Flow
The Ancient Way to Do Contemporary Worship
Published March 2020
Plan and implement contemporary worship that honors tradition.
Is there a way to do the prescribed or suggested orders of worship from denominational worship resources—such as the United Methodist Book of Worship, Evangelical Lutheran Book of Worship, the Book of Common Worship of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), or the Book of Common Prayer—in a way that feels legitimately and authentically contemporary?This practical, how-to book will help churches plan and implement passionate and invigorating worship. Step by step, author Lester Ruth and contributors Zachary Barnes, Andrew Eastes, Jonathan Ottaway, Adam Perez, Glenn Stallsmith and Deborah Wong break down the process of re-thinking what the official or recommended order of worship is truly suggesting, so pastors and worship leaders can plan and lead a service of Word and Table that feels genuinely relevant and attuned to the congregation’s culture. With this goal, Flow casts a new, but classic, understanding of traditional worship as well as spurs a reconsideration of how contemporary worship can be done by honoring the traditions of denominational congregations.
About the Author
Lester Ruth
Lester Ruth is a historian of Christian worship with a particular interest in the early church and the last 250 years, especially the history of contemporary praise and worship. He is passionate about enriching the worship life of current congregations, regardless of style. He believes that careful reflection on the worship of other Christians—whether past or present, whether Protestant, Roman Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox—can serve to enrich the church today.
Dr. Ruth is a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy and the Society for Pentecostal Studies. He is also the former president of the Charles Wesley Society. Able to range across the entire breadth of Christian liturgical history, his most recent studies have been on the band-based worship known as contemporary praise and worship. Along this line, he has recently co-authored, with Dr. Lim Swee Hong, A History of Contemporary Praise & Worship and Lovin’ On Jesus: A Concise History of Contemporary Worship. He has also edited both popular, Flow: The Ancient Way to Do Contemporary Worship, and academic studies, Essays on the History of Contemporary Praise and Worship, on this worship phenomenon, each of these volumes featuring essays by Duke doctoral students. Dr. Ruth’s works exist in Korean, Chinese, Indonesian, and (soon) Ukrainian translations.