Response to “The Great Commission to Worship”
ABSTRACT. Summarize what you have read, boiling the book down into 300 words (1 page). Prove you
comprehend the readings by writing a no-nonsense summary. The abstract is not a commentary or listing
of topics but rather an objective summary from the reader’s viewpoint. Abstract equals �boiled down.�
This section should include a minimum of 2 footnotes to the text being reviewed.
- CONCRETE RESPONSE. Get vulnerable! In no less than 150 words and no more than 1 page, relate
a personal life experience that this book triggered in your memory. Relate your story in first person,
describing action, and quoting exact words you remember hearing or saying. In the teaching style of
Jesus, this is a do-it-yourself parable, case study, confession. You will remember almost nothing you
have read unless you make this critical, personal connection. What video memory began to roll? This is
your chance to tell your story and make new ideas your own. - REFLECTION. This is the critical thinking part of the review (not critical in the sense of negative, but in
the sense of questioning). In no less than 150 words and no more than 1 page, describe what questions
pop up for you in response to what you have read. Keep a rough-note sheet at hand as you read. Out
smart the author by asking better questions than he/she raised in the book. Tell how the author could
have made the book better or more appealing to those in your field of service. One way to begin this
section is by stating what bothered you most about the book. This is not a place to provide an
endorsement or affirmation of the book.
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Response to “The Great Commission to Worship”
.Abstract
The book titled “The Great Commission to Worship” authored by David Wheeler and Vermont
Whaley, both scholars at Liberty University, is a book that is aimed at contemporary Christians
who are concerned about their salvation. The two authors have different areas of specialization in
theology; these are Evangelism and Worship respectively. Through the book, they discuss the
unity of evangelism and worship. Not an existent unity but rather an ideal one which has been
forgotten or simply ignored by many believers. Through the use of scriptures from the Bible,
specifically the New Testament, these two authors lay a foundation for their arguments by
defining both what worship is and what prayer is. The central theme here is the great commission
which Jesus gave his disciples in Matthew 28: 18-20 1 . This scripture is discussed in light of the
fact that Christians target their worship at God and this is done as a result of the desire of most of
them to get saved. The authors argue that being saved is part of the salvation plan; much like the
great commission spells out. The authors go to great lengths to discuss myths that are at times
held in relation to what worship is and what it entails. These are dispelled through the use of
scripture. Given the great importance of worship to Christianity and the equally huge importance
of the great commission, the authors argue that worship is incomplete if there is no element of
evangelism. Evangelism in the context of this book can be summarized as the act of telling other
people about the goodness of having a relationship with Jesus, God’s son 2 . In this form of
Worship according to the authors, there can be true transformation in the lives of individuals and
it can also be appraised and evaluated instead of simply being repetitive. What the book
1 Wheeler, David, and Vernon M. Whaley. “The Great Commission to Worship.”Nashville, TN: B &
H (2011).
2 Wheeler, David, and Vernon M. Whaley. “The Great Commission to Worship.”Nashville, TN: B &
H (2011).
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discusses in summary is the need to have worship as a foundation for one’s Christianity and
other things added onto it. This is contrary to the current situation whereby worship is seen as
one of the activities of Christianity, a situation that makes it possible to separate it from
evangelism.
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Concrete Response
When I read this book, a memory that came to mind was the evangelism sessions we used to
engage in during my high school years. The church group that I used to worship with had a youth
group and this group was further sub-divided to individuals who have different general
occupations such as college and high-school students. Each group had a set of activities it did
during the weekends and holidays. The leaders of the group often mentioned the need to
evangelize and invite people to church after telling them the good news about Jesus. This was
often done through the sharing of scriptures that we had prepared in advance for short and
straight to the point discussions. The plan was to meet and go around as individuals or in groups
of two and start up conversations with strangers, telling them about gospel of Christ with the aim
of getting into a spiritual conversation. I had trouble with this first because I was shy and second
because I never truly appreciated the need to evangelize. At times I used to deliberately miss
these meetings so as to avoid the likely awkward situations that would have ensued had I
proceeded. One of the central scriptures that were used as a motivator for us was Matthew 28:18-
- At the time I thought it was possible for me to compensate by perhaps contributing extra
money during the offertory session or find another activity within the church that I would engage
in to make up for the lost time. The point of view I held was very much in tandem with that of
Christians who view worship and evangelism separate. I thought of the two, and actually treated
them as completely separate entities, but this was to selfish ends and I now see that I was gravely
wrong.
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Reflection
A question that I had in my mind in the course of reading the book was about the relevance of
the topic and choice of words the authors used. On one hand I saw the relevance of the lessons
given but on the other hand I could not help but wonder about the issue of semantics with respect
to the words used. The title of the book is “The Great Commission to Worship” but what the
book really discuses is obedience to God. Perhaps a title of “Obedience as true worship” could
have been more befitting for this book. The term worship as used by Christians or within the
context of religion tends to have two meanings depending on the context. The first and main use
of the word is the centralization of a supernatural deity or some other entity in the life of an
individual. In Christianity this basically means the complete allegiance to God. It also applies to
other entities such as Baal in the Old Testament and Money in contemporary times. The other
use of the term worship is the collection of activities mainly revolving around the offering of
songs during a meeting of believers. While this second use is limiting, it is used by believers
across the world in reference to the specific process of singing sacred songs. The great
commission was more of a command given by Jesus to his believers and by extension to all
Christians. The appropriate term for their reaction is obedience. While the action will be a
manifestation of worship, what they are really doing is obeying what God commanded them to
do. Going by the author’s definition of worship, obedience should have taken the central theme
since it has relatively more continuity than evangelism in the life of a Christian. An obedient
Christian will maintain virtues even when nobody is seeing him or her, giving them the moral
authority to preach about the standards Christ set.
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Action
Based on what I read in this book there are three things that I am going to do in an effort to
ensure I engage in true worship. The first of this is to list down the activities I currently engage
in in the name of worship. The second thing I will do is to decide on how and where I am going
to evangelize. The third step will be the actual evangelism, not on my own but by pulling my
spiritual friends along on the journey.
The step of listing down what I consider to be true worship is important in that it will help me to
see where I have been falling short and also if my worship has been one of convenience as
opposed to true worship as discussed in the scriptures. True worship for me will not just be
instances of evangelism but the activities that I give of myself wholeheartedly. I will also
evaluate these activities with respect to the transformational element. This is because it I could
be engaging in some activities for my own glorification instead of God’s.
Following the evaluation of my worship, it is likely that I will have to eliminate or reduce some
of the activities I do. I intend to replace these with meaningful evangelism. This means I will
have to purpose to go out and tell people about the word of God based on scriptures. For this I
will seek out opportunities that I usually have but seldom take advantage of. Possible options I
will go for include the local sports club I attend as well as the strangers who I sit with on public
transport almost every day.
The third step will be to actually go out and have a daily target of at least one person and
gradually increase the number as I gain more confidence and courage. For confidence and
courage, I will rope in some of my peers in the evangelism. For those who have been doing it
consistently, I will seek to learn from them and for those who have not been paying particular
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attention to it; I will share what I learnt from this book about the need for Christians to take
evangelism very seriously as part and parcel of their worship. My hope is that this will call them
to action and they will be willing to accompany me as I go out and evangelize. In this way I will
not just improve my evangelism but also ensure that as many people as possible get to hear about
the word of God.
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Reference
Wheeler, David, and Vernon M. Whaley. “The Great Commission to Worship.” Nashville, TN:
B & H (2011).
