What's Love Got to Do with It? A Biblical Theology of Worship

In the past three-plus decades, a significant conversation has taken place among American Protestants about worship. As a result, countless books have been written on the subject. We have read books on music and worship, ancient-future worship, worship as spiritual formation, worship and the arts, worship and children, even life as worship. Listen to that conversation, however, and you will notice one word conspicuously absent. While the heart and soul of the Christian life is love, and while the apostle Paul (I Corinthians 13) insists that worship without love fails to be worship, recent conversations on worship fail to answer this simple question, ""What's love got to do with it?"" In this volume, Sam Hamstra answers that question and more by identifying biblical principles that shape our love as worshipers. The end result is an invaluable resource for worshipers and for those responsible for planning corporate worship. ""Sam's book develops a wonderful but surprisingly overlooked theme regarding worship, namely, God the Beloved is the one who determines our worship. More particularly, the Triune God draws the Christian to worship in the following ways: the Father calls us to worship him through his love for us; Jesus the Son mediates that worship; and the Holy Spirit empowers the church to perform that worship. Rooted in Scripture, tested in practice, and irenic in spirit, What's Love got to do with it? is a must-read for pastor and people, professor and student alike!"" --C. Marvin Pate, Chair of Christian Theology, Ouachita Baptist University ""Hamstra's work is the hidden jewel of worship books. Marvelously and humbly articulated, Hamstra's brilliant distillation of worship as love enacted will pull at your heartstrings and resound as truth in your soul."" --Sally Morgenthaler, Author of Worship Evangelism Sam Hamstra Jr. is an Affiliate Professor of Worship and Church History at Northern Seminary (Lombard, Illinois), as well as founder and leader of ChapterNext, a Chicagoland-based pastor search firm and church consultancy dedicated to helping congregations open new chapters of dynamic and life-transforming ministry. A veteran pastor, worship leader, and musician, he is also author of Principled Worship (2006).