What do you think?
Rate this book
A Gathered People: Revisioning the Assembly as Transforming Encounter
As a companion volume to COME TO THE TABLE and DOWN IN THE RIVER TO PRAY, this book completes a trilogy on the three ordinances; of the Stone-Campbell Movement. A GATHERED PEOPLE is an in-depth biblical, historical, and theological study of the Christian assembly or Lord's Day. It examines Hebrew assemblies in the Old Testament, Christian assemblies in the NT, the changing nature of assemblies in Christian history, and the assembly in the Stone-Campbell heritage. It concludes with a theological argument about the nature and purpose of the assembly, and reflections on Christian assemblies today. Alexander Campbell taught that there were three ordinances in the Christian faith ... The Lord's Supper, Baptism and the Lord's Day. This series revisions those ordinances and helps us better understand our relationship to our Father God. The other two books of this series Come to the Revisioning the Lord's Supper by John Mark Hicks and Down in the River to Revisioning Baptism as God s Transforming Power by John Mark Hicks and Greg Taylor.
- GenresTheology
190 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2007
3 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 2, 2022
Really excellent, primarily in its overview of the progression ideas and teachings surrounding the assembly over the course of church history, and specifically later on during the Restoration Movement. He highlights a lot of how the Western Orthodox tradition gradually moved away from the transformational aspects of assembly and, specifically for churches in the reformed tradition, placed more and more focus on the pulpit and on the elements or acts of worship in the assembly. He also talks a lot about the presence of the Table in the assembly and how that emphasis has changed over the years. Too much great history to summarize. Here's one long quote I highlighted that speaks to a lot of this:
"There is also a certain amount of irony in this ["five acts of worship"] paradigm. Though advocates believe they have deduced a timeless pattern, close scrutiny reveals that it has been shaped by culture. The "five acts" paradigm was, in large measure, handed down to us through the Reformed tradition and Scottish Independents that formed Alexander Campbell's own personal views. Culture influenced the exercise of these acts when we stopped using wine on the table because of the Temperance Movement. Culture influenced us when we adopted individual cups for the Supper because of the discovery of "germs." Culture taught us to sing four-part harmony and American revivalism led us to adopt practices like the "invitation" song. Rather than being timelessly written in stone, the five acts paradigm is culturally dependent and theologically deficient" (20).
"There is also a certain amount of irony in this ["five acts of worship"] paradigm. Though advocates believe they have deduced a timeless pattern, close scrutiny reveals that it has been shaped by culture. The "five acts" paradigm was, in large measure, handed down to us through the Reformed tradition and Scottish Independents that formed Alexander Campbell's own personal views. Culture influenced the exercise of these acts when we stopped using wine on the table because of the Temperance Movement. Culture influenced us when we adopted individual cups for the Supper because of the discovery of "germs." Culture taught us to sing four-part harmony and American revivalism led us to adopt practices like the "invitation" song. Rather than being timelessly written in stone, the five acts paradigm is culturally dependent and theologically deficient" (20).
December 8, 2015
This book is needed to show the middle ground between two extreme beliefs about worship. One side says that worship ONLY happens in the Sunday assembly, while the other groups says that the assemblies aren't about worship at all, but fellowship. Both are false. Hicks, Melton and Valentine invite us into what the assembly looks like, makes you look like, and will look like in heaven.
April 21, 2025
This is a solid intro to the history and theology of Christian worship. Chapter 5 is especially strong on the historical formation of worship traditions within Churches of Christ. The other chapters would be useful for anyone thinking about worship in Protestant traditions in general and in Protestant free-church (and non-denominational) in particular.
October 25, 2024
3.5 stars
May 23, 2016
An exploration of the nature and role of the assembly in Christianity and its antecedents in Israel.
The authors set forth their thesis at the beginning: the assembly should be seen as a type of sacrament, a transformative encounter among the people of God with their God as they meet at the Table and in the Word together. The authors trace the experience and the importance of the assembly in Israel, explore what the New Testament says about the assembly, provide a historical survey of the experience of the assembly in Christendom, and establish a particular focus on the assembly, its practices, and the discussions regarding it within the Restoration/Stone-Campbell movement.
The authors seek to find a middle way in the disputations about worship; I found their analysis personally less than satisfying, maintaining the prima facie association between the word "worship" and all its variant meanings in English without a truly close reading of the permutations and distinctions inherent in the Greek words all now translated by "worship." Thus their use of "worship" is often according to the English sense of the term, less so as seen in the NT (in which the primary word, proskuneo, has almost no relation to the Christian assembly, and other terms, latreuo, leiturgeo, eusebeo, etc., have as much connection with the assembly as the rest of the Christian life). Nevertheless, the authors do well to moderate between the assembly-as-obligation emphasis often made on one side of the spectrum, and the assembly-as-whatever-we-want emphasis made on the other side.
A worthwhile resource on the importance and value of the assembly.
The authors set forth their thesis at the beginning: the assembly should be seen as a type of sacrament, a transformative encounter among the people of God with their God as they meet at the Table and in the Word together. The authors trace the experience and the importance of the assembly in Israel, explore what the New Testament says about the assembly, provide a historical survey of the experience of the assembly in Christendom, and establish a particular focus on the assembly, its practices, and the discussions regarding it within the Restoration/Stone-Campbell movement.
The authors seek to find a middle way in the disputations about worship; I found their analysis personally less than satisfying, maintaining the prima facie association between the word "worship" and all its variant meanings in English without a truly close reading of the permutations and distinctions inherent in the Greek words all now translated by "worship." Thus their use of "worship" is often according to the English sense of the term, less so as seen in the NT (in which the primary word, proskuneo, has almost no relation to the Christian assembly, and other terms, latreuo, leiturgeo, eusebeo, etc., have as much connection with the assembly as the rest of the Christian life). Nevertheless, the authors do well to moderate between the assembly-as-obligation emphasis often made on one side of the spectrum, and the assembly-as-whatever-we-want emphasis made on the other side.
A worthwhile resource on the importance and value of the assembly.
June 30, 2014
A GATHERED PEOPLE is a refreshing look at our assembling before the Lord. From the Garden through the Tabernacle, the Temple and the throne room of God this book explores what it means to be in the presence of our mighty God. This book doesn’t deal with the usual subject matter pertaining to acceptable worship, as much as it deals with the transforming effect that the assembly of God’s people has on those that participate.
I enjoyed reading this book very much. It was nice to step back and look at the worship assembly with new eyes and to see what the Lord does when we assemble before HIm. Our walk in Christ is all about transformation and a huge part of that transformation comes from being in the presence of our heavenly Father.
If your looking for a more meaningful time of worship with the saints on the Lord’s day, A GATHERED PEOPLE may be a great tool of encouragement for you. When we can come to see our worship time with a sense of anticipation rather than obligation then we will be open to the transformation that can occur when we gather together before our God.
Leo J. Woodman
I enjoyed reading this book very much. It was nice to step back and look at the worship assembly with new eyes and to see what the Lord does when we assemble before HIm. Our walk in Christ is all about transformation and a huge part of that transformation comes from being in the presence of our heavenly Father.
If your looking for a more meaningful time of worship with the saints on the Lord’s day, A GATHERED PEOPLE may be a great tool of encouragement for you. When we can come to see our worship time with a sense of anticipation rather than obligation then we will be open to the transformation that can occur when we gather together before our God.
Leo J. Woodman
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews