The Worship Architect: A Blueprint for Designing Culturally Relevant and Biblically Faithful Services

by Constance M. Cherry

Overview

Worship professor and practitioner Constance Cherry shows how to create services that are faithful to Scripture, historically conscious, relevant to God, Christ-centered, and engaging for worshipers of all ages in the twenty-first century. More than 150 colleges and seminaries have used or currently use the first edition as a required text. In this new edition, each chapter has been substantially updated and revised, including illustrations, key terms, examples, technological references, and suggested resources for further reading. A new chapter on global worship and a new appendix on live-streamed worship are included.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781540963888
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/17/2021
Edition description:	2nd Edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Constance M. Cherry (DMin, Northern Seminary) is professor emeritus of worship and pastoral ministry at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana, where she taught from 2004-2020, and is a founding faculty member of the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies where she has taught in the Doctor of Worship Studies program since 2000. She has been active in church ministry roles for decades and is the author of The Music Architect and The Special Service Worship Architect.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: Why a Book about Worship Design? 1

Phase 1 Laying the Foundations for Worship 11

1 Establishing the Foundation: Biblical Worship 13

2 Setting the Cornerstone: Worship Is Centered in Jesus Christ 31

Phase 2 Raising the Structure for Worship 47

3 Four Rooms for Encountering God: The Gospel Order of Worship 49

4 The First Room: The Gathering 67

5 The Second Room: The Word 83

6 The Third Room: The Table of the Lord 103

7 The Third Room: The Alternative Response to the Word 115

8 The Fourth Room: The Sending 129

Phase 3 Installing Windows for Encountering God 141

9 Encountering God in Prayer: Capturing the Heart of Worship 143

10 Encountering God in Music: Singing the Church's Song 169

11 Encountering God in Music: Offering "Sound" Musical Leadership 201

12 Encountering God in the Christian Year: Remembering the Whole Narrative 227

Phase 4 Welcoming Worshipers for Authentic Engagement 243

13 Engaging Style: Expressing Worship in an Authentic Voice 245

14 Global Worship: Open the Doors and See All the People 271

15 The Hospitable Worship Leader: Engaging Worshipers as Participants 291

Appendix A A Definition of Christian Worship 303

Appendix B Ten Basic Steps in Designing Vital Worship 305

Appendix C Checklist for Designing Vital Worship 307

Appendix D Seven Tips for Engaging with Livestreamed Worship 309

Notes 313

Index 333