LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
Book Critique 1
Submitted to Dr. Kimberly Martin, in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the completion of the course
WRSP 530
Principles of Leadership for the Worship Leader
by
Rachel Morway
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Introduction
Anyone who has been in the Christian faith for a little while has most likely heard,
learned and experienced the importance of prayer both privately in their personal walk with
Christ and corporately in the local church. Unfortunately, as the years go by, less and less focus
is put on the importance of prayer in certain religious circles, much to the detriment of the church
and individuals’ relationships with the Lord. In Daniel Henderson’s book Fresh Encounters:
Experiencing Transformation Through United Worship-Based Prayer, he offers a great deal of
wisdom on this very topic, giving the reader honest, practical and knowledgeable advice on how
to awaken our personal and corporate passion for prayer and why it is the key to experiencing a
powerful move of God in our churches, our nation and the world.
Fresh Encounters ultimately tackles the unfortunate truth that prayer itself has slowly
shifted down the list of priorities in the local church body as a whole. Henderson speaks to this
topic through multiple chapters in this book broken into various sections on the topic of
revitalizing the way churches view prayer: The Adventure of an Encounter, Start the Encounter,
Fueling the Encounter, Vision for an Encountering Community and Keeping the Encounter
Fresh. He even concludes the book by giving practical steps on how to implement your
newfound vision for prayer as it relates to the local church, including a section with strategic
plans, orders of service, song suggestions and Scripture references.
Summary
In the first section, the Adventure of an Encounter, the discussion begins with
Henderson’s personal background in chapter one of him seeking the Lord through prayer when
he was young. It was here when his passion for worship-based prayer began and gave him the
strength to fuel the passion for prayer in his church in Minnesota. The overarching theme for this
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section can be summed up in this statement given by Henderson in the first chapter: “my unique
passion is to see God develop models of prayer-based congregations and revived churches”
(Henderson, Fresh Encounters, 28). He believes that if the church will be transformed by the
power of prayer, so will the world as a result. Even the great Richard Foster, author of the
acclaimed Christian classic The Celebration of Discipline, is quoted stating “to pray is to change.
Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us” (33). It is in these fervent, God-centered
prayers that He shows us a new side of ourselves – one that looks, feels and sounds more like
Jesus.
In the second section, Start the Encounter, Henderson addresses how to begin a prayer
movement within a body of believers. He first discusses the importance of the passion for prayer
stemming from the pastoral leadership because “the prayer life of the church will seldom rise
above the pastor’s personal example and commitment” (Henderson, Fresh Encounters, 56).
Attitude always reflects leadership, and if a church desires to take their worship and prayer to the
next level, their pastor must set the tone and lead the charge. The author even gives very wise
advice on how to pray for their pastor is their passion for prayer is not evident. As the section
continues, he emphasizes the significance of the priority of prayer by saying that “prayer is not a
preface or an addendum to the work of the ministry. It is the work of the ministry” (Henderson,
Fresh Encounters, 67). Henderson finishes by appealing to the reader that the passion for prayer
ministry is not taught but caught, meaning that in order to be infused with a passion to pray, you
have to actually pray! He instructs the reader to be an example to those around them by starting
the movement and praying that others see the benefit and desire to join alongside them.
In the third section, Fueling the Encounter, Henderson focuses his writing on how a
newfound passion and priority for prayer needs to be contagious to others. In the first part of this
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section, he explains to the reader how we sometimes can do the right things for the wrong
reasons, meanings our motives are not totally pure. He then lists some typical ill-advised motives
for participating in prayer: guilt, acceptance, church growth and revival. We can sometimes feel
obligated and therefore guilty about participating in prayer “because we know prayer is
commanded, important and expected” (Henderson, Fresh Encounters, 84). We also can be
motivated to pray by a desire for acceptance because “many people think the more they pray the
more God will love them” (Henderson, Fresh Encounters, 84). On the other hand, church growth
can also be a motivation to pray, but the author urges that “while God delights in a praying
people and is eager for the advancement of his church, He would not reduce something as pure
and distinctive as prayer to the next strategy for our human-centered success” (Henderson, Fresh
Encounters, 85). Lastly, revival is a wonderful thing to desire as a believer, but to make sure our
hearts our pure, we must first ask ourselves this question: “Are you seeing revival from God or
are you seeking God for revival?” (Henderson, Fresh Encounters, 86). To finish up the section,
the author teaches the reader the importance of seeking God’s face and not His hand – in other
words, desiring to know who He is and not just what He can do. He urges that for prayer to truly
be worship- based, our hearts should remain steadily focused on the character of God and not
just the move of God.
In the fourth section, Vision for an Encountering Community, Henderson discusses the
significance of corporate prayer in contrast with private prayer. Prayer should not be a spectator
sport but a team sport, emphasizing that “we must learn to prayer together, first, if we are to learn
to pray alone” (Henderson, Fresh Encounters, 98). The author explains that believers must
renovate their prayer closets by broadening their perspectives on encountering God through
prayer to be as a unified body. Later in the section, Henderson provides tangible advice and
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examples for the reader on how to create, impart and disperse vision for prayer gatherings. He
suggests multiple ideas and recommendations for the passionate prayer warrior on forms and
methods of prayer gatherings such as powerhouse prayer meetings, early watches, affinity group
gatherings, concerts of prayer, all night prayer meetings, prayer chains, all-church weekly prayer
meetings, home prayer cells, twenty-four-hour prayer centers/call-in lines, prayer partners,
prayer visitation teams, prayer retreats, prayer summits, prayer walking, prayer driving,
leadership prayer support, and prayer chat rooms. It is here that the reader is given the resources
to revitalize and provide vision for their prayer ministries but allows them the opportunity to put
their own inspiration and creative stamp to it.
In the final section, Keeping the Encounter Fresh, Henderson gives specific instructions
on how to facilitate the various prayer gatherings and learning how to keep the passion fresh and
vibrant. In order for gatherings to keep afloat, there must be an equipped facilitator, an effective
method, and a “4/4-time pattern of prayer” (Henderson, Fresh Encounters, 130-131). The author
also points out various interferences that the facilitator must try to evade at all costs. These
include poor instruction, lack of foundation, lack of fervor, lack of faith, lack of focus, lack of
freedom and lack of faithfulness. He ends the book by giving an inspiring epilogue on how to
implement fresh vision for prayer gatherings and also includes several appendices with practical
steps to follow in facilitating these new experiences.
Review
I believe that is the book’s greatest strength is its practicality and ability to be applied to a
believer’s and leader’s life. It is obvious that Henderson is passionate about making prayer the
top priority and backbone of the local church, but he separates himself from most authors on this
subject by actually providing concrete, hands-on steps towards making it happen in the reader’s
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current situation. It is one thing to discuss prayer at length in a book and make lofty, spiritual
comments about its importance and significance, but it shows a whole other level of passion and
wisdom from the Lord to break it down into down-to-earth steps for the reader to apply it to their
lives and ministries. On the other hand, I believe the book’s greatest weakness is the fact that it
cannot be easily understood by a newer believer, especially one who is passionate about their
newfound relationship with God through prayer. I believe a newer believer might find some of
the content difficult to relate to and hard to implement into their personal walk with Christ and
also in the local church.
With that being said, it is clear that Henderson’s intended audience is seasoned believers
and ministry leaders in the local church. I definitely believe he achieved the goal he set out to
accomplish in writing this book for that specific demographic. Most ministry leaders and people
who have followed Christ for some time need fresh vision and perspective when it comes to the
avenue of prayer, and this book provides just that. If you finish this book and do not have a
newfound desire to pray and seek God on a deeper level, especially in corporate settings, you
have missed the point and probably need to reread!
I would definitely recommend this book, and have already, to my fellow colleagues in
ministry and also some of my lay leaders on my worship teams. If we are to follow the words of
Paul and truly “pray without ceasing,” we must learn to make prayer a part of each and every
day, not just an isolated event or part of a generic routine (1 Thessalonians 5:17). In order to do
this, we must also ask for the Holy Spirit’s help in teaching us how to pray. Just like any other
skill that we desire to achieve, we must work towards it. “Real prayer is something we learn. The
disciples asked Jesus, ‘Lord, teach us how to pray’” (Foster, The Celebration of Discipline, 36).
To be the kind of leader we desire, especially a 360-degree leader like John Maxwell suggests,
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we must learn how to prioritize well by putting prayer at the top of our list, allowing God to
change us, mold us and shape us into His image as we seek His face on a deeper level.
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Bibliography
Foster, Richard J. The Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. New York, NY:
HarperCollins: 1978.
Henderson, Daniel. Fresh Encounters: Experiencing Transformation Through United Worship-
Based Prayer. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2008.
New International Version. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995.
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