March 1992

Barbara Stewart, ed. Willow Creek Community Church, 1991. 177 pages.The Handbook is available by writing Seeds, Order Processing, 67 East Algonquin Road, South Barring-ton, IL 60010; (708) 765-5000. Cost is $14.95, plus $4.00 shipping and handling; 7 percent sales tax for Illinois residents.

Services Available on Disk

Beginning with this issue of Reformed Worship, we will make available a computer disk containing services and liturgies found in each issue. The disk will be formatted in MS-DOS on an IBM-compatible computer, and files will be saved in both WordPerfect 4.2 and ASCII. If you would like to try it, send $10.00 US (or $12.00 CDN) along with your name and address, and indicate whether you would like a 5.25" or 3.5" disk.

Eileen Gurak. San Jose, California: Resource Publications, 1990. 76 pages. $7.95.

This book includes simple, basic principles, clearly stated, to serve as an introduction for the people who plan liturgy and design worship environments. The guidance in the small book is direct. It is based on contemporary Catholic practices, many of which are also applicable to currently used Protestant liturgies.

I'm in trouble when it comes to the seeker service. Not with anyone else, but with myself. I usually evaluate a new idea in light of some basic convictions I hold to, and then come to some conclusions. But when I evaluate the seeker service in light of such convictions, I come out both for it and against it.

Reaching out—for many Reformed churches that's become the focus of the nineties. Congregations who in the past seemed content to minister to their own and to those in distant places are now taking a closer look at the men, women, teens, and children who live and work in the church's neighborhood.

No longer is it safe to assume, as it was in former decades, that the majority of these people have church homes of their own. Surveys have shown that the numbers of people with no church ties continue to grow.

"I love playing the heavy!"
"I love these plays. They're a great way to get to know other people in the church."
"I've been impressed with what a powerful impact they have."
"It's a way I can give something to the church. Maybe the Lord can use me to reach someone."
"So often people have said that the drama really spoke to them."
"They're just so much fun!"

Stephen Githumbi, raised in a Kenyan village and later educated in theology in the US, has had close experience with the Christian church in both cultures. He offers the following observations on celebration in African worship as "a way of living out the Christian faith that can be instructive to the American church."

It was so easy for so long—so natural that we did it almost without thinking. Worship, that is.

Jerusalem was our home, not only geographically but culturally. And so we were at home with everything. Including worship. It was a reflection of us, of our people, and of our culture. We spoke the same language, sang the same rhythms, danced the same dances.