Exploring the Worship Spectrum

Stanley N. Gundry is executive vice president and editor-in-chief for the Zondervan Corporation. He has been an influential figure in the Evangelical Theological Society, serving as president of ETS and on its executive committee, and is adjunct professor of Historical Theology at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. He is the author of seven books and has written many articles appearing in popular and academic periodicals.Paul A. Basden (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is one of the senior pastors at Preston Trail Community Church in Frisco, Texas. He has also served as pastor of other churches in Alabama and Texas and as an adjunct professor at Beeson Divinity School. He is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the author of The Worship Maze. Paul F. M. Zahl (ThD, University of Tubingen) is dean of Cathedral Church of the Advent (Episcopal) in Birmingham, Alabama. Harold M. Best (DSM, Union Theological Seminary) is emeritus dean/professor of music of the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music. Joe Horness (BA, Trinity College) is worship director at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, where he has been on staff since 1981. Don Williams (PhD, Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary) is founding pastor of the Coast Vineyard Christian Fellowship in California and has taught at Claremont McKenna College and Fuller Theological Seminary.Robert Webber (1933 - 2007) was the William R. and Geraldyn B. Myers professor of ministry at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Illinois, and professor of theology emeritus at Wheaton College. A theologian known for his work on worship and the early church, Webber was founder and president of the Institute for Worship Studies, Orange Park, Florida.

Six different writers each present a chapter on their particular worship -- running the gamut from formal liturgical, to charismatic, to emerging worship. Each chapter is followed by short commentaries by the other writers providing a variety of perspectives on each worship style. What emerges is a fascinating conversation that doesn't try to convert you to one particular style of worship, but broadens your mind to the inherent worth of different types of worship. A good read.