SPIRIT & SACRAMENT: An Invitation to Eucharismatic Worship PB

In this short, vibrant book, Andrew Wilson casts a vision for what might be called an old type of new church, a church that combines the best of both charismatic practice and liturgy.

Churches today typically emphasize a single type of worship, foregoing other important elements. On one extreme is a tendency toward excess on the charismatic side, concentrating on spiritual gifts such as prophecy, healing, and other traditionally Pentecostal experiences.

On the other extreme, a stuffy tedium that focuses on the liturgical alone, what one might call 'historical Christian tradition.' Spirit and Sacrament by pastor and author Andrew Wilson is an impassioned plea to join together these two traditions that are frequently either ignored or kept separate. It is a unique and overdue invitation to pursue the best of both worlds in worship, the Eucharistic and the charismatic, with the grace of God at the center.

Wilson envisions church services in which healing testimonies and prayers of confession not only coexist, but encapsulate a complete worship experience. In short, Spirit and Sacrament is an appeal to bring out of the church's storehouse all its treasures, so that instead of leaning entirely into either charismatic or Eucharistic practice, or eschewing both, God's people can feel free and fulfilled to worship with sacraments and spiritual gifts.

As reviewed by Dr. Stephen McQuoid in March 2020- 'This little book was keenly anticipated as Wilson is one of the most significant theologians linked with the New Frontiers church movement. While small the book is ambitious in its scope in that Wilson wants to persuade churches to reflect deeply on their shape and begin to fundamentally change the way we do things. The subtitle gives this away, it states the book is, ‘An invitation to eucharismatic worship’.

He begins with some personal testimony about his early Christian experiences in which he saw the distinction between traditional churches and charismatic ones. This he found both confusing and concerning. With typical candour he states, ‘If eucharistic churches (traditional ones) are dead and charismatic churches are ridiculous , then Eucharismatic would be dead and ridiculous.

Next he deals with the importence of the sacraments as a central feature of church life and appeals to the reader to be committed to them as a disciplined church practice. Next he brings in the issue of liturgy which is slightly surprising given his churchmanship, and makes an appeal for liturgy to be accepted by evangelicals as a whole and also developed as he sees liturgy as an important part of church worship because it can add theological and reflective richness. In fairness, Wilson has a very broad definition of what Liturgy is and his articulation of it certainly gives us a fresh perspective of what liturgy could look like.

The last third of the book is a defence of charismatic practice. This is deliberate as this is a book about the totality of our church worship experience and not just a justification of the doctrine of continuationism. This section of the book could certainly do with expansion and actually I derived more benefit from the footnotes than the actual text due to their detail. Nevertheless, there is a brief but clear justification of charismatic experience, again expressed with Wilson’s typical frankness. He justifies belief in the continuation of the gifts by appealing to history, scripture and also eschatology. His arguments are short but well written and fairly persuasive, even if it will ultimately leave you wanting an expanded version. Overall this is a useful book. It is not one that will give you an ABC of how to change church life (though there are lots of practical suggestions). However, as background reading for church leaders and committed Christian it is well worth the investment and it very helpfully gives a different perspective of what church life could look like. A great wee book to reflect on.'

Product details:
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Zondervan (7 Feb. 2019)
ISBN-13: 9780310536475
Product Dimensions: 13.7 x 1.2 x 21.3 cm