Abstract
This volume revisits a seven-year project of the Lutheran World Federation that resulted in the production of a series of volumes on worship and culture. This particular volume seeks to “revisit, offer models, critique, expand and thus enrich the conversation on worship and culture” (p. xii). The editor and the book’s contributors are successful in this goal. As a stand-alone work, it is able take the reader back to the original sources in such a way that one is not completely lost without the context of reading the original study series. Instead, the contributors are able to take that information which is pertinent and bring that into the discussions and explanations given within this book. However, for someone to have a full understanding of the proposed topics of this volume, it would be helpful to have those previous volumes in hand while reading this volume.
The editor and the contributors are well qualified experientially and academically. They come from broad ecumenical, cultural and professional backgrounds, which lends credibility to the efforts of this book. Their case is presented and argued in a very organized manner. The data are presented in a straightforward manner, and are methodically documented. However, the data and the resultant information will be more relevant to adherents of churches who utilize a higher liturgical approach to worship. Regardless, this book is able to inform and enlighten congregants of all levels of liturgical practice. Indeed, there is plenty of historical and cultural information concerning worship within its contents that will challenge readers from a wide range of liturgical backgrounds.
The book is broken down into the historical and theological contexts before moving into the dialogue and diversity that exists between worship and culture. The practical aspects of liturgy and culture are considered in the section on “Baptism, Rites of Passage, and Culture”. For many readers of this kind of book the practical aspects of worship will be lacking. Although this book is not intended to be a “how-to-book”, it could have given more practical information on this aspect of the subject. Still, the intended purpose of the book is met as it will leave its readers questioning, analyzing, and hopefully discussing as congregations, denominations, and church fellowships the connection and application of worship within specific and larger cultural contexts. This book is worth reading by those within academic circles as well as in the liturgical context.