Introduction to Christian Worship

There a reason that this book is considered the leading textbook on Christian worship in English-speaking North America. Dr. White is extremely articulate in explaining the comprehensive scope of Christian worship, across the centuries and across denominational lines. Those from a "free church" tradition (pentecostal and most baptists) need to keep in mind that their tradition is only a small and relatively recent part of denominational history. Also influencing his perspective is the fact that Dr. White taught at Notre Dame, a Catholic University, Southern Methodist University, and Drew University, with Wesleyan roots. Much of the value of this book is exposure to other denominational traditions, making the reader more "kingdom-minded." In my opinion, the best thing about this book is Dr. White's ability to succinctly communicate a huge amount of information, with an economy of words, and without all the "fluff" that so many writers on worship feel obligated to use. It is an extremely readable and most valuable resource.

I first used this book for my own course work in seminary - now I recommend it to seminarians. In preparation for a course I teach, I picked up White's book and read through it again. Still a great tool!

I used this book as an extra for my Christian worship class, and found that this biook is very good for the investigation of the history and evolution of worship in the church.

Someone in my church went to watch The Passion of The Christ recently. When he returned he said, "So that's what communion is all about." This is an extreme example, but do you know WHY your church worships in the way it does? or do you just worship that way because it feels good or because that's the way everybody wants to do it?In INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIAN WORSHIP, James F. White presents a much needed theology of Christian Worship. This is a great companion book to, A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP, and his book on early worship documents.These books are easy to read and you will find them to be eye opening. Worship may never look the same way again, but you will grow deeper in the practice of your faith.One word of warning, your new insights may challenge the denominational box you find yourself in, whichever one that might be.

For many of us knowledge of our Christian heritage goes back no further than the beginning of our own local church or particular denomination. This is a sad state of affair because it leaves people unappreciative of, even feels disconnected from, their own rich history and heritage. In this book, Professor James F. White does a very fine job of providing his readers with a comprehensive view of how and why Christians worship God throughout Church history. Aside from the fact that the book is teeming with reliable materials on the history and development of Christian worship, White also has some good insights about Christian worship in every chapter. His survey on the definitions of Christian worship by famous theologians from the main branches of Christianity is truly helpful for someone who tries to work on a definitive explanation of Christian worship. Those definitions are good places to start with in understanding the concept at hand. The author's discussion on the various Biblical and non-Biblical words that relate to and express worship is also enriching. Every word opens up an aspect of worship that deepens one's knowledge and understanding what it means to worship God in Christ. One can find also some real gems in this book in terms of quotes and concepts that describe and explain the nature and purpose of Christian worship from the works of the Church Fathers, some Medieval scholars, Reformers and Post-Reformation writers. Likewise, the author is quite keen in pointing out the historical turning points and existing variations of these particular acts of worship among Christians in a pastoral and sensitive way. I think, this book's major feature, which is the presentation of many facts and ideas, is its one unavoidable weakness. Any author who decides to survey such a large amount of material must necessarily limit his discussion of each topic. While the book offers excellent introductory surveys of the history and development of Christian worship within the main branches of Christianity, it cannot go into great detail to include all the varieties of practices of almost all groups, especially within the Protestant tradition where thousands of denominations exist. For example, a Southern Baptist minister or an Evangelical Free layman may not be able to appreciate thoroughly the author's discussion for the fact that his denomination is not well represented throughout the book. Another feature of the book that may also become its liability is the author's view of and tendency toward ecumenism. There are instances that leave the impression that the ultimate norm which Professor White follows in the practice of Christian worship is not the Holy Scripture but the consensus of the community of believers in a given denomination or tradition. Rather than passionately calling his readers to seek to reform their services to continually conform them to the rule of Scripture, for several occasions in his pastoral challenges he summons his readers t