After reading many Robert E. Weber books I have realized that this key author on the subject of worship does a great job when he is exploring the historical aspects of Christianity. In this book he does just that. This book on time is a perfect book to develop a practical approach to the Christian Calendar and celebratory events. He does an exceptional job on exploring the spiritual significance of each season. He uses story, often his personal story, to show how the often ancient spiritual aspects of the seasons can be experienced now by the individual. He also comes from an evangelical Baptist tradition, and assumes that many of his readers are from the same background and are looking for more in regards to their spiritual development. When reading the book small nuggets of gold seemed to pop out of chapters. For example, Webber chose to include the paradox of God becoming human explored by the ancient orthodox church; “Today is born of the virgin him who holdest all creation in the hollow of his hand; He whose essence is untouchable is wrapped in swaddling clothes as a babe” (62). This enhanced my own spiritual psyche when diving into incarnational theology. Though this book was definitely an introduction, it proved to challenge its readers, beginner or advanced, to dive to deeper depths when experiencing church events. I hope to use his tables found in the back of each chapter for my worship courses as I revamp the way I teach the Christian calendar. When discussing them, Webber asks good questions, and then answers them focusing on how they contribute to the spiritual formation of the individual and the church body. These questions will allow us to be in dialoged and wrestle with what the seasons/celebrations meant for those before us, what they mean for us now, and what they could mean for us in the future. Webber, Robert E. Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality Through the Christian Year. Baker Books: Grand Rapids, 2004.
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Book ReviewsWhen writing these reviews I am considering four specific conversations: first, a basic overview of the book, second, a reflection of an idea or two that impacted me the most, third, something that puzzled me from the reading, and finally, an idea from the reading that I could implement in my ministry context. Archives
November 2012
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