nickjonesreadsbooks's review
3.0
I bought this book in 2002 or 2003. I read the first chapter and then quit for some reason or another. It's an easy and quick read, so I decided it was time to finish it or get rid of it.
I come from a charismatic background, so I know where Darlene is coming from, but now I see some holes in this type of approach as well. I think the most obvious one is that worship and praise seem to be emotion or expression based--what I say about God, what I feel about Him in my heart.
No doubt this is an element of worship, but I feel that there is a lot to say about worship in terms of right thinking about God and expressing our esteem for God through acts of service etc.
Several times throughout the book she does say that worship is more than songs and a service--that worship is "a lifestyle." But a lot of the time she talks about worship in terms of singing in a corporate service.
She did offer a lot of practical anecdotal advice for worship leaders in the church. I appreciate that she is vulnerable about her missteps and flaws.
Here are some good lines from the book:
--"Even if you are a part of a worship team, your most glorious moments of worship should be off the platform when you are alone with God" (29).
--"Learn how to seek God's face without worrying about saving yours" (45).
--"A worshiping church attracts worshiping people" (144).
--"True worship is not about stirring ourselves into an emotional frenzy" (169).
If you're looking for theology, you won't find much here. She does ground a lot of what she has to say in Scripture, especially the Psalms, but she doesn't get very intellectual about any of it. Still, there are some good exhortations in here.
I come from a charismatic background, so I know where Darlene is coming from, but now I see some holes in this type of approach as well. I think the most obvious one is that worship and praise seem to be emotion or expression based--what I say about God, what I feel about Him in my heart.
No doubt this is an element of worship, but I feel that there is a lot to say about worship in terms of right thinking about God and expressing our esteem for God through acts of service etc.
Several times throughout the book she does say that worship is more than songs and a service--that worship is "a lifestyle." But a lot of the time she talks about worship in terms of singing in a corporate service.
She did offer a lot of practical anecdotal advice for worship leaders in the church. I appreciate that she is vulnerable about her missteps and flaws.
Here are some good lines from the book:
--"Even if you are a part of a worship team, your most glorious moments of worship should be off the platform when you are alone with God" (29).
--"Learn how to seek God's face without worrying about saving yours" (45).
--"A worshiping church attracts worshiping people" (144).
--"True worship is not about stirring ourselves into an emotional frenzy" (169).
If you're looking for theology, you won't find much here. She does ground a lot of what she has to say in Scripture, especially the Psalms, but she doesn't get very intellectual about any of it. Still, there are some good exhortations in here.
mikeebeth's review
1.0
This book is full of toxic positivity. Darlene says that when we are angry or sad or frustrated, we should put those feelings aside and just praise God. As a Christian, I do believe that praising God and trying to look on the bright side of things can be helpful, but burying negative feelings all the time is not healthy and she doesn't seem to give any room for expressing those feelings. I only got through the first 4 chapters so that's what my review covers.
I especially had a problem with chapter 4, Emotional Fervor, where she starts out talking about feeling discouraged because your performance at church wasn't good, saying that we shouldn't take that to heart and spiral, but then goes on to say that "Van Gogh was manic depressive" as if those are at all the same thing. She quotes Psalm 88, one of the Psalms crying out to God in despair, saying that it "expresses a creative person's 'down' side" and that "When a creative person... is not yielded to the Holy Spirit or lordship of Christ, Psalm 88 is an accurate picture of how [they] might view life." I find this a troubling and confusing conclusion since as Christians we are supposed to believe that Scripture is divinely inspired. I'm not a Biblical scholar, but my understanding of the Psalms is that they provide an example to show that God cares about our anger and frustration and despair, and we absolutely have room to express those "negative" feelings, as Zschech calls them.
In chapter 2, Explosive Praise, she talks about going to a hospital in Africa full of children dying of AIDS, and talks about them performing the song "All Things Are Possible" for her. She says, "They put the reality of Christ ahead of their AIDS-riddled bodies. They sang with such faith!" She includes the song lyrics and writing credit in this chapter and, as it turns out, it's a song that she wrote. Maybe I'm cynical, but I don't think these sick children were singing this song only out of having faith and putting Christ first. Also, people who are sick and dying aren't necessarily sad every single moment. I just was not happy with this romanticizing of this situation. It felt exploitative.
Essentially, I feel that Zschech is advocating for an unhealthy relationship with your emotions, and I don't think that your relationship with God is helped by always pretending that you're happy. I think that there are definitely times when we should put aside our own feelings and focus on God and His greatness, but He also cares about us and I think that there is room for us to share feelings of sadness, anger, despair, and frustration with Him. She doesn't make this distinction, and that's my problem with this book.
I especially had a problem with chapter 4, Emotional Fervor, where she starts out talking about feeling discouraged because your performance at church wasn't good, saying that we shouldn't take that to heart and spiral, but then goes on to say that "Van Gogh was manic depressive" as if those are at all the same thing. She quotes Psalm 88, one of the Psalms crying out to God in despair, saying that it "expresses a creative person's 'down' side" and that "When a creative person... is not yielded to the Holy Spirit or lordship of Christ, Psalm 88 is an accurate picture of how [they] might view life." I find this a troubling and confusing conclusion since as Christians we are supposed to believe that Scripture is divinely inspired. I'm not a Biblical scholar, but my understanding of the Psalms is that they provide an example to show that God cares about our anger and frustration and despair, and we absolutely have room to express those "negative" feelings, as Zschech calls them.
In chapter 2, Explosive Praise, she talks about going to a hospital in Africa full of children dying of AIDS, and talks about them performing the song "All Things Are Possible" for her. She says, "They put the reality of Christ ahead of their AIDS-riddled bodies. They sang with such faith!" She includes the song lyrics and writing credit in this chapter and, as it turns out, it's a song that she wrote. Maybe I'm cynical, but I don't think these sick children were singing this song only out of having faith and putting Christ first. Also, people who are sick and dying aren't necessarily sad every single moment. I just was not happy with this romanticizing of this situation. It felt exploitative.
Essentially, I feel that Zschech is advocating for an unhealthy relationship with your emotions, and I don't think that your relationship with God is helped by always pretending that you're happy. I think that there are definitely times when we should put aside our own feelings and focus on God and His greatness, but He also cares about us and I think that there is room for us to share feelings of sadness, anger, despair, and frustration with Him. She doesn't make this distinction, and that's my problem with this book.
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