Missing Element of Worship: What's Love Got to Do with It? Book

Kraeuter is a nationally-known speaker and worship leader whose primary teachings have been instructing the church on the proper perspectives and methods of authentic, Scripture-based worship - that is, true worship is more than music; it's a lifestyle. In this quick read, Kraeuter focuses on the oft-spoken Biblical mandate for Christians to love one another. He expands the point further than most, and using Scripture, Kraeuter argues that failing to love one another has a direct impact on our ability to worship God. He concludes with three basic keys for churches and believers to love one another: seeking unity not uniformity, loving unconditionally, and forgiving one another. Kraeuter tells a lot of stories, and his prose is engaging. But while I agree with the point Kraeuter makes, I have two criticisms. First, while the concepts are deep, the book is shallow. This is more sermon than book, and the points have been made numerous times by numerous pastors in numerous books. Other than the one point he makes that our inability to love affects our ability to worship, the rest of it is mainstream Evangelical thought. My second criticism is that the book paints an ideal whose practice is far more complicated. Kraeuter argues that unity is important to the church, which is true. However, he fails mention that the disunity of believers and churches throughout history has often been a result of very real and very serious theological disagreements. When the church divides over differences in foundational principles of theology, it is not because they are failing to abide by Biblical principles of love and unity. Overall, the book teaches truth and makes good use of Scripture to back up the points, but ultimate I found it rather shallow.