IVP Formatio, 2018. 224 pp. Today’s worship leaders are, to use one of their favorite words, reckless. Many crave the culture and all its flash—from high-tech productions to laser shows to Nashville-quality music. Yet that is not the core of worship; if the extravagance is stripped away from a Sunday morning service, then what is left? Worship leader Manuel Luz, in his new book Honest Worship: From False Self to True Praise (IVP Formatio, 2018), pushes us toward a vision of worship that detaches itself from performance and personal praise, instead seeking a God-honoring experience. At its core, this is a spiritual formation resource targeted especially (although not exclusively) toward worship pastors. Luz lays some of the foundational concepts for a theology of worship, and then applies it to the identity of the worship leader. Instead of becoming absorbed in a postmodern culture, Luz argues, the worship leader must submit to the grand vision of worship—a reenactment of the Sto...
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