Book Review: Worship Matters
June 16, 2008
Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God
Bob Kauflin
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Crossway Books (March 31, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 158134824X
ISBN-13: 978-1581348248
I have been an avid reader of Bob Kauflin’s blog Worship Matters for over a year. I read it almost daily and try to incorporate what I can within my ministry. Bob has been in worship ministry for a long time and his insight is much appreciated. Anything I read I weigh it against two thoughts:
1. What can I get out of this?
2. What can others get out of this?
While I personally love Bob’s blog I find that it may be a difficult read for those who are just starting out in ministry. It is full of great thoughts on theology, ministry and worship but I think some of it is very complex.
When I ordered this book I was eager with anticipation, but expecting more of what he does on his blog. What I got was a special treat.
Theology with practicality in terms that can be understood.
This book is a must read for anybody involved in worship leading or service planning. It delves deep into the theology of worship, but does it in a way that almost anybody can understand. It explains the trials, pitfalls, definitions and many, many other things. Then Bob goes into application. He teaches how you can take his insights into your own service and use them for a more effective ministry.
There are four main sections in the book:
1: The Leader
2: The Task
3: Healthy Tensions
4: Right Relationships
Each section discusses the topics and then encourages application. He goes into detail about what worship is, it’s many styles, leadership, how to put together a service, lyrical content, tensions, worship wars, songwriting, and relationships.
This is a fantastic book and a delightful surprise. Worship matters found it’s place on my shelf of “must read books on ministry” and I’d recommend it for yours as well.
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I could not agree more whole heartedly!!!
Get this book and read it - - then read it again! You will not be disappointed. I am leading a discussion group at my church with some of the pastoral staff and worship staff on this book. It has provoked GREAT discussion and helped unify us greatly in our pursuit of building a biblical worshipping community. I am blogging about this book and those discussions on my site - it will help you get a good understanding of what the book is about before you buy it. If i could, I would put this book in the hands of EVERY corporate worship leader I could find.
I would however, differ with the post above. DIVE into the worshipmatters.com blog - - it is challenging and thought provoking, and some things may need to be read a few times - BUT DON’T LET THAT KEEP YOU FROM IT. We NEED to push ourselves and THINK about why we do what we do, why we believe what we believe, and how that effects those we lead.
Brad Loser
http://www.thinkworship.com
I read Worship Matters and thought it made some great points that needed to be made. The position of “worship leader” has grown so much in the last decade, and is often the most visible person in the local church besides the pastor. The thing I liked the most about the book was that Bob structured it in a way to get a large amount of information into a very manageable book (It is thick, but could be read in a weekend). Bob’s heart clearly showed through in every word.
My only critique was that their seemed to be a very narrow theological viewpoint behind the writing, and most everyone quoted was either in the Sovereign Grace family, Reformed Baptist, or somewhere in-between. Most of them were also still alive. For a topic that has such a large corpus of writing, I felt that he could have said many of the same things and made the book more accessible to the broader church.
But no matter what, Worship Matters was a great book and I have recommended it to several people. It should be on any worship leaders shelf. Brad is right to worshipmatters.com is a great resource.
Chad,
You make such a good point! I absolutely love the book and would recommend it in a heartbeat - but you’re right about the limited theological viewpoint. It’s understandable, I guess, since Bob is part of the Sovereign Grace family - but I know he respects other views and authors and it would have been nice to see something from others in there.
For instance, I just came across quite a quote pertaining to worship from Carl Rosenius - a Swedish preacher/author who would be part of the history of my church body (The Free Lutheran Church) - that I thought was pretty worthy of pondering - he said,
“We have heard from God’s own mouth what is delightsome and acceptable to Him and, on the contrary, what displeases and offends Him. And we can never in this life praise God enough for the light to know with full certainty what God wills, what is acceptable to Him.” Some fantastic thoughts on worship from a little, packed book called “The Believer Free from the Law.”
Anyway, all in all, a fantastic book which I thoroughly recommend..
Joel, thanks for this review.
I’ve also placed “Worship Matters” on my “must read” stack. I’ve dog-eared my pages and highlighted the passages that were most helpful to me, and I’m sure I’ll frequent this book regularly for years to come.
let me first say that I love Bob’s website. It is a must RSS for me, but I do think it is very heady and not a site I would recommend off the bat to somebody new in my band. It is one stream theologically, but I read so much that I can intermingle other stuff in. I don’t agree with everything he says, but seldom do I with anybody I read.
I am glad you guys read it or have it ready to read. I think it can certainly enrich any worship leaders heart and ministry.