Editor's Note: This editorial, originally published in 2004, helpfully explains the purpose and function of The Worship Sourcebook, a widely used resource first published in 2005 and now in its second edition.
Where would preachers be without commentaries and concordances? The word preached on Sundays is the fruit of study that relies first of all on personal study of scripture, to be sure. But that study is enriched by insights of other preachers and theologians, as well as those who “exegete” our culture, so that God’s Word connects with people’s lives in fresh ways every week. There is good reason for seminaries and conferences and books: to help prepare those who preach.
And where would the song of the church be without hymnals and collections of worship songs, as well as the talents of musicians developed to help God’s people raise their voices in hymns and psalms and spiritual songs? There is good reason for collections of songs to be published. There is good reason for poets and musicians to study their craft as writers, composers, and performers, and then apply their gifts in the service of worship.
Taken together, Scripture, sermon, and song count for at least two-thirds of most worship services. The Bible and the hymnal are traditionally the two books in the pew. The Bible identifies us as Christian; the hymnal contains our confessional heritage. The rhythm of worship is based on God’s Word read and proclaimed; we respond in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
But what about the rest of the service? What about the spoken elements, from the call to worship to the benediction? What about the prayers? Where do worship planners go to find spoken service elements that also exhibit the careful craft, beauty of language, and connections to Scripture and song that help build a coherent and well-ordered service?
The Genesis of The Worship Sourcebook
Meeting that need has been the purpose of Reformed Worship from the beginning. But more is needed. In 1999, at the Conference on Liturgy and Music in Wheaton, Illinois, cosponsored by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and Reformed Worship, we asked what resources would be most helpful to worship planners and leaders. One person commented, with enthusiastic support from others: “It would be so helpful to have all of the Reformed Worship prayers, litanies, and other resources, compiled for easy use!” That suggestion sparked the project by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and Faith Alive Christian Resources that grew into The Worship Sourcebook. Co-published by Faith Alive, the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, and Baker Books, the sourcebook is to be released this spring. John Witvliet introduces it at greater length in "Well-Chosen Words" and in "The Heavens Declare the Glory of God" a sample of resources from this sourcebook is provided.
The Worship Sourcebook is intended to provide a large collection of the spoken elements of worship beyond Scripture, sermon, and song. In that sense it stands alongside scripture and commentaries, hymnals and song collections. Many of the resources included in the sourcebook first appeared in Reformed Worship, both old and new, both those that honor the rich heritage of two millennia of Christian worship practices and those that respond to contemporary culture. Many of the resources in Reformed Worship are indebted to that rich heritage, and we went directly to many published collections for The Worship Sourcebook. We also relied on contributions from churches that developed their own resources, and we solicited some new resources as well.
Teaching Notes
But this book is more than a collection of published texts. As we talked with several potential users, it became clear that having good texts was insufficient. Worship planners and leaders, increasingly drawn from lay leaders in evangelical Protestant contexts, were also looking for basic teaching and instruction about different elements of worship and for ways that texts could function in worship. So we started adding what we called “teaching notes”—brief descriptions of the nature and purpose of every part of the worship service. What is a call to worship? Or a prayer for illumination? How does it function? Is it needed? What resources can help build a good Easter service? Or a Thanksgiving service? What should be at the heart of those kinds of services? Questions like that came to Reformed Worship from volunteer worship coordinators in small churches. They were also raised by seminary students in worship classes. Both were looking for a reference book that would provide a range of options for each act of worship, along with clear teaching notes about the purpose of each element of worship.
We’re grateful to be a partner in preparing this volume with the same hopes we bring to every issue of Reformed Worship, that it may glorify God and bless the people of God in their worship.
