“The Great Commission to Worship” by David Wheeler and Vernon Whaley Essay (Book Review)

Introduction

There have been multiple debates over the ultimate purpose of every Christian. The Great Commission to Worship by David Wheeler and Vernon Whaley provides readers with a dedicated analysis of the issue. The authors, despite different backgrounds, managed to come to a conclusion that allowed for the creation of a universal framework that seeks to explain to Christians their ultimate goal in life. Over the course of history, some theologists have emphasized the role of worship, while others focused on evangelism. Despite the large body of evidence and suggestions that both sides provided, David Wheeler and Vernon Whaley managed to combine the two phenomena into a single concept, which further units Christians.

There are several characteristics that are attributed to the Great Commission. Thus, worship is believed to be formational, transformational, reproducible, relational, and missional. Worship is formational, as it helps to create a sophisticated framework that contributes to a person’s development throughout the entire life. The phenomenon is also transformational due to its ability to transform lives, which glorifies God¹. Moreover, the authors underline that the relationships between people can directly explain the relationship with God.

Worship is claimed to be missional by Wheeler and Whaley, as Christians cannot be silent about God’s grace and mercy once they genuinely learn about Him and establish a relationship with Him. Thus, it is considered crucial for every devote Christian to spread the message of salvation. Moreover, the authors of the book imply that worship should be reproducible as well². The approach to evangelism should not be linear, as it cannot be limited to purely academic-style discussions and reasoning. Every Christian is expected to invite people to church and reproduce their worship in them. Wheeler and Whaley emphasize genuine discipleship that can reproduce incarnational Christians with solid determination to worship the Great Commission.

Concrete Response

I remember my feelings during my teenage years when I was genuinely vulnerable due to peer pressure and numerous examples of sinful behavior that occurred around me on a daily basis. I can clearly recall saying to my close friend that I felt “frustrated and deteriorated” due to the lack of guidance and motivation to improve my life. At the same time, I used to realize all the negative consequences of my usual patterns of behavior that featured partying and using unpleasant phrases that could offend my friends and family members. That combination of weakness and arrogance vividly undermined my opportunities to improve in a due manner.

While reading The Great Commission to Worship by David Wheeler and Vernon Whaley, I realized how close I was to Christians that could explain to me the nature of the Great Commission. My unwillingness to analyze some of their stories which I heard, used to vividly diminish the chances of realizing God’s grace and mercy. I would have altered my usual thinking patterns and become a better person if I had been more attentive to the various guidelines that Christians in my community were willing to provide.

Reflection

The book by Wheeler and Whaley represents an excellent opportunity for devote Christians to discover the multiple nuances that underpin the ability to enhance their worship. Nevertheless, the structure and the language of the book can be found too academic by many readers, which can make grasping the prominent ideas a complex undertaking. The ingenious perspective and innovative solution that theologists promote are of such importance that it is crucial to ensure every Christian has an opportunity to feel its importance in everyday life. Thus, it would have been more efficient to focus on the book’s appeal to common people who may be frustrated when encountering a complex academic structure and abundant theologist terms.

Concentrating on the Bible, its language, and the examples it provides should still be considered the most efficient way to address a sizeable Christian audience. In order to change the attitude of millions to one of the essential issues in their religion, one can achieve a more fruitful result by using the most widely used concepts and narratives. While applying a complex structure may help theologists to further enhance the knowledge concerning the best strategies for evangelism, the emphasis on the appeal to millions of Christians would have made the impact even more significant.

Action

The main goal of every Christian, according to the authors of the book, is to ultimately become the Great Commission Worshipper. The term refers to people who are equally and totally committed to worship and evangelism³. All of the book’s chapters are centered around the two above mentioned concepts and explain how they can contribute to the development of obedience to the Great Commission. Wheeler and Whaley come to the conclusion that every Great Commission worshipper is in love with Jesus and is devoted to being obedient to all His commands⁴. Thus, it becomes impossible for such a person to refrain from telling everybody about the fascinating relationship with Jesus.

All the characteristics attributed to the Great Commission allow for the development of strong faith and make the world a better place. Throughout history, disciples with entirely different backgrounds managed to spread the message of salvation and tell people about the Lord’s grace and mercy. It was possible only because they were Great Commission worshippers and realized the importance of its every aspect. Thus, Christians nowadays should value every integral part of the Great Commission, which helps to worship the Lord in the most efficient way possible.

Despite the fact that I have long been working on enhancing the way I worship, I believe that I did not realize how little time I spent spreading the Gospel. Reading The Great Commission to Worship by Wheeler and Whaley provided me with a unique opportunity to reconsider my attitude to the importance of various aspects of The Great Commission. The authors managed to inspire me to proceed with the objective investigation of my worship. I have always sought there are numerous people who can professionally share the Gospel and their experience concerning worship. I believed that a special gift was needed in order to perform such actions efficiently on a daily basis. Thus, I vividly neglected specific commands and did not realize that The Great Commission implies reproducible and missional worship.

Numerous ideas brightly presented in the book made me reconsider my approach to various phenomena in my everyday worship. The illustrations that the authors picked for explaining their perception of the Great Commission worshipper helped me realize that I should make changes in my life in order to teach people about God’s grace and mercy. The authors of the book highlight that Jesus wanted to create “fishers of men”. This concept influenced me significantly, as I realized that I had to put much more effort in actually finding people who desperately need help in order to overcome psychological barriers that undermine the quality of life and hinder the chances of fully understanding the Gospel.

One of my close friends has had hardships overcoming a breakup with a person she truly loved and wanted to start a family with. After several months of isolation and depression, she started drinking and acting recklessly. I had never expected her to be involved in certain sinful activities before. While reading The Great Commission to Worship, I realized that a sophisticated approach is needed to assist my friend most efficiently. I used to talk to my friend about the changing behavior patterns, but it did not seem to motivate her. Thus, I should no longer hesitate to tell her about the importance of Jesus in people’s lives. I can now tailor a dedicated framework for her that seeks to explain how the various integral parts of the Great Commission can improve her life.

The second step I am determined to make in order to improve my worship will be connected to creating an efficient guideline that can help people overcome various challenges in life through evangelism. I am planning to use the experience I will gain from supporting my close friend to fulfill this undertaking. Some of my friends from school who currently face similar problems worsened by a sense of deterioration will benefit immensely from the various techniques provided by the guideline.

Conclusion

Moreover, one of my colleagues who comes from a non-religious background has shown interest in my attitude to religion recently. Although we seem to be completely different and she finds it hard sometimes to understand me, reading The Great Commission to Worship inspired me to pay closer attention to this person. I believe that establishing the right kind of relationship and sharing the Gospel with her can enhance my experience and various soft skills that are crucial for the Great Commission worshiper. Moreover, I feel enthusiastic about this challenging undertaking and hope that it will transform me into a real “fisher of men”.

Bibliography

Wheeler, David, and Vernon M. Whaley. The Great Commission to Worship: Biblical Principles for Worship-Based Evangelism. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2011.

Footnotes

1. David Wheeler and Vernon M. Whaley, The Great Commission to Worship: Biblical Principles for Worship-Based Evangelism (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2011), 24.
2. Wheeler and Whaley, The Great Commission to Worship, 25.
3. Wheeler and Whaley, The Great Commission to Worship, 20.
4. Wheeler and Whaley, The Great Commission to Worship, 30.