Resources

What Language Shall I Borrow? The Bible and Christian Worship
(Eerdmans, 2007)

Description
"What language is most appropriate for worship? Should it lean to the colloquial, perhaps targeting those attending worship for the first time? Or should it be a language with deeper roots, the language of a community that already loves the God to whom worship is offered?"

"Ronald Byars here argues that the communal worship speech that truly honors both the
majesty and the intimacy of God is, in fact, biblical language. Far from limiting worship,
biblical language encompasses a vast range of speech from poetry and prose to parable and
narrative. Byars explains how this language pushes us beyond what we already think we know, requiring us to think about death and resurrection, beginnings and endings, and how to hold on to faith. It is the language of relationship, both in community and in worship."

"The book comprises four parts: (1) Gathering, (2) The Word, (3) The Eucharist, and (4) Sending. Written for both leaders of worship and individual worshipers, What Language Shall I Borrow? offers a richer understanding of communal praise."
—Eerdmans.com

Author
Ronald P. Byars is professor emeritus of preaching and worship and special assistant to the president at Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education, Richmond, Virginia.

Endorsements
"Christian worship soaked in the deep wells of Scripture can flow out to nourish believers in faith and life. Ron Byars’s book shows us how this is done and what difference it makes. This important contribution in the retrieval of Christian worship is also an indispensable encouragement for pastors and worship leaders and all who wish to understand the drama of worship embedded in the Bible."
—Leanne Van Dyk, Western Theological Seminary

"What Language Shall I Borrow? reminds me of Paul Tillich’s insight that all faith language is symbolic: until we discover the affirmations of faith that lie behind specific words, we miss much of the power of language. In other words, the language of worship is always ‘borrowed language.’ Ron Byars’s careful work with the language of the Presbyterian Book of Common Worship takes readers behind the actual words used in worship into the gospel affirmations of those words. His book will be a valuable resource to students and leaders of worship who seek to build bridges between ancient words that communicate faith and the ever-present contemporary yearning to be grasped by those words."
—Art Ross, White Memorial Presbyterian Church, Raleigh, North Carolina

CICW Liturgical Studies Series with Eerdmans
This series is designed to promote reflection on the history, theology, and practice of Christian worship and to stimulate worship renewal in Christian congregations. Written by pastoral worship leaders from diverse communities and scholars from a range of disciplines, these volumes seek to nurture worship practices that are at once spiritually vital and theologically rooted. To find all the books in this series, go to Publications and under "Publisher," select "Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing."