This month’s book is one to use as a resource, as a book to read through, and a book to browse in. I highly recommend it for pastors who are responsible for shaping and leading the liturgy of worship, for anyone responsible for overseeing the public worship of the church. The book is Reformation Worship, by Jonathan Gibson and Mark Earngey.
The book contains twenty-six historic liturgies from the period of the reformation, with new translations or with the language updated, along with introductions. I have it on my desk now, and expect to resort to it often.
The Reformation was far more than a simple doctrinal shift—it was a reformation of doctrine, of liturgy, of culture, of music, and more. At the center of it all was the Reformer’s attitude toward the worship that the saints were invited to offer up to God. The move from the medieval practice, with the laity observing what the pros were doing up there, to the new model of robust congregational participation, was a marked shift. A thorough acquaintance with this book will help modern pastors identify how we are in great danger of drifting back to the older system.
If you are Reformed pastor, I have a simple six word exhortation—get it get it get it.