A new book by Mark Powers, director of the worship and music office of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, calls for worship that moves Christians beyond self-satisfaction and toward discipleship and missions.

In “Going Full Circle” (Resource Publications, 2013), Powers contends that, in a time marked by declining church attendance, worship wars and spectator worship, God is calling his people in a “missional movement” to return to a biblical lifestyle that “goes full circle in continual worship, discipleship and missions.”

Powers

“God did not design worship to create spectators, nor to build the institutional church by keeping members happy, nor to win the world by attracting people into our churches,” Powers writes.

“Worship in spirit and truth is focused on God alone and moves his children to grow up as disciples and go out as missionaries. God’s primary strategy to win the world is to get his church into world, not the world into churches.”

“Ultimately, true worship always leads to true discipleship and the real call to be on mission.”

In “Going Full Circle,” Powers presents a theology of missional worship, a detailed discipleship plan, and a strategy for local music missions, using everyday language to present a simple thought process to move worshipers and worship leaders to become worshiping disciples on mission.

Reggie McNeal, a missional leadership specialist, said Powers “helps us see that worship is central to the mission of the church — not as a program, but as the engine that powers the life of the Jesus-follower, who is living a life on mission.”

Powers’ book is available at wipfandstock.com.