Updated March, 2025
Following Jesus: More About Young Children and Worship
Sonja Stewart. Louisville: Geneva Press, 2000. 276 pp. $24.95.
When I opened my copy of Following Jesus, I felt like a young child for whom Christmas morning has finally arrived! I have led worship for four- and five-year-olds for several years and have eagerly awaited this sequel to Stewart’s first book, Young Children and Worship.
Following Jesus contains a series of thirty-four stories, mainly from the gospel of Mark, that help children learn more about the kingdom of God established during Jesus’ life on earth. It shows children who Jesus is and encourages them to love him and to want to follow him.
A fifty-page introduction gives worship leaders everything they need to set up a worship center and plan the order of worship each week. It also includes a summary of the Bible’s teachings central to the establishment of Jesus’ kingdom.
An appendix shows leaders just what materials they will need to set up their center with two- and three-dimensional visuals. All the patterns for figures and other visuals are included.
The book offers worship leaders a way to use these thirty-four stories for fifty-two weeks by repeating certain stories. Although some people feel uncomfortable repeating stories, young children enjoy repetition. Also, the main focus is not the story but the whole experience of worshiping through singing, praying, giving an offering, reading Scripture, enjoying a feast, and receiving a blessing at the end of the service. All of which makes Children & Worship very different from a church school class.
Stewart skillfully sifts through theological truths and communicates their essence for children in stories that are short, sparse, and easily understandable by young children ages four through eight. Directions for moving visuals are clear and easy to follow. In small churches, worship can be adapted for children of various ages in one center by planning wondering questions appropriate for each age level and by offering various suggestions for response activities.
One part of the stories that makes me uncomfortable is Stewart’s choice of wondering questions. Many of them are very good, but too many wonder about how people feel. I wouldn’t ask more than one “feeling” question in each worship session. Worship leaders are free to think of their own wondering questions, of course.
Although the book doesn’t suggest it, I believe this program could easily be adapted for use with children and adults with mental impairments. The visuals and opportunity for various response activities would be ideal for those who cannot read, write, or even speak.
Following Jesus is a wonderful and very helpful resource for children’s worship programs. Thanks, Sonja Stewart, for giving us another complete worship experience on a theme very different from that of Young Children and Worship!
The Worship Leader's Handbook: Practical Answers to Tough Questions
Tom Kraeuter. Lynnwood, Wash.: Emerald Books/Training Resources, 1997. 157 pp. $9.00. 1-888-333-1724.
Tom Kraeuter, author of at least five books on leading worship, offers advice borne of Bible study and personal experience arranged in an easy-to-use Question and Answer format. He asks
good questions and sometimes gives good, practical answers. (Q: “How can I worship more instead of concentrating on the musical mechanics?” A: Practice more.) But sometimes his answers are not so good and other times he just dodges altogether the tough questions he’s posed. For example, his bottom-line response to the crucial question of whether or not worship should follow a biblical pattern is: “There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Pray for the Lord’s guidance and He will lead you.” Readers can find some helpful guidance on these pages—but not on every page.
Rev. Dr. Ron Rienstra has been a regular contributor to Reformed Worship over the years. He is the director of worship life and professor of preaching and worship arts at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. He is an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America , author of Church at Church, and coauthor with his wife, Debra, of Worship Words: Discipling Language for Faithful Ministry. Together they have three grown children, a multiplicity of living-room instruments, and a tame backyard they are slowly rewilding.
Worship Team Handbook
Alison Siewert (ed.), Andy Crouch, Matt Frazier, and Sundee Frazier. Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1998. 1-800-843-7225. 182 pp. $14.99.
Labeled a “handbook,” this offering from IVP might just as well be called a “goodie bag.” Written by members of the Urbana Worship Conference worship team, it’s filled with all sorts of goodies. There are sections on worship itself (theoretical without being boring), leading worship (an especially helpful section), and practical help for developing worship teams and choosing and writing music for worship. More sections include practical skills for musicians (very nitty-gritty!), teaching aids, dramas, help with using visual arts and the media, putting it all together, and more. An appendix includes some helpful Bible studies for worship leaders.
This is an excellent resource for worship leaders to use with their teams. The chapters come in small, easy-to-digest chunks and are filled with both insight and hands-on help. Highly recommended.
Changing Your Tune: The Musician's Handbook for Creating Contemporary Worship
Lynn Hurst. Nashville: Abingdon, 1999. 1-800-3320. 143 pp. $12.00.
Lynn Hurst is a classically trained organist who was drawn into leadership at a contemporary worship service, and over thirteen years gradually developed an entirely new set of skills. Her expertise (in music, yes, but in other areas too) is on display in this “how-to” manual. Chapters deal with practical topics for creating “contemporary worship” such as worship space design, sound and projection systems, music licenses, advertising, worship team rehearsal, budgeting, and the like. Each chapter ends with a checklist of questions to consider and a helpful list of resources. The strength of this book lies in the concrete answers to “how” questions. But I wished for deeper thought about the “why” questions. For example, a congregational evaluation form in the back of the book asks over and over “Did you like . . . ” (the sermon, the music, the drama, etc.) It made me wonder if “liking” is our goal when we design any worship service, contemporary or otherwise.
What Happens in Holy Communion?
Michael Welker. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2000. 192 pp. $18.00. To order, call 1-800-253-7521 or e-mail sales@eerdmans.com.
Welker is professor of systematic theology at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. This book arose from pondering not only perplexing theological questions about the Lord’s Supper but also practical ones drawn from the author’s own participation in the sacrament. Why were some celebrations of the Supper so oppressive while others left him comforted, strengthened, and filled with hope? What does it mean to speak of the Supper “rightly understood and rightly celebrated?”
Drawing on biblical texts and documents of the twentieth-century ecumenical conversations on the Lord’s Supper, each of the book’s twelve chapters is a partial answer to the question What happens in Holy Communion? Welker discusses such concerns as What do we mean by the presence of Christ in the sacrament? What does it mean to proclaim the Lord’s death? What is the relation of the Lord’s Supper to the Jewish Passover? How are we in communion with Christ and with each other? What does it mean to partake of the Supper in a “worthy” manner? What is the activity of the Holy Spirit in the Lord’s Supper? Welker also shows that the answers to these questions have implications for such practical concerns as Who presides? Who participates? How often should the church celebrate the sacrament? How should the bread and wine be served? Is it permissible to celebrate with elements other than bread and wine? Each chapter ends with a brief concluding summary of the preceding discussion.
The book offers an overview of the current ecumenical convergence and remaining differences in our understanding and practice of the Lord’s Supper. Pastors will find this a resource for preaching and teaching about the sacrament. Even readers who take issue with some of Welker’s conclusions will find his book a welcome stimulus and helpful tool for thinking about how the shape of our celebrations of the sacrament might better reflect and express our theology.