Robert E. Webber
Encyclopedia
Robert Eugene Webber was an American theologian known for his work on worship and the early church. He played a key role in the Convergence Movement
, a move among evangelical
and charismatic churches in the United States
to blend charismatic worship with liturgies
from the Book of Common Prayer
and other liturgical sources.
The son of a Baptist
minister, Webber was raised in the Belgian Congo
where his parents were missionaries
with the Africa Inland Mission
. He received his bachelor's degree from Bob Jones University
in 1956 and went on to earn a divinity degree from the Reformed Episcopal Seminary
in 1959, and a masters degree in theology from Covenant Theological Seminary
in 1960. In 1968 he received his doctoral degree in theology from Concordia Seminary
in Saint Louis.
Webber began teaching theology at Wheaton College
in 1968. Existentialism
was the primary focus of Webber's research and lectures during his first years at Wheaton. However, he soon shifted his focus to the early church. In 1978 he wrote Common Roots, a book that examined the impact of 2nd-century Christianity on the modern church.
In 1985 Webber wrote Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals Are Attracted to the Liturgical Church, in which he described the reasons behind his own gradual shift away from his fundamentalist/evangelical background toward the Anglican tradition. Webber faced an enormous amount of criticism from evangelicals in response to this book. Nevertheless, his work was highly influential, and his ideas grew in popularity in evangelical circles.
During the latter half of his life, Webber took a special interest in Christian worship practices. He wrote more than 40 books on the topic of worship, focusing on how the worship practices of the ancient church have value for the church in the 21st century postmodern era thus paving the way to emerging translations of neo-Orthodox theology into concrete worship. Among his books are Ancient-Future Worship, Ancient-Future Faith, Ancient-Future Time, Ancient-Future Evangelism, The Younger Evangelicals, and The Divine Embrace. Webber also served as editor of The Complete Library of Christian Worship (1995), an eight-volume series created to serve as a comprehensive reference for professors, students, pastors, and worship leaders. The series draws on several thousand texts and publications and covers topics like Old and New Testament worship and contemporary applications for music and the arts.
Webber founded The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies
in Orange Park, Florida
in 1998. The school offers Doctor of Worship Studies and Master of Worship Studies degrees. It is the only graduate institution in the country to focus exclusively on worship education. He remained president of the institute until his death. Jim Hart currently serves as president.
In 2006, he organized and edited the "Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future", a document intended "to restore the priority of the divinely inspired biblical story of God's acts in history".
Webber died of pancreatic cancer on April 27, 2007 at his home in Sawyer, Michigan, aged 73.
Convergence Movement
The Convergence Movement refers to a move among evangelical and charismatic churches in the United States to blend charismatic worship with liturgies from the Book of Common Prayer and other liturgical sources. The Movement was inspired by the spiritual pilgrimages of modern Evangelical writers...
, a move among evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
and charismatic churches in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to blend charismatic worship with liturgies
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
from the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
and other liturgical sources.
The son of a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
minister, Webber was raised in the Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
where his parents were missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
with the Africa Inland Mission
Africa Inland Mission
Established in 1895, Africa Inland Mission is a nondenominational Christian mission organisation focusing on Africa and islands in the Indian Ocean...
. He received his bachelor's degree from Bob Jones University
Bob Jones University
Bob Jones University is a private, for-profit, non-denominational Protestant university in Greenville, South Carolina.The university was founded in 1927 by Bob Jones, Sr. , an evangelist and contemporary of Billy Sunday...
in 1956 and went on to earn a divinity degree from the Reformed Episcopal Seminary
Reformed Episcopal Church
The Reformed Episcopal Church is an Anglican church in the United States and Canada and a founding member of the Anglican Church in North America...
in 1959, and a masters degree in theology from Covenant Theological Seminary
Covenant Theological Seminary
Covenant Theological Seminary is the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America . It is located in St. Louis, Missouri, and its purpose is to train leaders for work in the church and the world — especially as pastors, missionaries, and counselors. It does not require all...
in 1960. In 1968 he received his doctoral degree in theology from Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary is located in Clayton, Missouri, an inner-ring suburb on the western border of St. Louis, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod . The current president of...
in Saint Louis.
Webber began teaching theology at Wheaton College
Wheaton College (Illinois)
Wheaton College is a private, evangelical Protestant liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago in the United States...
in 1968. Existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
was the primary focus of Webber's research and lectures during his first years at Wheaton. However, he soon shifted his focus to the early church. In 1978 he wrote Common Roots, a book that examined the impact of 2nd-century Christianity on the modern church.
In 1985 Webber wrote Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals Are Attracted to the Liturgical Church, in which he described the reasons behind his own gradual shift away from his fundamentalist/evangelical background toward the Anglican tradition. Webber faced an enormous amount of criticism from evangelicals in response to this book. Nevertheless, his work was highly influential, and his ideas grew in popularity in evangelical circles.
During the latter half of his life, Webber took a special interest in Christian worship practices. He wrote more than 40 books on the topic of worship, focusing on how the worship practices of the ancient church have value for the church in the 21st century postmodern era thus paving the way to emerging translations of neo-Orthodox theology into concrete worship. Among his books are Ancient-Future Worship, Ancient-Future Faith, Ancient-Future Time, Ancient-Future Evangelism, The Younger Evangelicals, and The Divine Embrace. Webber also served as editor of The Complete Library of Christian Worship (1995), an eight-volume series created to serve as a comprehensive reference for professors, students, pastors, and worship leaders. The series draws on several thousand texts and publications and covers topics like Old and New Testament worship and contemporary applications for music and the arts.
Webber founded The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies
The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies
The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies is a non-denominational graduate theological school which employs a hybrid course delivery system combining intensive on-campus pedagogy and distance learning methods...
in Orange Park, Florida
Orange Park, Florida
Orange Park is a town in Clay County, Florida, USA, and a suburb of Jacksonville. The population was 8,412 at the 2010 census. The name "Orange Park" is additionally applied to a wider area of northern Clay County outside the town limits, covering such communities as Fleming Island, Lakeside, and...
in 1998. The school offers Doctor of Worship Studies and Master of Worship Studies degrees. It is the only graduate institution in the country to focus exclusively on worship education. He remained president of the institute until his death. Jim Hart currently serves as president.
In 2006, he organized and edited the "Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future", a document intended "to restore the priority of the divinely inspired biblical story of God's acts in history".
Webber died of pancreatic cancer on April 27, 2007 at his home in Sawyer, Michigan, aged 73.
Partial bibliography
- The Services of Christian Year (1995) ISBN 1565631919
- Ancient-Future Faith (1999) ISBN 080106029X
- The People of the Truth with Rodney ClappRodney ClappRodney R. Clapp is a Christian editor and author.He was an associate editor for Christianity Today and until 1999 was the senior editor for academic and general books at InterVarsity Press...
(2001) ISBN 1579105602 - Ancient-Future Evangelism (2003) ISBN 0801091608
- Ancient-Future Time (2004) ISBN 0801091756
- The Divine Embrace (2006) ISBN 0801065550
- Ancient-Future Worship (2008) ISBN 0801066247
External links
- The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies http://www.iws.edu/
- Robert E. Webber Center for an Ancient Evangelical Future http://www.aefcenter.org
- Christianity Today article, Robert E. Webber, Theologian of 'Ancient-Future' Faith, Dies at 73 http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/aprilweb-only/118-12.0.html
- 2006 interview http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/september/10.54.html