Transforming Worship: Planning and Leading Sunday Services as If Spiritual Formation Mattered (Transforming Resources)

Spiritual formation is the key to the survival of our faith. There is an urgent need today for church services that are substantive and purposeful. Stigmatized by scandal, the church in North America and throughout Europe has been branded as useless and irrelevant. To stem the tide of nominal Christianity, we need to get serious about making disciples who can make other disciples. Rory Noland is a worship leader who has led in contexts ranging from megachurches to small retreat settings such as the Transforming Center with Ruth Haley Barton. Combining discipleship and worship--what Noland calls transforming worship --he offers a vision for worship as spiritual formation. We need to reclaim our worship services as a formative space, and through that we will become the light of Christ in a dark world. Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Foreword by Ruth Haley Barton Introduction: What Is Transforming Worship? Part 1: Biblical, Historical, and Theological Foundations of Transforming Worship 1 It All Started at Sinai 2 Updating the Ancient Formula for Sunday Services 3 How to Edify Believers and Evangelize Unbelievers 4 Reclaiming Sunday Morning as the Church's Primary, Formative Event 5 Recovering a Sense of the Sacred in Modern Worship Part 2: Distinctive Elements of Transforming Worship 6 Let Us Pray! 7 Engaging the Preached and Unpreached Word of God 8 Corporate Confession: The Gift of an Unfettered Conscience 9 Lord's Supper as Spiritual Nourishment 10 Living in Our Baptism Epilogue: We Get to Do This! Appendix 1: Responsive Scripture Reading Appendix 2: Readers’ Theater Scripture Reading Appendix 3: Corporate Prayer of Confession Appendix 4: Checklist for Transforming Worship Services Notes Transforming Center Transforming Resources Praise for Transforming Worship About the Author More Titles from InterVarsity Press "Spiritual formation is the key to the survival of our faith. According to worship leader Rory Noland, in order to stem the tide of nominal Christianity we need to reclaim our worship services as formative spaces that are substantive and purposeful. Combining discipleship and worship-what Noland calls "Transforming Worship"-he offers a vision for worship as spiritual formation"-- Provided by publisher