An Excellent Book for Pastors, Worship Leaders, and Worship Teams

books:


	• Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God Bob Kauflin Crossway Books, 2008 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great for worship teams!

I am taking my worship team through Worship Matters right now. Those who are reading it are really enjoying it. Bob Kauflin's succinct and powerful way of presenting his points keeps the reader interested. He really relates well with worship leaders because of his vast experience as a worship pastor over many years. His emphasis on the importance of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit in leading worship is alone worth the price of the book. But Kauflin also delves into many more "nuts and bolts" topics that worship leaders and teams need to understand and apply. I recommend this book everywhere I go! --Dwayne Moore, author of Pure Praise: A Heart-focused Bible Study on Worship (Group Publishing, 2009)

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Become a Better Worship Leader

I can't say enough about this book, and at the same time I can't say too much. As I've attended and served in a Sovereign Grace Ministries church for the better part of the decade, I've had the benefit of Bob Kauflin's teaching on worship filter down to me in my capacity of intermittent worship leader (and more importantly as a worshiper) in many ways: articles and columns, messages on mp3 and CD (the "Theological Foundations for Worship" and "Practical Foundations for Worship" series), and even by word of mouth from my own pastor and worship leader. Enough about me. Bob wrote the book - and contrary to reviewing practice, I cannot bring myself to refer to him as `Kauflin' - and so to Bob we turn.

Bob's heart for biblical, passionate worship pervades every page of this book. His writing is littered with Bible, especially the psalms, that manual of Old Testament worship. But this isn't merely a devotional on a few aspects of worship. No, this is a handbook about how to pursue more biblical, more humble hearts in the midst of a task pregnant with tensions. Earlier in this review I said that I can't say enough about this book; that's because it accomplishes what it sets out to do in a biblical and humble manner. It practices what it preaches. I also said I can't say too much about it; that's because it is a wide-ranging and valuable lay-of-the-land guide with far too much content to convey in a mere review.

There are four main sections in the book:

1: The Leader

2: The Task

3: Healthy Tensions

4: Right Relationships

Following a foreword by über-worship leader Paul Baloche, Bob begins his discussion of worship by honing in on the worship leader's heart, mind, and life. All of this flows out of a leader's devotion to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the second section Bob unpacks the following working definition of worship, constructed with aid from his good friend Jeff Purswell. The definition is not only written in verse form to effectively highlight each line, but because each subsequent chapter in this section explores a fragment of the definition.

Simply reiterating this definition arouses my soul in worship of God through Jesus Christ:

A faithful worship leader
magnifies the greatness of God in Jesus Christ
through the power of the Holy Spirit
by skillfully combining God's Word with music,
thereby motivating the gathered church
to proclaim the gospel,
to cherish God's presence
and to live for God's glory

Section three wades into the most fraught of all church matters: reconciling seemingly opposing preconceptions of worship. Again, this review does not warrant an exposition of the book's teaching on these areas. Suffice to say that Bob advocates the need to hold many, if not most, of these areas in healthy tension. Like J.I. Packer, he seems to dislike the term `balance,' so misused for so many years.

Finally, the fourth section explores the common cause of the tension in the third section: people. More specifically, people with ideas rubbing up against people with different ideas. A pastor himself, Bob recognizes the tensions that can arise on both sides of the pastor-worship leader relationship, and provides many suggestions for an improved and thriving relationship.

This book is primarily intended for worship leaders, but is also directed at pastors - even unmusical ones. No matter which tradition you practice, liturgical or free-flow (to use Bob's nomenclature), charismatic or somber, Bob's wisdom will benefit. Worship team members will profit from every page, and pastors and worship leaders may consider employing the copyright fair use policy (within reason) to disseminate relevant pages among their congregations at key junctures in the process of building a worshiping community. Worship Matters should also probably become requisite reading for all worship studies programs in North America, and I daresay should displace some, if not most, of the current primary textbooks in those programs.

I've never seen a book on worship featuring such a mix of god-glorifying theology and biblically-sound methodology. I have a feeling this is Bob's magnum opus, and every pastor, worship leader, and worship team member must invest in a copy, to read over and over and over. Because...worship does matter.

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Every evangelical leader should read it

Regardless your position on Church corporate worship is, contemporary worship (CW) or Historical Worship (HW), Bob Kauflin addresses the principles of Holy Scripture dealing with the important aspects on worship: Your love to God, your believes in sound doctrine, your way of life aiming for obedience to God, and your role modeling as a Christian leading others to worship God through Christ with spiritual music in your local church. Personally, I was impressed by the honest approach the author observed along the book realizing his own church weaknesses and acknowledging the learning he could find in other historical/traditional churches. What I liked the most, was what he called "Healthy Tensions" in worship: "Transcendent and Immanent", "Head and Heart", "Internal and External", "Vertical and Horizontal", "Planned and Spontaneous", "Rooted and Relevant", "having in mind believers and unbelievers", etc. I think these healthy tensions give you the key secret for musical ministry in the church that will be pleasant to God and his creatures.

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New Revelation and Insight

Worship Matters is an exceptional book for worship leaders, pastors, musicians, and everyone in between. Only two chapters into the book I had recommended it to other worship leaders. Filled with experience and insight, Kauflin uses scriptures and references to back up all that he explains. He is not afraid to tackle the issues that we, as worship leaders, deal with constantly yet are afraid to admit. Every chapter is unique and contains another heart issue to consider.
Worship Matters will cause it's reader to want to rise to the next level; to reach beyond themselves and what they have settled for; to expand their faith and reach for the high calling of Christ and all that it entails.

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An Excellent Book for Pastors, Worship Leaders, and Worship Teams

I am not a worship leader. I'm a pastor. No, wait - that makes me a worship leader, just not in the realm of music. That's an important distinction to make, and one which Bob Kauflin makes in this valuable book: "Anyone who encourages others to praise God can be referred to as a 'worship leader.' Worship can involve music, but it can happen without it as well." Careful thinking like that make this book a treasure-trove of biblical wisdom and practical insight on worship.

Kauflin unpacks what a worship leader does (see other reviews for the definition - I don't want to be needless repetitive), discusses healthy tensions in our theology and practice of worship, speaks specifically to the relational dynamics in which every worship leader is involved (with the church, the team, the pastor), and more.

The book is rooted in the Gospel, robust in theology, and well-written. I was encouraged and instructed. And I'm committed to making sure every present and future member of our church's worship team gets a copy. This is a great book for pastors, worship leaders, and worship teams. In fact, it's a great book for any one who wants to worship God in spirit and truth. It is practical enough to be of real use to musicians and leaders, but it is general enough to encourage and help any believer.

Spread the word. This is a great book on worship! Thanks Bob Kauflin for serving the church with this book.

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reviews: page 1, 2

Combining biblical foundations with real-world application, a pastor and professional songwriter guides worship leaders and pastors to root their corporate worship in unchanging scriptural principles rather than divisive trends.

Nothing is more essential than knowing how to worship the God who created us. This book focuses readers on the essentials of God-honoring worship, combining biblical foundations with practical application in a way that works in the real world. The author, a pastor and noted songwriter, skillfully instructs pastors, musicians, and church leaders so that they can root their congregational worship in unchanging scriptural principles, not divisive cultural trends. Bob Kauflin covers a variety of topics such as the devastating effects of worshiping the wrong things, how to base our worship on God?s self-revelation rather than our assumptions, the fuel of worship, the community of worship, and the ways that eternity?s worship should affect our earthly worship.

Appropriate for Christians from varied backgrounds and for various denominations, this book will bring a vital perspective to what readers think they understand about praising God.

?Bob loves God, values theology, and cares about people. This mix is found throughout this wonderful and helpful book. Worship Matters will inspire you as a worshiper and spur you on as a leader of worship.?
Matt Redman, lead worshiper and song-writer, Brighton, UK

?Bob Kauflin is teaching a new generation to take corporate worship seriously in a fashion that is simultaneously biblically faithful and addressing today?s culture.?
D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

?This book is thoroughly biblical, comprehensive, balanced, clear, and engaging. Worship leaders must read it, and it will be a great help to anyone interested in finding out what biblical worship is about and how to worship from the heart.?
John Frame, Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary

?Bob?s approach is humble, yet authoritative; comprehensive, yet inspirational. And if you take his gentle but clear teaching onboard, it will help make you fully equipped in mind, heart, and spirit to lead others in worship. I wholeheartedly recommend it.?
Stuart Townend, Christian song-writer

?An outstanding book both for those who lead worship and also for every Christian who wants to worship God more fully. The book is biblical, practical, interesting, wise, and thorough in its treatment of the topic. The next time I teach on worship, I plan to make this the required text.?
Wayne Grudem, Research Professor of Bible and Theology, Phoenix Seminary

?Humility. Self-deprecating humor. Practical wisdom. And not just for music leaders. What a refreshing read! I?ve gained from Bob Kauflin, and if you read this, you will too.?
Mark Dever, Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church; Executive Director, 9Marks Ministries

?Bob is a pastor, a teacher, and a skilled musician. And this book captures his heart, his zealous pursuit of God, and his many years of real-life experience leading worship. That?s why his book deserves the careful study of pastors and worship leaders alike.?
Joshua Harris, Senior Pastor, Covenant Life Church, Gaithersburg, Maryland

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