Summary Of Ancient: Future Worship

Ancient –Future Worship
review
Webber was interested in how both the early church and the Old Testament worshipped, the problem in worship today he feels is bigger than just what instruments are used it goes deeper into the construction and substance of worship. There is defiantly a crisis in worship today. Worship in churches today lacks the ability to keep its audience interested , he describes it as dry and self-centered and says that it is because the vision of God and story in past, present and future history has been lost. Webber states that evangelical worship today fails to recreate Gods story, the evangelical worship service tries to pull out emotional responses and impart information to the congregation. Webber desires the Church

to tell God story. God's story is the remembrance of the past and a hopeful look to what the future, entering into the mysteries of God's work in the world through scripture, and from our own lives. it is reentering Gods story through baptism and communion and using corporate prayer as an in to Gods story. he writes that there is a need to return to the ancient worship liturgies because of the breakdown in true worship today. On (p25), he says that worship in most evangelical church services is presentational and that it has turned into a program, a show or entertainment. Peaching is now therapeutic or inspirational. A "seeker"oriented contemporary church argues that the presenting the entire gospel is not needed, and that the purpose of worship is to get the people in the door. It is felt that then, after they gained a hearing, they are presented the gospel in small group settings. This is good marketing but it fails to understand the biblical purpose of worship.(p85)
Webber wants worship services to reenact and retell Gods story, because it is not a fictional story it is true and we should worship in spirit and truth. Ecstatic and emotional responses are not what worshipping God should be about. The evangelical church should create worship services that tell Gods story. The church does not regard worship as prayer, but worship prays Gods story, people fail to discern worship as prayer because it has been made to be a program, the nature of worship then has shifted from cooperate prayer to performance.
This book was a good read, Webber allowed for an understanding on prayer being God's story retold, and that worship is not just music or performances but an opportunity to worship God and remember all He has done, together corporately. Instead of coming together every week just to sing songs that only jerk emotions of personal nature or to watch some elaborate, well staged show we should be coming together to remember and celebrate God's wonderful story.
Webber writes about the problem in public prayer: "The first, and, I believe, most fundamental reason why worship is not seen as Prayer is the failure to grasp that corporate prayer arises from the story of God. We think of corporate prayer as a rising within ourselves, yet the story of God is the story of the world and of human existence. Worship prays this story. a second reason why worship is not seen as the Prayer of Gods people for the world is because worship has been turned into a program. Consequently, the nature of worship has shifted from corporate prayer to a platform of presentational performance. worship, instead of being a rehearsal of God's saving action in the world and for the world, Is exchange for making people feel comfortable, happy, and affirmed. worship, no longer the public prayer of God's people, becomes private and an individual experience." (P150)