Worshiptainment

Matthew Everhard, a Presbyterian minister from the US, has written a compelling and hard hitting book called “Worshiptainment: The Modern Church’s Golden Calf”. The basic premise of the book is that the evangelical movement has been for far too long all about entertaining crowds with ridiculous theatrics in order to seduce audiences to attend services. He contends that we need to go back to the ancient practice and forms of worship of the Reformers. His case is compelling and I almost agree with everything he says, except for a few American idiosyncracies. Coming from Australia where the majority of even Presbyterian churches are on the seeker sensitive spectrum, I am convinced that the historical worship tradition of the Reformers is the cure to the cheap and shallow worship of many evangelical churches today. Bring back the Hymnals, bring back Liturgy - at least a decent call to worship, (that’s not much to ask for) and bring back the prominence of the Sacraments.

The book is also peppered with ridiculous accounts of the lengths that some evangelical churches have gone to in order to attract crowds, I had a chuckle or two while reading it. I highly recommend this book to all who are tired of the shallowness of the evangelical movement. Go read and buy your friend a copy!