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Junjie's Bio

People in the Presence of God - Barry Liesch

Let me tell the story of how this book first came to my hands.

I thought it was going to be a typical Sunday.

I was wrong.

My band wasn’t playing for the service, so it was no surprise for me to find two of my fellow teammates at the church bookshop after the service. One of them took me aside and pointed out the only copy of People in the Presence of God by Barry Liesch. He said “This book isn’t for suitable for everybody. Only those who are really serious about the worship ministry. I think this final copy has been divinely kept for you.”

I know those words sound cheesy now. But the guy recommending me that book was one of the best worship leaders I knew at that time. And how he led worship then still influences how I lead worship even today. You want the real deal in praise and worship? He was one of the few who could give you the real deal, the manifested presence of God, over and over again.

So if you ask me now what is a must-have for any worship minister’s library, hands-down, it’s this book, People in the Presence of God by Barry Liesch.

Let me tell you why this book is a must-have:

1) It explains, in a simple and accessible way, the Who we worship and Why.

My worship training is more focused on the How of worship ministry, rather than these aspects. Why? Because there are too few people who can teach effectively what I teach.

But that doesn’t mean that the Who we worship and Why isn’t important. It is. And if you want a simple introduction to some basic theology of worship, People in the Presence of God is a simple and sound primer for that.

2) It gives us five models of worship to consider and study. Which means we get five paradigms and concepts to help us become worshipers in our every day lives, not just on Sunday morning.

Liesch starts with looking at Family-worship, the lifestyle of worship modeled by the Patriarchs, Job, Noah, Abraham and Jacob. He then explores

  i) Pauline-worship, with its liturgical (*horrified gasp*) AND spontaneous elements,

  ii) Synagogue-worship,

  iii) Tabernacle-worship, examining the fine arts, Davidic praise, music instruments and movement in worship,

  iv) Revelation-worship – what praise and worship is like in heaven

This means that you will get ideas and practices from not only the model of worship you are currently comfortable with and practicing in your church, but ideas and concepts from other Biblical models as well.

And that brings freshness, life AND understanding to your worship ministry.

But I have to give you the same warning my previous mentor gave me. This book is not suitable for everyone.

If you are the sort who thinks “Just tell me what to do, don’t confuse me with all the reasons”, this book is not for you. People in the Presence of God doesn’t just teach you what to do, it models for you how to think about worship ministry issues and exercise wisdom and discernment in decision making.

In other words, if you are stuck in just one model of worship and wish to remain stuck, don’t get this book.

But if you want to have a broader understanding of the Biblical models of worship, not only for your own personal worship life but for your worship ministry effectiveness as well, this book is a must have.

Get it.

Absorb it.

And get ready for your worship ministry to be brought to greater depths of solidity and understanding! 

Click Here to Buy the Book Now!