New forms of worship have transformed the face of the American church over the past fifty years. Drawing on a wide range of primary sources, including interviews with dozens of important stakeholders and key players, this volume by Lester Ruth, research professor of Christian worship at Duke Divinity School, and Lim Swee Hong, Deer Park Associate Professor of Sacred Music at Emmanuel College of Victoria University, offers the first comprehensive history of contemporary praise and worship. The authors provide insight into where this phenomenon began and how it reshaped the Protestant church. They also emphasize the span of denominational, regional, and ethnic expressions of contemporary worship, taking into account the liturgical dynamics involved it its emergence and the dynamics that led to its growth. The authors show that contemporary praise and worship came about through theological reflection on the Bible, not merely as the result of cultural impulses. This book will be of particular interest to professors and students of worship, worship pastors, leaders of contemporary worship services, liturgical scholars, and church and cultural historians. Read more about the book.