Drawing upon his experience in teaching this material over the past twenty-five years in forty countries, Ron Man provides a rich and deep examination of biblical worship, drawing principles out of a rigorous study of the text of Scripture. He also writes as a practitioner, from the perspective of one who served as a church worship pastor for twenty-two years. Features distinguishing this book from other similar studies include: 1) a tracing of the foundational Revelation and Response pattern through the Scriptures; 2) a more thorough treatment of New Testament texts than is often found; 3) a comprehensive treatment of the crucial role of Jesus Christ as the true Leader of our worship; 4) a consideration of worship as it relates to world missions; and 5) a concluding summary of twelve “Biblical Principles of Worship,” synthesizing the results of the study.
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Proclamation and Praise: Hebrews 2:12 and the Christology of Worship
Downloadable translations available in Arabic, Russian, and Urdu; also published in Bengali.
An important missing element in today’s raging worship debates is a proper acknowledgment of the continuing ministry of the living Christ in mediating and leading our worship. This is a crucial truth that transcends issues of style and form and thus provides a foundation for a unified and unifying understanding of worship, in spite of the wide diversity of worship expressions that has always characterized the body of Christ. The wonderful fact is that we are not left to worship God on our own strength! Rather, the grace of God, which is so abundantly provided to us for our salvation and sanctification, can be seen to be just as operational and effectual when it comes to our worship.
Our worship is acceptable and pleasing to God not because of any inherent excellence of its own, but because we come in Christ and his righteousness into the Father’s presence. In Hebrews 2:12 we find an amazingly succinct yet powerful description of the two-way mediating ministry of Christ: he continues to be the agent of God’s revelation to us and also serves as the leader and facilitator of our response back to God in worship. Christ does not just open or show us the way into the Father’s presence in worship; he actively leads us, takes us with him so that we might enjoy the same relationship of love and fellowship that he himself enjoys with the Father. This transforming understanding opens up a wide range of complementary truths concerning the Trinitarian and Christological implications of worship–with profound implications for our churches.
Worship and Mission for the Global Church: An Ethnodoxology Handbook
Worship and Mission for the Global Church offers theological reflection, case studies, practical tools, and audiovisual resources to help the global church appreciate and generate culturally appropriate arts in worship and witness. Drawing on the expertise and experience of over one hundred writers from twenty countries, the volume integrates insights from the fields of ethnomusicology, biblical research, worship studies, missiology, and the arts.
This book is the first in a two-volume set on the principles and practices of ethnodoxology. The second volume, entitled Creating Local Arts Together, guides the practitioner through a detailed seven-step process of assisting a local community’s efforts at integrating its arts with the values and purposes of God’s kingdom.
COMING IN 2025
This volume is a condensation (one-third the length!) of Let Us Draw Near, making it more accessible to a larger audience.
The basic organization and content is much the same, with some new features:
- A number of footnotes designated “FROM THE FIELD.” These are human-interest anecdotes related to the material and drawn from my experiences in teaching this material overseas in 41 countries over the past 30 years.
- Questions at the end of each chapter entitled “For Reflection and/or Discussion.” These, along with the summary chapter “Biblical Principles of Worship” (ch. 29), will help to make this book suitable for individual or group study.
It should be added that the book does not deal a lot with specific practices, because its focus is on identifying unifying principles that transcend cultures and ecclesiastical traditions. I pray that this work, building on the work of others, through its systematic, thorough, and distinctive treatment of biblical worship, will be a help, blessing, and inspiration to many students of worship, leaders of worship, pastors, and Christian worshipers of all kinds.
COMING IN 2026
These short studies are compiled from issues of Worship Notes, the author’s monthly online newsletter, which has now been running for twenty years (all issues can be accessed under the Worship Notes dropdown above). This collection is arranged thematically and covers a wide range of biblical, theological and practical topics of interest to pastors, worship pastors, worship leaders, and thoughtful laypeople. And the compact nature of each study provides a manageable and accessible vehicle for study and reflection.
Many thanks to my friend James Brown, Director of Music for many years at Independent Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee, who first suggested to me that I write such a newsletter to provide succinct, bite-sized readings for busy church musicians and others.