A Primer on Worship and Reformation: Recovering the High Church Puritan
by Douglas Wilson
Published by Canon Press (www.canonpress.com)
Release Date: November 11, 2008
At a brisk 68 pages it’s hard to really evaluate Douglas Wilson’s latest book which proposes true Reformation can only come through faithful worship without giving away much of the content. Certainly there are a number of points that should be discussed and the book warranted more than one reading (in my case I read it three times) but not because Wilson failed to substantiate his arguments. In typical Douglas Wilson fashion each page, paragraph, and chapter of this book is packed with argument after argument that backs up his call to the renewal of worship as the center of every Christian’s life.
This book isn’t an argument for one form of worship over another though. Those who are cringing at the thought of “High Church Puritanism” as a return to black clothes and witch burnings can put those fears to rest as well. As explained by Wilson the High Church Puritan is, “ high Church, he does not behave like a schismatic, separatist, independent, or individualist. He has a high view of the covenant, and of our corporate identity with one another. Because he is a Puritan, he intends to be a theological cavalier, and he fights for the integrity of obedience. He does not do this as some gloomy caricature, sitting in the back pews, lamenting the regrettable apostasies up front.”
Unlike the love it or leave it attitude of many church faring “reformers”, Wilson calls for a slow and steady fight for what’s right where you are now but not as a complaining lout who does nothing but critique from the back pews but as a concerned citizen of the Kingdom of Christ you are reminded to pray, discuss, and contribute in a positive God-honoring fashion. Wilson’s book is less a lament of how the Church is going downhill and more of a rousing read that stokes the fires of any concerned church member to pray for and move in way that will insure true reformation of our worship and the covenant community as a whole. One of the earlier chapters reminds the reader that this is not the work of a maverick but a work that must include ALL of the church as a corporate entity, the Bride of Christ. It is quite a departure from the typical “gun then run” style of many self-proclaimed reformers in the church community today as Wilson puts to shame their selfish and self-aggrandizing way aptly labeling them as patently unbiblical. According to Wilson a renewal of proper corporate worship is the key to any true reformation and I whole-heartedly agree.
In the end I truly enjoyed Douglas Wilson’s book and it served to fire me up with each subsequent read. And at 68 pages it’s short enough that even the most attention-challenged individual can get through it in a week. An edifying read all around.
