I. Course Description
"God is the first priority of the church. Not people. Not ministry. Not growth. Not success. God and God alone occupies the place of ultimate and absolute priority in the church. However, this biblical idea does not receive much attention in the highly people-centered, growth-dominated, success-oriented American church of today. From our preaching, our writing and our lifestyle, it would appear that today's church is preoccupied with other matters." True worship begins with a right understanding of God and a right view of ourselves in light of who He is and what He has revealed in His Word. "The great need of the church today is neither to cling to the old or to create the new forms and formats. Our greatest need today is to recover the priority of God in our worship and in the whole of life." Dr. Bruce Leafblad is Professor of Church Music and Worship at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
II. Course Mentor
If you are taking this course as directed studies, you must have a mentor to successfully complete the course requirements. A list of available mentors for this course and their contact information is posted in the Student Area. If you have any difficulty arranging for a mentor, please contact the Study Center Director.
III. Attendance and Participation
This course meets for 10 sessions. Students will have 14 weeks to complete all the sessions (from March 15, 2010 until June 25, 2010).
Your participation in the course will be determined largely by your contact time with your mentor. You may work through the course material online at your own pace, but to fulfill the attendance requirement for the course, you must stay in contact with your mentor and log at least 10 meetings with your mentor (one for each session of the course). If you meet long enough to sufficiently cover two sessions, your mentor may give you credit for two meetings. It will be up to your mentor to determine at the end of the course if you have fulfilled the attendance requirement and sufficiently covered the course material.
If extenuating circumstances arise and you will not be able to complete the course in the allotted time, please contact the Study Center Director.
IV. Required Texts
You will need the following required text for this course.
Reformed Worship: Worship That Is According to Scripture by Terry Johnson (ISBN: 1-884416-46-2). Copies are available from Reformed Academic Press.
You will also be required to read two additonal books that you will choose from a list below to complete your one of your course projects.
Additional reading assignments will be provided online.
V. Outline of Sessions
The 10 sessions of this course are as follows:
Part 1: The Nature of Worship
1. Communion with God: Lessons from the Little Tent of Meeting (A Study of Exodus 33:7-18)
2. What Is Worship? A Biblical Definition
Part 2: The Practice of Worship
3. The Dialog of Worship (A Study of Isaiah 6:1-11a)
4. The Elements of Worship (A continued analysis of Isaiah 6)
5. The Leadership of Worship: Helping People to Meet with God
6. The Regulative Priniciple of Worship
7. Music and Worship
Part 3: The Standard of Worship
8. The Divine Quest:The Priority of Worship (A Study of John 4:19-26)
9. Worship in Spirit: The Spirituality of Worship (A continuation of the study of John 4)
10. Worship in Truth: The Integrity of Worship (Conclusion of the study of John 4)
VI. Method of Instruction
Teaching methods will include:
• Listening to audio lectures with power point slides online
• Study Guides for each Session (covering the material from the reading and lecture)
• Discussion of course material with your mentor
• Feedback from your mentor on course assignments
VII. Course Assignments
All assignments for the course are outlined on the session pages and in the study guides.
Weekly Assignments:
Each session will include the following:
1) Reading Assignments (in text book and online)
2) Discussion Questions over the Reading Assignments
3) Discussion Questions over the Lecture
Please complete all the readings for the session and print out a hard copy of your answers to the discussion questions so you are prepared for your meetings with your mentor. You will receive credit for doing your weekly assignments once you have met and covered the material with your mentor.
Course Projects:
1. Book Essay
Your first project for the course will be to read two selected books on worship and prepare a book essay (review) for each. Each review should be minimum of three pages (not including title page), double-spaced, no larger than 12-point font (Times Roman or Arial), with 1 inch margins. As you write your essays, consider the following questions:
- Who is the author? What was the author's intent or purpose in writing the book?
- What are the main ideas the author is trying to communicate? What specific issues in worship are addressed?
- What did you learn from the book? How has it challenged your thinking about worship?
- In what ways did the book enlarge your understanding of what worship is?
- What truths or insights from the book have affected your personal worship and desire to grow as a worshipper?
- Has the book helped you in knowing how to plan and prepare for worship?
- Has the book helped you in knowing how to lead and evaluate worship?
- Was the book challenging to read? Did anything in the book surprise you?
- Was the book worthwhile? Would you encourage others to read it?
- Was the book memorable? What has most stayed with you from the book?
Chose from following list of 16 titles:
- Christ-Centered Worship by Bryan Chapell (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009)
- Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives on Worship and the Arts by Harold Best (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2003)
- Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008)
- Reaching Out without Dumbing Down by Marva J. Dawn (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995)
- A "Royal" Waste of Time by Marva J. Dawn (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999)
- Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reformed Worship edited by Philip Graham Ryken, Derek W. H. Thomas and J. Ligon Duncan III (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 2003)
- Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship by David Peterson (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1992)
- Worship: Reformed According to Scripture by Hughes Oliphant Old (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002)
- With Reverence and Awe by D. G. Hart and John R. Muether (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 2002)
- Worship in the Shape of Scripture by F. Russell Mitman (Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 2001)
- Authentic Worship: Scripture's Voice, Apply Its Truth by Herb Bateman (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2002)
- Worship by the Book by D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002)
- Remedy for Wandering Thoughts in Worship by Richard Steele (1673, reprint: Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications, 1988)
- Singing and Making Music: Issues in Church Music Today by Paul S. Jones (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 2006)
- Many Verses! The Importance of Reading the Scriptures in Reformed Worship by Ernest Springer (Audubon, NJ: Old Paths Publications, 1993)
- We Become What We Worship by G. K. Beale (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008.
More detailed instructions on this project will be provided in Session 2. Your mentor will assign a specific due date for your review. All course work must be complete to the satisfaction of your mentor by June 25, 2010.
2. Worship Service Order
In Session 5 you will plan and prepare an order of worship based on the dialogical model of Isaiah 6 discussed in Sessions 3 and 4. This assignment will be in two parts. For Part One you will print the order of worship just as it would appear in a service folder or bulletin. For Part Two you will write a 1-2 page annotation of the service and explain the rationale for the order of worship. More detailed instructions on this assignment will be provided in Session 5.
3. Bible Study Notes Worksheets
In Session 7 you will complete two (2) Bible Study Notes Worksheets on Music and Worship. The first worksheet will contain questions over passages in the Old Testament that relate to music and worship. The second worksheet will contain questions over passages in the New Testament. More detailed instructions on this assignment will be provided in Session 7.
4. Worship Service Observation
In Session 9 you will "observe" and evaluate a Worship Service and complete a Worship Service Observation form. The service can be at your own church or at church you choose to visit. More detailed instructions on this assignment will be provided in Session 9.
All course work must be complete to the satisfaction of your mentor by June 25, 2010.