Books Piled on the Desk and Table

Books Piled on the Desk and Table

"Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body " (Qoheleth 12.12b)

Never has Qoheleth's words been so true as in the last six months. In that period of time I have moved my family two thousand miles, hosted in-laws, had a daughter in the hospital, begin a new ministry," had books scattered to the four winds, had an office remodeled and began to build a new house (not finished yet!) ... all while trying to do intensive research on the subject of worship--especially the concept of "assembly" in Scripture and Christian history. In this post I follow the customary practice of bloggers, from time to time, of listing some works they have read. Most of the material I have read since last Octoberish has been in pursuit of understanding or gaining insight into the subject of worship. Reading has been chosen based primarily on how it illuminates that subject. Here is a list of books, I have excluded the articles, that have been piled on my desk or my dinner table for the last several months.


The Study of Liturgy (Cheslyn Jones, Geoffry Wainwright, etc)

Reading & Preaching the Scriptures in the Worship of the Church: The Patristic Age (Hughes Oliphant Olds)

Reading & Preaching the Scriptures in the Worship of the Church: The Medieval Period (Hughes Oliphant Olds)

A Generous Orthodoxy (Brian McLaren)

Becoming Friends: Worship, Justice, and the Practice of Christian Fellowship (Paul J. Wadell)

Emerging Worship: Creating Worship Gatherings for New Generations (Dan Kimball)

Spilt Grape Juice: Rethinking the Worship Tradition; Unbroken Bread: Healing Worship Wounds; Empty Baskets: Offering Your Life as Worship (all by Mike Root)

Enter His Courts With Praise: Old Testament Worship for the NT Church (Andrew E. Hill)

Israel's Praise: Doxology Against Idolatry and Ideology (Walter Brueggemann)

Worship in Ancient Israel: The Essential Guide (Walter Brueggemann)

The Service of God (William Willimon)

Immanuel in Our Place: Seeing Christ in Israel's Worship (Tremper Longman III)

Engaging With God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (David Peterson)

God and World in the Old Testament (Terence E. Fretheim)

Exodus and Exile: The Structure of the Jewish Holidays (Monford Harris)

The Psalms in Israel's Worship, 2 Vols (Sigmund Mowinckel)

Sacrifice in the Bible (ed. Roger T. Beckwith)

The Feast of the World's Redemption: Eucharistic Origins and Christian Mission (John Koenig)

Introduction to Christian Worship (James F. White)

Worship Seeking Understanding (John D. Witvliet)

Corporate Worship in the Reformed Tradition (James Hastings Nichols)

Worship and the Hebrew Bible (eds. Patrick Graham, Rick Marrs)

God's Mountain: The Temple Mount in Time, Place and Memory (Yaron Z. Eliar)

From Temple to Meeting Place: The Phenomenology and Theology of Sacred Space (Harold Turner)

The Jewish Roots of Christian Liturgy (ed. Eugene J. Fisher)

Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace (James Torrance)

There are other books that I have had to investigate but was not able to digest in toto. There were 24 lectures from the ACC lectures from 1920 to about 1970; numerous articles in various journals ranging from Mission Messenger to Firm Foundation to Millennial Harbinger to Worship Leader. And of course one volume that was continually open was the sacred volume.

I am ready for a break.

Shalom,
Bobby Valentine