4MAT BOOK REVIEW OF THE GREAT COMMISSION TO WORSHIP BY DAVID
WHEELER AND VERNON M. WHALEY
EVAN 525: Contemporary Evangelism
Abstract
What does it mean to be a Great Commission Worshipper? David Wheeler and Vernon
Whaley detail what it means to be a Great Commission Worshipper – a person totally and
equally committed to evangelism and worship – and a spiritual process that is formational,
transformational, relational, missional, and reproducible. The thesis of the book is captured in
chapter two when the authors plainly state “A Great Commission worshipper is a person who
is so much in love with Jesus, so committed to worship of Jesus, and so devoted to being
obedient to every command of Jesus that he simply cannot restrain himself from telling others
about his incredible relationship with the Son of God.”
1
In The Great Commission to Worship:
Biblical Principles for Worship-Based Evangelism the authors combine evangelism and
worship as spiritual disciplines that the Christian disciple must act on out of obedience for
God. They state early on that “worship is not an event or something we do for God. Rather it
is an act of unbridled obedience even when rational explanations are hard to find.”
2
Wheeler
and Whaley give common misconceptions of evangelism and worship, giving a brief response
for each. They then give a biblical model of an evangelism-worship model (Romans 11:36-
12:8; Matthew 22:36-40; John 12:23-26). The authors’ strongest point came when describing
the Great Commandment in Matthew 22:36-40. The assumption here is that if an individual
falls in love with Christ and seeks to glorify His name, they will in turn express that same
love for people (neighbors) who invade their lives on a daily basis. Worship is “a passionate
response to the heart cry of God that includes active participation in the Great Commission.
3
1
David Wheeler and Vernon M. Whaley, The Great Commission to Worship: Biblical Principles for
Worship-Based Evangelism (Nashville, TN: B&H, 2011), 30.
2
Ibid., 12.
3
Ibid., 22.
The bottom line that the authors want their readers to know that true biblical worship requires
a life that is totally sold out and obedient to the Master. They also point out that before Jesus
gives the Great Commission, the disciples spent time in worship of Him as their risen Lord.
After they worship, He shares with them His credentials and gives them the power to do what
they are called to do.
4
Concrete Response
I had an immediate application from this book in a recent Sunday School lesson. Our
class is looking at Genesis, particularly chapters one and two the past two weeks. Last week,
we look at Genesis 2 and the question was posed: What is God’s ultimate purpose for
humanity? Worship. This was after the class said that we are to live a life of love, care for
others, be a disciple of Christ, and make disciples who make disciples. I then pointed out that,
yes, all of those things are correct, but our praise and exaltation and ultimately our worship is
central. It is the act of paying divine honor to a deity. The Greek indicates bowing down,
showing respect and adoration, while the Hebrew for worship means to kneel, stoop, prostrate
oneself, or throw oneself down, in reverence.
5
Worship is when we tell the Lord that we love
Him and Him alone, and then put it into practice when we demonstrate our love by how we
live. Wheeler and Whaley define this is “lifestyle worship.”
6
This was the very thing that I
was getting across to my young adult Sunday School class.
Reflection
4
Ibid., 23.
5
Ibid., 26-27.
6
Ibid., 27.
Perhaps what bothered me most about this book is the lack of explanation of
discipleship (or method) that the authors did not address in a Great Commission worshipper.
Now, they state throughout that GC worship is formational, transformational, relational,
missional, and reproducible. This seems to be individual geared, rather than focusing on the
theme of making disciples who make disciples, a theme that the authors promote heavily. In
fact, they advocate against a linear discipleship method – a discipleship process that
emphasizes a lifetime of intense training, usually in the church building. The sad result, the
authors say, of this method is a generation of church members who claim the name of Christ
while ignoring the Great Commission.
7
This sounds awfully speculative with no real
qualitative research to back that statement up. Having said that, I can see where they are
coming from, but I want know how is the best disciple-making method. Cyclical discipleship,
the authors say, is the way Jesus showed us. They state that evangelism and discipleship are
uniquely joined together when a person is redeemed. Neither are complete until the person
who is evangelized becomes an evangelizer. In the moment of multiplication a dynamic
movement of God is created that transforms the new Christian into a full disciple.
8
This
sounds great, and biblical, but please tell me how the readers are supposed to carry out the
cyclical discipleship model of making disciples who make disciples other than “Go make
disciples.” This was not explained well enough and the author quickly changed gears to
another topic in the book.
Action
7
Ibid., 136-138.
8
Ibid., 141.
In my own life, I will seek to apply this book as it relates (and equates) worship and
evangelism. The primary theme to take to others around us, is that our worship is to overflow
in our lives so much that I cannot restrain myself, as the authors state, from telling others
about the incredible relationship with the Son of God that I have. I’ll actively seek to
communicate how and when Jesus Christ has answered prayers in the lives of our family. I’ll
seek to give family and friends a biblically-based response to the tough life questions and
issues that they have. I feel that I do a good job of that now, but I want to further enhance my
Scripture memorization so that the Scripture (and the address) flow off of my lips when I go
to give advice, so that those who I’m talking to are getting the Word as the first action
response that I give them. I am working hard at these things through my study of the Word,
study of theology, picking up extra readings, and working towards a Master’s degree. When
writing of living a new model for worship, Wheeler and Whaley state that “Simply put, the
longer we work at perfecting our calling, improving our gifts, and crafting our skills, the
better the chance God will open greater doors of opportunity and influence…God uses our
educational experiences to prepare us for kingdom work. Our life experiences along with the
education encounters help equip us for various opportunities for life.”
9
I am employed full-time as the Associate Pastor to Youth, so I cannot take the themes
from this book into another workplace, but I plan on installing some themes from the book
into a classroom setting in the future. I want to really hone in on the misconceptions with
common misconceptions of evangelism and common misconceptions with worship. Though in
the opening chapter of the book, I think that these can be incredibly useful. For one, I would
use these if I were re-teaching Don Whitney’s “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.”
9
Ibid., 47.
Both worship and evangelism are two of the spiritual disciplines in Whitney’s book; therefore,
it is worth spending time on the misconceptions of each. Indeed, Whitney, mirroring what
Wheeler and Whaley, states that “The more we focus on God, the more we understand and
appreciate how worthy He is. As we understand and appreciate this, we can’t help but respond
to Him…So worship is focusing on and responding to God.”
10
On the theme of evangelism,
Whitney points out that though he’s never heard it expressed before, “the seriousness of
evangelism is the main reason it frightens us. We realize that in talking with someone about
Christ, Heaven and hell are at stake. The eternal destiny of the person is the issue.”
11
If I were teaching a class on this book, it would probably be a four week breakdown of
the book and crunching the chapters down so that multiple chapters are covered each week. In
the first week, I would introduce terms such as “Great Commission Worshipper” and lay out
these common misconceptions of worship and evangelism. What they are and what they are
not will be laid out in the first week of the class. In week two, the focus would be one how
Great Commission Worship is formational and transformational. Week three will focus on
how GC Worship is relational and missional. Week four, as the capstone and most important
theme, will key on how GC Worship is reproducible.
10
Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress,
1991), 87.
11
Ibid., 102.
Bibliography
Wheeler, David and Vernon M. Whaley. The Great Commission to Worship: Biblical
Principles for Worship-Based Evangelism. Nashville, TN: 2011.
Whitney, Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Colorado Springs, CO:
NavPress, 1991.
