‘Ron has pulled off something rare in writing about faith. He’s made the architecture visible without flattening the mystery. Narrative Worship gives framing simple enough to use and deep enough to last. Underneath sits decades of pastoral listening and therapeutic wisdom, all of it opening onto the meeting place where your personal story and a larger story start to recognize each other. This is the book I’d give someone who can’t go back to the same faith they grew up with, but can’t bring themselves to walk away from it either.’
Michael Margolis, CEO and founder, Storied, author of Story 10x
This may look like a children’s book. It is not, even though kids will love it. Children have written this book to benefit anyone who designs and leads public worship. It is also a guide for anyone seeking deeper insights into what worship is all about. These pearls of wisdom are wrapped in simple stories and drawings that are just as innocent and harmless as the parables of Jesus that cracked the foundation of religious institutions and established a new kingdom. The fact that they are written by children doesn’t diminish their wisdom or importance but it does reduce our hesitation to see how corporate worship can be revitalized.
The goal of Pure and Simple is not to create worship for children or prevent them from leaving church when they are old enough to choose, though it may do that. It is designed to lead us all into a new conversation about how to practice God’s presence when we gather. More than 30 stories of children’s experiences of traditional Sunday services open our eyes to new possibilities for corporate worship. Listening to the kids with an open heart can reveal insights that make all the difference in what happens when we meet on Sunday mornings.
Reflection questions for each story guide your worship team to discover what children already know. Use Pure and Simple to generate discussions about what is helpful and not in public worship. Each story is short (3 sentences) and illustrated by the storyteller in a visual storyboard. Children will love the stories and artwork. Adults will receive seminary-level instruction in planning and leading worship.
This book is dedicated to all God’s children who help us find God’s heart.
Narrative Worship gives equal attention to the nature of story and to worship as the story we live in the world. Filled with insights drawn from life experience and biblical stories, each chapter has both spiritual and practical application.
Michael Margolis, CEO and founder, Storied, author of Story 10x
