LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
4MAT Book Review: The Great Commission to Worship
Submitted to Dr. David Wheeler, PhD.,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
EVAN-525-B01
Contemporary Evangelism
by
Damon Pratt
June 3, 2018
Updated 9/11/2021 17:54 a9/p9
Contents
Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................1
Concrete Response...........................................................................................................................2
Reflection.........................................................................................................................................3
Action ..............................................................................................................................................4
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................6
ii
Abstract
In their book, The Great Commission to Worship, Vernon Whaley and David Wheeler
discuss the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. It examines which of the two is
most important for the Christian. The answer they developed is both are important. They
examine the mandate to be a Great Commission Worshiper and how to balance that between
evangelism and worship.
The book begins with discussing the meaning of evangelism. It states that “evangelism
must include both the act of sharing redemption, as well as being the message itself.”1 It views
evangelism as the essential purpose of those in the church. This is a view that is not always held
by most. If you ask many Christians, they will report that worship is their primary purpose for
the church.
Whaley and Wheeler discuss becoming a Great Commission Worshiper and what that
entails. One of the more important aspects of that process is being alone with Jesus. That is one
of those things that has been so difficult for so many people. We always must find that private,
secret place to go and be alone with Jesus. It is most important that we can spend that time with
Jesus often and have a designated place where we can go to be alone with him.
Worship is how we get closer to God. “We give our worship to God. In response, God
nurtures, develops, and cultivates the relationship we have with Him.”2 Our worship draws us
closer to him. It changes who we are and is how God changes people. God seeks people who
openly follow him and worship him. God wants us to be Great Commission worshipers and to
grow in love and carry his message out to others as evangelists. It is difficult to worship about
1 Vernon M. Whaley and David Wheeler, The Great Commission to Worship (Nashville: B&H Publishing
Group, 2011), http://wsb.to/&n20qNtO,WORDsearch Bible.
2 Ibid., http://wsb.to/&4KnE4YK.
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what you don’t know. It takes evangelists to introduce the glory of God to begin to develop the
worship in the believers.
Concrete Response
While reading this book in chapter 3, I was struck by the section on Our Calling and by
Jeremiah’s Calling in Chapter 4. I remember when I initially really heard my individual calling
to ministry. This was different that the calling I had previously received to my general profession
as a therapist. I had always felt the pull toward helping people and I was gifted with the ability to
speak empathically to people to connect with them below a surface level. It always seemed like a
spiritual connection I was making with people.
Little did I know that this was God already working in my life to prepare me for ministry.
The call to ministry came unexpectedly but not truly surprisingly. I had increased my study of
the Word. I had improved my dedication to living a righteous life and had surrounded myself
with a better, more appropriate crowd. I knew about the life I had been living prior to going on
my deployment. I knew what had gotten me through the deployment. It was the Blood of Jesus
covering my life.
The calling was starting but I was blocking it out. Perhaps it was not loud enough yet. I
saw myself like Jeremiah. I saw myself as not fit for any work in the ministry. I knew my past. I
knew how I had been unreliable, dishonest, unfaithful. I did not have the biblical knowledge or
fluency. I could not quote scripture. I could not get up and pray the walls down. But, I know that
God had marked me from birth to be exactly who I am today. God had marked me to be more
than a minister, but a leader in ministry.
2
I can clearly see the day that I decided that it was time to stop running away from my
calling. I went to church that morning and the service touched me in a way I hadn’t been touched
before. I can see myself sitting on the left side of the church on the third-row crying. That
evening I attended an evening service which touched on the same points and I began to realize
that I could not deny it anymore. The fire within me was burning. I went home that evening and
sat on my couch with my wife to tell her my decision. I had not shared any of this with her up to
that point. Reading the book made all this pop up into my head and how I wanted to shout to the
world about the greatness of God.
Reflection
One thing that stood out to me mirrors something that has been brought up in many
discussions with new believers I’ve had in the past. “God is most pleased when we are satisfied
in Him. He is our song in the morning and our strength at night. Trust Him and He will fulfill
your deepest desires.”3 I have had people try to come to Jesus because they feel that believing in
Jesus will magically grant fame and fortune and all the desires of your life. It does not work that
way. Yes, you must trust and believe in him. This will make the Lord more willing to give you
the things you need in life. Belief in Him is demonstrated through faith and obedience. He wants
us to develop a strong and active relationship with him. He wants us to nurture that relationship
daily through worship and praise. This will help us to demonstrate our love for him in our praise
when we take that message out to others when we are evangelizing.
Action
3 Ibid., http://wsb.to/&gzfLFwG.
3
Reading the Great Commission to Worship has caused me to open my eyes to what it
really means to be Great Commission Worshiper. There are many things that I can adjust to
improve my ability to grow in Christ and grow my ministry by improving my ability to build in
relationship with God. Whaler and Wheeler state that worship is vertical in that we worship
upward toward God. One way to improve my worship with God is to improve my horizontal
worship. The Great Commission instructs us to evangelize and spread the Word of God to those
around us. That is where the horizontal worship comes into play. I have identified ways to
improve my horizontal worship in my family, work and ministry.
I understand that my first ministry starts at home. I have always worked to find ways to
improve the health of my household. We have all came such a long way over the years since our
time of struggle. There was a time where I could not see myself married or seeing my children
anymore because of the damage that I had done within my family. Those wounds have been
healing over the years and we are greatly improved. But I know that I cannot stop focusing on
the physical, mental and spiritual; health of my family. It is my responsibility as the head of the
household to lead by example and show them how to worship and be faithful to God. It is my
responsibility to show them what it means to love. This is especially important that I demonstrate
to my children how important it is that I love their mother. “Husbands love your wives, just as
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:25 NIV). I will make the time in my
busy schedule to have a planned date night with my wife at least 2x per month and a “date” night
with my kids at least once per month.
At work, I will endeavor to be more diligent and faithful to the task at hand. “Whatever
[we] do, work at it with all [our] heart[s], as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know
that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are
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serving” (Col 3:23–24 NIV). There are many times that I become disillusioned with work
because I am surrounded by non-believers as well as by the leadership of the job. I will work to
remain more positive and give a better effort always because it is the right thing to do. I am paid
to be there supervising people. I should always give my best, demonstrating that I am a good
steward of the resources the Lord has put before me.
The theme at my church for this year has been “Taking it to the Streets.” We have
ministered about being faithful evangelists. I work regularly ministering to believers about the
Lord, but that is the easy part of ministry. Those are the ones who are eager and open to
listening. My goal moving forward is to minister to more people who may not know God. My
goal is to spread the Word to those that may have heard of God, but do not know of the goodness
of God. I will make the time at least once a week to minister to someone about God. This
someone must not be a member of my church.
Bibliography
5
Whaley, Vernon M. and David Wheeler. The Great Commission to Worship. Nashville: B&H
Publishing Group, 2011, WORDsearch Bible.
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