The Worship Plot: Finding Unity in Our Common Story

Many churches today are caught in the worship war. Services are split into styles--contemporary, traditional, liturgical. Discussions and sometimes arguments arise over whether or not to have a pulpit, use drums, sing hymns, or use movie clips for illustration. These varying styles and preferences have caused many to change churches or even skip worship all together. This division of the Body of Christ is a cause for great concern and is jeopardizing the true meaning of worship for future generations.In The Worship Plot, Dan Boone exposes the distorted motives of battling over worship styles. Instead, he attests we should strive to combine our diversity to celebrate our common story. Boone explains that worship is not about personal preference or platform performance. Worship flows from the heart of God through His Son and His Spirit. Worship invites us to step into this flowing stream of celebration, thanksgiving, and love--a stream that connects us to God and to each other. Boone encourages churches to use the differences of their people to tell and celebrate the story God has plotted for us--the unifying story of the love of Christ. He affirms that when we move through worship together, through specific stages that have been plotted out to follow, we can go out with blessing and boldness, empowered by grace--ready to serve the people of the world and share with them God's amazing story.

Dan Boone is president of Trevecca Nazarene University. He earned MDiv and DMin degrees from Nazarene Theological Seminary and McCormick Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books, including most recently A Very Good God in a Badly Broken World and three other Shaped by Scripture volumes on Luke, Acts, and Revelation, all available from The Foundry Publishing.