Book Review by Elizabeth Welch
The Great Commission to Worship
Authors: Vernon Whaley and David Wheeler
The Great
Commission is a commandment associated with Christians going out into the world
to bring souls into the kingdom of God. Churches filled with believers are
familiar with the worship expectation of God and focus more on this than the
mandate of evangelism. Vernon Whaley and David Wheeler believe that evangelism
must be “the catalyst that ignites a holistic lifestyle of worship.”[1]
The authors expand on this statement by introducing and reinforcing that the
Great Commission comes alive through worship and should not be separate. This
new worship model merges the believer’s individual calling and life
experiences, producing specific outcomes. The rest of the book explores living
a life of Great Commission worship.
The
practice of Great Commission worship forms individual and corporate attitudes
toward evangelism, transforms believers, encourages relational ministry, and
drives mission. Whaley and Wheeler posit that “God uses this dynamic
relationship … to change [believers] from old to new, dead to living, and
corruptible to incorruptible.”[2]
Worship and Godly evangelism centers around relationships. Relational
activities are about strengthening the “upward relationship” with God and
building “horizontal relationships” with humanity.[3]
Evangelizing
is a part of missional activity. The church should not focus only on temporal
ministry while letting worship become shallow and just another scripted,
religious activity. Worship is at the heart of God’s eternal expectation; praising
him is key. The Great Commission worshipper reproduces the calling of the Great
Commission resulting from a Godly, worshipful relationship. The believer steers
away from meaningless activity that results in the practice of an unbalanced,
faith-versus-works approach to ministry.
The
best example of a Great Commission worshiper I have ever had was a saint named
Lenora Munyon. Mrs. Munyon was my grandmother and a life-long soldier (congregational
member) and employee of The Salvation Army. She dedicated her life to holy
living and had a firm commitment to the Lord for evangelizing the lost and
serving the disenfranchised. One of the most memorable moments happened during
a Sunday evening worship service when seekers came forward during the appeal.
A
man walked down the middle isle and knelt on the far-left side of the altar. His
hands and face were dirty. Layers of crumpled clothing swallowed up the rest of
him. His hair was a mixture of tangles and small debris from hard living.
Others came and went from the altar, but the man did not move.
My
grandmother with her clean, pressed navy-blue uniform made her way down the
aisle. Her five-foot, three-inch frame was smaller than the man. As she knelt
by him, she lifted her arm to embrace him from the side. At first, her arm
seemed so small reaching across his shoulders. When her arm touched the man’s
back, his frame began to shake and collapsed into the embrace as he sobbed. I
could not hear what my grandmother was saying to him, but I could see the
movement of her head as she fervently spoke in his ear and prayed. When they
stood, she hugged the man tightly. As their frames parted, the man turned around
and streaks of clean, pink skin showed through the dirt in the vertical lines
made by his tears. He smiled and seemed to stand up straighter than before. After
the man walked away, my mother helped her out of her tunic (suit jacket) and
put it in a paper bag. I had never seen her do this before.
On
the drive home, I asked my grandmother, “Why did mama put your tunic in the
paper sack?” She told me the man had lice crawling on his clothes and
hair. “Oh,” I paused to think, “You must
have seen it after you prayed and hugged him. “ “No, I saw it before,” she
replied. A few minutes passed. “Mamaw,” which is what I called my grandmother,
“Why would you touch a man with bugs on him?”
“Beth,” she said, “Jesus wanted to touch him, and so, I did it for him. Don’t
ever forget that these are our kind of people.” When the man returned for
church the next Sunday morning, I did not recognize him. He was clean-shaven and
clearly, God transformed him inside and out. He worshipped in our congregation
for a long time.
Reflecting
on the book and this writer’s Salvation Army background, the idea of living out
the Great Commission as a meaningful act of worship is not a foreign concept
but raises some questions. The concept of worship has changed; the necessity of
this teaching is relevant. How can the church balance out the need for
discipleship and character-building programming with meaningful, worship
experiences and Commission-driven ministries?
The
authors mentioned the idea of a new worship model merged with the Great
Commission, discussing the role of younger worship leaders. In chapter six,
Whaley and Wheeler state, “Often, they are in the position to shape a
congregation’s concept of God, Christian service, evangelism, Christian graces,
and discipleship—all through worship.”[4]
Why is this level of responsibility given to those who may not have the
longevity and wisdom to lead people in this way? The average church is on the
smaller side. Younger people who are pressed into service may not be
spiritually mature or shown how to lead but considered acceptable if they show
willingness and a modicum of musical skill.
Furthermore,
the older generations are stepping back from leading worship and doing the
administrative and logistical support, not so much participating in the formal spiritual
formation congregations. Meaningful opportunities are for the young people and
multigenerational worship is becoming rare. Oral tradition has been abandoned in
most congregations, and children in many churches do not experience the main
worship service or take part in a multigenerational worship environment. Why is
multigenerational worship not addressed and where is the focus on the
demonstration of spiritual disciplines necessary for holy living?
[1]
Vernon M. Whaley and David Wheeler, The Great Commission to Worship: Biblical
Principles for Worship-Based Evangelism (Nashville, TN: B & H
Publishing Group, 2011), ch. 1, accessed August 31, 2019, https://app.wordsearchbible.com/reader.
[2]
Ibid., ch. 6.
[3]
Ibid.
