid is employed effectively by White,
and he succeeds in producing a discriminating look at the differences
in each tradition. Nine Protestant worship traditions are examined in
historical sequence: Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, Anglican, Separatist
& Puritan (Congregationalists, Baptists, Presbyterians), Quakers,
Methodists, Frontier Worship (early North American worship including
materials on the Southern Baptists and The Disciples of Christ), and
Pentecostal worship. I've used this book as required reading for independent studies and in graduate courses in worship. The reaction of students to the book has been uniformly positive. Highly recommended. Buy the Book Now from Amazon.com Worshipinfo gets a small payment from Amazon.com if you buy the book by clicking on our link.
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