• The notion of  a “worship leader” who leads the “worship” part of the service before the sermon (which, then, is no part of worship!) is so bizarre, from a New Testament, as to be embarrassing. (Carson, 47)

• The New Testament does not provide us with officially sanctioned public “services” so much as with examples of crucial elements. We do well to admit the limitations of our knowledge. (Carson, 52)

• There is no single passage in the New Testament that establishes a paradigm for corporate worship. (Carson, 55)

• Corporate meetings of the church, however much God is worshipped in them, have the collateral responsibility of educating, informing, and transforming the minds of those who attend, of training the people of God in righteousness, of expanding their horizons not only so that they better know God (and therefore better worship him) but so that they better grasp the dimensions of the church that he has redeemed by the death of his Son (and therefore better worship him) – and that means, surely, some sort of exposure to more than the narrow slice of church that subsists in one particular subculture. The importance of intelligibility (in music, let us say) must therefore be juxtaposed with the responsibility to expand the limited horizons of one narrow tradition. (Carson, 56)

• Quoting J.I.Packer: an attitude of “unwillingness to shape the Church in a way that either needlessly cuts loose from the past or needlessly cuts out Christians who would be part of it in the present.” (Ashton, 74)

• The person leading the service must seek to achieve a balance between gripping the interest and attention of the congregation, and communicating the seriousness of what is happening. (Ashton, 96)

• On my worship tradition, moving from the freedom to follow God’s Word to the freedom to do what worked: In short, Free Church biblicism deteriorated into Free Church pragmatism. (Hughes, 147)

• Corporate worship has taken the form of something done ‘for’ an audience as opposed to to something done ‘by’ a congregation. (Hughes, 148-149)

• Calvin wrote that corporate worship must “omit…all theatrical pomp, which dazzles the eyes…but deadens their minds.” (Keller, 209)

• Sloppiness drains the “vertical” dimension out of gathered worship immediately. (Keller, 211)

• Transcendence is served best when both delight and awe are evident in the leaders’ demeanor and heart. Then the congregation will sense that it is being ushered into God’s presence. (Keller, 213)

• In summary, if the Sunday service aims primarily at evangelism, it will bore the saints.  If it aims primarily at education, it will confuse unbelievers.  But if it aims at “praising the God who saves by grace,” it will both instruct insiders and challenge outsiders. (Keller, 219)

• On leaders of corporate worship: We shouldn’t be too charming, cute, or folksy, drawing attention to ourselves. Instead of folksiness, there should be dignity and a sense of wonder. (Keller, 223)

My friend Yancey has written an accesible book for men of John Owen’s treatise of sin. Men either want to deal with sin by tapping into white-knuckle disciplines (because it’s manly) or by excusing sin altogether because all men deal with certain sins. Neither attempt to defeat our formidable sins has any success. Yancey (and Owen) will help guide men to stop trying to defeat our sins on our own and start tapping into the gospel’s power over sin.

My apologies for not inviting Scott to endorse it early on in the process, but better late than never. Thanks for the gift, Scott.

You can see his post about TAP at the Acts 29 Network blog here.
For more information about the Acts 29 Network click here.

The day of TAP‘s release my wife turned to me with a big smile on her face and said, “Hey, you’re officially an author!” followed by a big hug. It was a moment for both of us. She knew for quite some time I had wanted to write but was waiting for the right season in my life. That season started early last year and, at least for my first book, ended Wednesday with www.tapsinout.com.

I still don’t really know how to feel. For example, I was asked to bring books I originally ordered for friends who had helped with the book to a regional meeting of church planters where the host purchased them all to give away to the attendants.  (Sorry “friends,” I’ll send you your books when the next shipment comes in) When he recognized me at the beginning of the meeting and highlighted that it was the day of TAP‘s release, some kind applause broke out. While grateful, I felt sheepish…almost embarrassed about it all.

So, as I said, I don’t really know what I’m feeling. It’s a crazy mix of gratitude, joy, wonder, excitement and a bunch of stuff I can’t put my finger on. But here’s what I do know: I don’t deserve any of it. I’m especially reminded of that truth being that my book is about the greatness of the One who has come to help me, someone who isn’t so very great. Whatever happens to me because of TAP is all gravy from here. Indeed, that’s how it’s always been anyway.

I pray God will use this book to help others (individuals, small groups, etc.) find in Christ what they already have in Christ – victory! If God will allow TAP to bear that kind of fruit, then this really is going to be a great ride.

PS – THANK YOU to everyone who pitched in and help get TAP off the ground this week!  Special shout-outs go to my CCCC Family and my Acts 29 Family. You guys went the extra mile! I will never forget this week…ever.

]]> http://blog.yanceyarrington.com/2010/07/23/post-release-day-thoughts/feed/ 2 http://blog.yanceyarrington.com/2010/07/21/its-official-tap-releases-today/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=its-official-tap-releases-today http://blog.yanceyarrington.com/2010/07/21/its-official-tap-releases-today/#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:41:03 +0000 Yancey Arrington http://blog.yanceyarrington.com/?p=1315 Yes, it’s an all-caps kind of day. More than a year in the making, TAP: Defeating The Sins That Defeats You officially released today nationwide. I’m grateful to God for his gracious provision in it all and pray he would work mightily through the book.

You can see the book’s website at www.tapsinout.com

I can’t vouch for how well it translated digitally. That’s Amazon’s area. Nevertheless, it’s there for those who want it.

For all you “hard copy” folks there’s more to come…

Our battle against sin is to the death – the death not of us but of our sins – because Christ triumphed for us two thousand years ago. In his bold new book ‘Tap,’ Yancey Arrington helps us connect with the victory of Christ right here, right now, in our lives today.
– RAY ORTLUND, JR.
Lead Pastor, Immanuel Church, Nashville,
author of A Passion for God

Ancient wisdom made practical. That is what Yancey Arrington has done in this book. He shows us the folly of well-meaning but ineffective sin-turning strategies. ‘Tap’ shows us the way to really repent and prefer Christ over the sin that would seek to destroy us.
– DARRIN PATRICK
Lead Pastor, The Journey, St. Louis,
author of The Man, The Mission, The Message

With wonderful gifts of communication and great biblical insight Yancey Arrington leads us through the realities of our battle against sin and the power of gospel truth. “Belief before behavior” is not simply a slogan, it is the key to victory that Yancey uses to unlock the hope every believer needs (and has) to walk in the strength of God’s grace.
– BRYAN CHAPELL
President, Covenant Seminary,
author of Christ-Centered Worship

Yancey Arrington extends the power of hope in the gospel to those whose fight with sin has left them tired, doubtful and defeated. With ‘Tap’ in hand, get ready to fight well against sin instead of merely fighting hard. Get ready to believe again that Jesus made a way for you to defeat the sins that have defeated you. Get ready for a grateful love to overflow in your newly, liberated life.
– BRUCE WESLEY
Senior Pastor, Clear Creek Community Church, Houston

You won’t get to the essence of your bout with sin with a more relevant and readable guide than Yancey Arrington’s ‘Tap.’ Having served alongside of Yancey in local church ministry, I can attest that this weighty, biblical wisdom is brought you by a true fighter himself.
– WILL MANCINI
Founder, Auxano
author of Church Unique