Book Review Blurb – Worship Matters

The author of this book of Bob Kauflin, who is the director of Sovereign Grace Music in Louisville, KY. Most people who know the name Bob Kauflin have probably not heard him preach and few people have probably heard him even sing, but many have been impacted by his influence in contemporary Christian music.

I am not a fan – generally speaking – of contemporary Christian music but I rarely hear a song from Sovereign Grace Music I don’t like. Kauflin drives this ship of musical edification.

The book I read is primarily directed for music pastors/worship pastors/music guys in the local church. It is not necessarily a book intended for a laymen to read, although you can certainly profit from a reading of it if you don’t play an instrument or have a good voice. But if you are someone who has been designated to help lead the music ministry in your local church, you need to make this a staple of your reading diet every chance you get. Even pastors should read this book to give them a deeper appreciation for their music leader’s ministry and unique challenges they face week-in-week-out.

Kauflin breaks up the book into 4 sections:

1)     “The Leader” – where he deals with the biblical character God requires to be a man or woman who leads the local church in the worship of Him through music

2)     “The Task “ – where Kauflin gives his definition of what a faithful music leader is to be and then unpacks that definition. His definition is this: “A faithful worship leader magnifies the greatness of God in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, skillfully combining God’s Word with music, thereby motivating the gathered church to proclaim the Gospel to cherish God’s presence and to live for God’s glory.”

3)     “Healthy Tensions” – where Kauflin gives a number of battles that exist in the church and how to find healthy balance between them. Such battles, for example, are head worship vs. heart worship, internal worship vs. external worship, planned worship vs. spontaneous worship, skilled worship vs. authentic worship, etc.

4)     “Right Relationships” – where Kauflin gives wisdom and practical advice on how to nurture the relationship with your pastor and how a pastor can help support his music leaders

All in all, this was a very enjoyable read. Ch. 27 (“Event and Everyday”) is worth the price of the book; it’s about worshiping God with every breath you take.

Here is a quote worth writing down – “A worshiping community is made up of individuals whose lives are centered around the Savior they worship together each week. A worshiping community expects to encounter God’s presence not only on Sunday mornings but every day. A worshiping community recognizes that passionate times of singing God’s praise flow from and lead to passionate lives lived for the glory of Jesus Christ.” (pg. 127)