A stimulating little book on worship. Richard Giles is convinced that “the Sunday gathering of God’s people is the sacrament of their transformation”, and that they deserve nothing less than “worship that takes us to the threshold of heaven”, our own little “tradesmen’s entrance into the kingdom of God.” But all too often it falls short of that, and we need to award worship “first, second and third place in our agenda”, to get it right. If you regularly lead services or play any kind of role ‘up front’, you will share Giles’ desire that worship be as good and as creative as possible, simply “something beautiful for God”, and you should find this book helpful. Breaking free of patterns of worship inherited from a bygone age will be both “costly and exhilarating”, calling for a “complete refurbishment”, so that worship will “inspire, engage and transform”. That is a pretty elusive goal, but it’s not impossible, given a faithful pastor (Giles has a lot to say about the necessity for strong leadership and ‘Presidency’, recognising how easily that can be misunderstood. “Fruitful leadership emerges from the community, and is not set over against it”), a supportive team and an assembly ready to explore and experiment. No book on worship can ever be definitive, and there may be things you disagree with in this one. But the ‘building blocks of good worship’ and the ‘characteristics of good worship’ are well worth meditating on. As well as considering leadership, Richard Giles reflects on preaching, the touchy matter of music, and many other topics, among them newness, hostility to change, silence, journey, freedom in Spirit, order and dignity. It may be a small book, but it covers a lot of ground! And finally, Part 4, ‘A Worship Checklist’, is a very handy summary, and will keep you thinking long and hard as you plan services.

A stimulating little book on worship. Richard Giles is convinced that “the Sunday gathering of God’s people is the sacrament of their transformation”, and that they deserve nothing less than “worship that takes us to the threshold of heaven”, our own little “tradesmen’s entrance into the kingdom of God.” But all too often it falls short of that, and we need to award worship “first, second and third place in our agenda”, to get it right. If you regularly lead services or play any kind of role ‘up front’, you will share Giles’ desire that worship be as good and as creative as possible, simply “something beautiful for God”, and you should find this book helpful. Breaking free of patterns of worship inherited from a bygone age will be both “costly and exhilarating”, calling for a “complete refurbishment”, so that worship will “inspire, engage and transform”. That is a pretty elusive goal, but it’s not impossible, given a faithful pastor (Giles has a lot to say about the necessity for strong leadership and ‘Presidency’, recognising how easily that can be misunderstood. “Fruitful leadership emerges from the community, and is not set over against it”), a supportive team and an assembly ready to explore and experiment. No book on worship can ever be definitive, and there may be things you disagree with in this one. But the ‘building blocks of good worship’ and the ‘characteristics of good worship’ are well worth meditating on. As well as considering leadership, Richard Giles reflects on preaching, the touchy matter of music, and many other topics, among them newness, hostility to change, silence, journey, freedom in Spirit, order and dignity. It may be a small book, but it covers a lot of ground! And finally, Part 4, ‘A Worship Checklist’, is a very handy summary, and will keep you thinking long and hard as you plan services.

A stimulating little book on worship. Richard Giles is convinced that “the Sunday gathering of God’s people is the sacrament of their transformation”, and that they deserve nothing less than “worship that takes us to the threshold of heaven”, our own little “tradesmen’s entrance into the kingdom of God.” But all too often it falls short of that, and we need to award worship “first, second and third place in our agenda”, to get it right. If you regularly lead services or play any kind of role ‘up front’, you will share Giles’ desire that worship be as good and as creative as possible, simply “something beautiful for God”, and you should find this book helpful. Breaking free of patterns of worship inherited from a bygone age will be both “costly and exhilarating”, calling for a “complete refurbishment”, so that worship will “inspire, engage and transform”. That is a pretty elusive goal, but it’s not impossible, given a faithful pastor (Giles has a lot to say about the necessity for strong leadership and ‘Presidency’, recognising how easily that can be misunderstood. “Fruitful leadership emerges from the community, and is not set over against it”), a supportive team and an assembly ready to explore and experiment. No book on worship can ever be definitive, and there may be things you disagree with in this one. But the ‘building blocks of good worship’ and the ‘characteristics of good worship’ are well worth meditating on. As well as considering leadership, Richard Giles reflects on preaching, the touchy matter of music, and many other topics, among them newness, hostility to change, silence, journey, freedom in Spirit, order and dignity. It may be a small book, but it covers a lot of ground! And finally, Part 4, ‘A Worship Checklist’, is a very handy summary, and will keep you thinking long and hard as you plan services.