Recapturing an Enchanted World: Ritual and Sacrament in the Free Church Tradition (Dynamics of Christian Worship)

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About Recapturing An Enchanted World: Ritual And

Product Description How might our worship recapture and reflect the enchanted world of God's nearness in Jesus Christ? In this first volume in IVP Academic's Dynamics of Christian Worship series, John D. Rempel offers a vision for this kind of transformative worship. A theologian and minister in the Mennonite Church, Rempel considers the role of the sacraments and ritual within the Free Church tradition. While the Free Churches rightly sought to cleanse the church of the abuses of sacramentalism, in that process they also set aside some of the church's historic practices and the theology behind them, which ultimately impoverished their worship. In response to this liturgically thin space, Rempel appeals to the incarnation of Christ, whose taking on of flesh can help us perceive the sacramental nature of our faith and worship. By embracing life-giving and peacemaking practices, the worship of not only the Free Church tradition but of the whole body of Christ might be transformed and become enchanted once again. Review "This is a terribly important book, and it is timely. . . . The particular relevance of Rempel's work is that he speaks to what he calls 'liturgically lean churches' in a manner that frees them and opens them to learn from the more liturgical or historical traditions. In the process, he helps those within the Free Church and evangelical world to come to a much greater appreciation of the critical and essential place of ritual in the life and witness of the church." -- From the foreword by Gordon T. Smith, president of Ambrose University and Seminary "This book offers tremendous encouragement for people in search of God's nearness in worship. John Rempel takes his readers beyond words to gestures, beyond preaching to sacraments. Rightly convinced that heavenly things are mediated by earthly things, he challenges us to leave behind the rationalism of the Enlightenment's disenchanted universe and to take seriously the truth that the incarnation places us in a sacramental universe." -- Hans Boersma, Saint Benedict Servants of Christ Chair in Ascetical Theology, Nashotah House Theological Seminary "Though this book will be valuable to worship planners and leaders of all traditions, Recapturing an Enchanted World is an especially rich resource for liturgically lean traditions. Offering astute guidance through the thickets of sacramental history and theology, this book illuminates what was lost by dissenters and Free Churches in the Reformation and invites rediscovery of 'the bounty of a sacramental universe.' What makes the book stand apart is Rempel's gift for felicitous language, well-considered examples, and abiding passion for wholehearted worship embodied in word and deed―a true treasure for all who care about worship." -- Marlene Kropf, professor emerita in spiritual formation and worship, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana "Rempel contrasts today's 'disenchanted' world, where the material realm is self-sufficient and empty of Spirit, with the 'enchanted' world, where Spirit shapes matter through colors, shapes, and movements. Sacraments mediate Spirit through common physical actions and elements: eating (bread), drinking (wine), and washing (baptism). Sacraments celebrate Spirit and matter's most intense interaction: God's incarnation in creaturely fragility. God's Spirit continues creation's transformation by renewing individuals, uniting them, and enabling them everywhere to further shape the world." -- Thomas Finger, author of A Contemporary Anabaptist Theology: Biblical, Historical, Constructive "John Rempel in Recapturing an Enchanted World has masterfully examined and argued for the centrality of meaningful sacrament and ritual within the Body of Christ. His book persuasively invites the reader to embrace the mystery of Christ in how we shape our worship." -- Bruxy Cavey, teaching pastor of the Meeting House, Ontario, Canada, and author of The End of Religion "John Remp