Daily With Jesus

“Ancient Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative”

 by Robert E. Webber

Book Reviewed by Evang. Angelina N. Chukwuocha

This book is worth every penny!

In Matthew 16, after Peter had answered Jesus’ question correctly , ”…who do you say that I am?”, (Matthew 16:15, NASB). Jesus, knowing that Peter’s wisdom to answer correctly came from above, responded, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven,” (Matthew 16:17, NASB). This is how it felt reading through Robert E. Webber’s book, Ancient Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative”. Wisdom came from above. In this book, Webber’s wisdom was presented as an effortless choreography that meticulously converged all parts of worship, especially the ancient foundations bringing them to the present and taking them to the future, while proclaiming and enacting God’s narrative. Webber has proven through “Ancient Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative” that “…spirituality and ethics are grounded in the memory that elicits a right faith and an obedient life,” (45).

Weber explicitly proves that God’s overall work in history is (most often) ignored (or) …individualized,” (90).  consequently, His worship “… suffer(s) from a terrible fragmentation, (41).  Webber left no stone unturned in unveiling the hidden riches of God’s treasures in the history of ancient worship. He calls for a “…paradigm shift toward an ancient future worship …which is the window of the church to the narrative of God, (25).  He says that many churches have lost their ability to incorporate “…remembrance in worship, …a shift has taken place toward a focus on therapeutic or inspirational preaching and to the rise of entertainment or presentational worship, (70). By implication, Webber’s thesis is that, from a biblical perspective, past occurrences serve as the pillars around which the modern church must stand to properly and productively lead worship in a way that is consistent with God’s story. Webber emphasizes that to do worship right we must first figure out what worship is. Webber in his ingenuity wittingly simplified the choices of where to begin and which key narratives in ancient history to choose as models of worship.

 Who would have thought to start the story at Pentecost? But Webber successfully did, and beautifully extrapolates the true meaning of worship by examining “…the new understanding brought about by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost…” (30).

The engaging nature of Webber’s writing makes one not want to put down the book but eager to get to the next understanding. Webber analytically illustrated four images, (God and the Garden of Eden; God and the Desert; God and the Garden of Gethsemane; and God and the eternal Garden) of how to tell God’s story, which is “…the story of God working in History, …the story of all creatures and creation, (31). Weber used these imageries to paint a perfect picture of how God amid the desert brings salvation, fruitfulness, new blood, and covenant by incarnation, death, and resurrection. Webber makes it clear that when we put all the ancient history in perspective, “remembering” and telling God’s story consistently, we not only do worship as God’s narrative, but the “…dramatic reenactment draws the worshipper into action, not as an observer, but as a participant” (51).  

Webber’s book is a challenge to summarize, not because it has difficulties in understanding, but because embedded in every line are critical points that can stand on their own as a subject. However, one of the focal points from Webber’s book is that foundational to Christian worship, our worship must be inclusive of the history of Israel as the historical bricks at the foundation of true worship. Weber noted that for worship to be according to God’s narrative a remembrance of God’s deeds, past and present, and anticipation of His future for the world must be made in all diverse means such as preaching, creed, songs, “…even funerals” (110) and meeting “…the needs of the poor” (109).

After reading Webber’s book, we are certain that, to the extent that they align with God’s narrative, all of life’s endeavors are expressions of worship. To conform to God’s story in all things as we worship, the truth of God’s story must be unveiled through our passionate engagement with the ancient paradigm of God’s works in creation. we must be intentional in all our efforts to worship in line with God’s story. Webber has proven through his book that we are called to worship! We are called to crucify the self and magnify God in worship according to His story: the story of the ancient, present, and future promises for His creation. When God’s story becomes an unquenchable fire that burns in the hearts of His children, the barren deserts that sin once invaded become fruitful gardens that continually blossom in true worship, worship that proclaims and enacts God’s narrative. I give this book five complete stars. It is a must-read!

Bibliography

Webber, R. E. (2008). Ancient-Future worship (Ancient-Future): Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative. Baker Books.