Reviews for Religion and Republic: The American Circumstance

The average rating for Religion and Republic: The American Circumstance based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-10-23 00:00:00 Shax Webb I read this book for my Christian Corporate Worship class under Dr. Steve Johnson. Here is the reflection I wrote for class: Dan Boone's The Worship Plot is all about re-introducing the church'primarily the evangelical protestant church in our Sunday morning gatherings'to the narrative of Christian Corporate Worship which communicates most powerfully and profoundly the truth of the Christian faith. He spends most of his book defining and illustrating the five "movements" which are a part of this "plot" of worship: 1) Entrance, 2) The Bad News, 3) The Good News, 4) The Response of the People, and 5) The Blessing. In the last section of the book, he elaborates on what he sees as a good theology and understanding of worship. One noticeable feature of the text was its simplicity. Comparatively to other books I have read for my various classes, this book operates with a very clear subject matter and structure, and Boone makes his point without particularly theological language or fanfare. He speaks in a clear, straightforward and practical manner. It seems to me that he does this for a very particular reason: accessibility. Boone is taking extraordinarily important (and theologically significant) information and communicating it in a way that any person, clergy or laity, can understand and implement. He even makes it clear that he would recommend church staff study this book together and implement what they learn. While simplicity can, to some, make content seem elementary, and therefore less compelling, it is precisely his simplicity that is Boone's greatest asset in writing this. As I have stated before, I do not believe that I will be in any form of ordained leadership in the church in the future; however, I will discuss a few elements of his book that I find most compelling for the church in my own experience. I really enjoyed his conversation about the Entrance, and the idea of locating ourselves in the story of Jesus seems incredibly important. Why? Because we are storied into the narrative of our culture every day. We are operating in a foreign kingdom, and it is easy to become A) disoriented or B) drawn into it. What locating ourselves in time and space does is it places our feet on the solid ground of the kingdom of heaven, it reminds us of where our attention now must shift, and it allows us to take a deep breath and say, "Ah yes . . . I remember now where I am." Boone reminds us that as we gather for corporate worship we are no longer in the places where we need to produce, be entertained, or master knowledge (my three primary modes of operating!), but "we are in the presence of the God who longs and loves to set us free" (167, Kindle version), and as such, we can simply be. His discussion of the "Bad News" and the "Good News" was helpful and something I am more familiar with; however, I did very much appreciate the idea that in the "Bad News" an important posture to take is one of confession of our sin and brokenness. This is something that I have met tangibly in the prayer of confession that Boone cites from the Book of Common Prayer, which I now pray every week during our liturgy at St. Aidan's. This moment of corporate confession is beautiful as all of us kneel'including Father Michael, our priest'and we confess together how we have sinned against God and then profess our desire to receive forgiveness that we may "delight in [His] will and walk in [His] ways, to the glory of [His] name." This places us in a humble and receptive posture which I feel is most appropriate as we then receive the Eucharist. The final two movements, The Response and The Blessing, both are key elements that, in my experience, are often neglected. The Response, as Boone points out, must be more than just a call for people to pray the "sinners prayer" or come to the altar, but it must also elicit action from the remaining 90% of the congregation who do not need or choose to do those two things. His examples were creative and interesting, and I would like to see the corporate body respond together in such ways. He then talks about how in The Blessing we "depart to serve under His smile and favor, invigorated by His Spirit" (603). I resonate with the experience of the woman in his congregation who said that this was one of the most profound aspects of the service for her every week. Having been given the opportunity to orient my heart to Christ, worship God through song, hear the Holy Scriptures, be presented with the bad and good news in the sermon, and respond in receiving the Eucharist, I find myself then prepared to receive the sending words and to exit the sanctuary renewed and empowered by the Spirit. Overall, I found The Worship Plot to be helpful and practical, providing great basic tools for constructing a healthy service.

Review # 2 was written on 2007-12-03 00:00:00 Wayne Harp A good book for a worship media team to read together. It takes some basic principles of worship and helps in the design, delivery, and evaluation of worship experiences. It's greatest benefit is readability. But like all similar books, it presents a useful model, which in time can grow stale. If you have almost no intentionality in your worship planning, this book is a helpful resource. One might consider reading something like Worship is a Verb by Robert Webber first, to get a big picture of worship. Then, this book helps to bring some contemporary variety to basic worship principles. It uses The Homiletical Plot by Eugene Lowry (a narrative preaching book) as a guide to the design of narrative-like worship experiences. Worship needs to have some flow and that is the best contribution of this book, (originally a cooperative effort for a campus church and a preaching and worship course). Sticking to only this design will produce similar results as other predictable patterns. But it remains useful as a way to bring variety to worship in a purposeful way. Once you've mastered these principles, they can be applied many ways. I would give it 3.5 stars if I could see how to give 1/2 a star!