The Next Worship

Christianity Today's Book of the Year Award of Merit What happens when a diverse church glorifies the global God? We live in a time of unprecedented intercultural exchange, where our communities welcome people from around the world. Music and media from every culture are easily accessible, and our worship is infused with a rich variety of musical and liturgical influences. But leading worship in multicultural contexts can be a crosscultural experience for everybody. How do we help our congregations navigate the journey? Innovative worship leader Sandra Maria Van Opstal is known for crafting worship that embodies the global, multiethnic body of Christ. Likening diverse worship to a sumptuous banquet, she shows how worship leaders can set the table and welcome worshipers from every tribe and tongue. Van Opstal provides biblical foundations for multiethnic worship, with practical tools and resources for planning services that reflect God's invitation for all peoples to praise him. When multiethnic worship is done well, the church models reconciliation and prophetic justice, heralding God's good news for the world. Enter into the praise of our king, and let the nations rejoice!

Worship at the Next Level explores why and how we worship as individuals and communities. Its diverse voices offer an interdisciplinary approach for worship leaders, pastors, musicians, and those involved in contemporary worship planning in churches, colleges, and youth groups. A key emphasis on understanding theology, culture, and leadership helps provide a well-rounded approach for anyone with a passion for worship.

“What is at stake is authenticity. . . . Sooner or later Christians tire of public meetings that are profoundly inauthentic, regardless of how well (or poorly) arranged, directed, performed. We long to meet, corporately, with the living and majestic God and to offer him the praise that is his due.”—D. A. CarsonWorship is a hot topic, but the ways that Christians from different traditions view it vary greatly. What is worship? More important, what does it look like in action, both in our corporate gatherings and in our daily lives? These concerns—the blending of principle and practice—are what Worship by the Book addresses.Cutting through cultural clichés, D. A. Carson, Mark Ashton, Kent Hughes, and Timothy Keller explore, respectively:· Worship Under the Word· Following in Cranmer’s Footsteps· Free Church Worship: The Challenge of Freedom· Reformed Worship in the Global City “This is not a comprehensive theology of worship,” writes Carson. “Still less is it a sociological analysis of current trends or a minister’s manual chockfull of ‘how to’ instructions.” Rather, this book offers pastors, other congregational leaders, and seminary students a thought-provoking biblical theology of worship, followed by a look at how three very different traditions of churchmanship might move from this theological base to a better understanding of corporate worship. Running the gamut from biblical theology to historical assessment all the way to sample service sheets, Worship by the Book shows how local churches in diverse traditions can foster corporate worship that is God-honoring, Word-revering, heartfelt, and historically and culturally informed.

What happens when a diverse church glorifies the global God? Innovative worship leader Sandra Van Opstal provides biblical foundations for multiethnic worship, with practical tools and resources for planning services that reflect God's invitation for all peoples to praise him. When multiethnic worship is done well, the church models reconciliation and prophetic justice for every tribe and tongue.

Our destiny is to worship together as the multiethnic, multilingual family of God. In these five studies, Sandra Van Opstal dives into biblical perspectives on worship that shaped her groundbreaking book The Next Worship, inviting us to consider how worship relates to diversity, reconciliation, hospitality, unity, and more.

What happens when a diverse church glorifies the global God? Pioneering worship leader Sandra Van Opstal provides biblical foundations for multiethnic worship, with practical tools and resources for planning services that reflect God's invitation for all peoples to praise him. When multiethnic worship is done well, the church models reconciliation and prophetic justice for every tribe and tongue.

Worship at the Next Level explores why and how we worship as individuals and communities. Its diverse voices offer an interdisciplinary approach for worship leaders, pastors, musicians, and those involved in contemporary worship planning in churches, colleges, and youth groups. A key emphasis on understanding theology, culture, and leadership helps provide a well-rounded approach for anyone with a passion for worship.

Worship leading is a great privilege and challenge. It is great to be able to point people to God through Worship. Learn to grow in your singing, playing and leading. Learn to hear God's Spirit as you lead. Be passionate in your love-relationship with God, and for the people in your Worship team and congregation.