Rating: 
Summary: A Great Witness
Review: Among the new generation of Roman Catholic apologists, none may better explain the draw of liturgical worship than Thomas Howard. Raised in a prominent Evangelical Protestant family, Howard was so drawn by a combination of personal circumstances, an exposure to the writings of the early Church, and a deep and abiding faith. Never rejecting his Evangelical upbringing, Howard always treats his later move to historic Christianity as more a completion of his Evangelical faith than a conversion to a new faith. As such, he expresses a fondness for his previous ecclesial home that counters the bitter criticism he received from some colleagues with warmth and compassion. Evangelical is Not Enough was originally written and published while Howard was still an Anglican. In recent printings, he added an addendum mentioning his move to Roman Catholicism, but in his typically irenic style, passes no judgment on those who reject Roman claims. The move to Rome has little effect on the book's thesis since the beliefs and practices defended are common points of reference in all historic Churches.
Howard begins with an analysis of the current state of Evangelical Protestantism - celebrating its strengths but also acknowledging its rampant individualism and generally ahistoric outlook. The historic liturgical worship does not detract from Evangelicalism's strong points but gives them a foundation in the prayers and hopes of Christians throughout Church history. The Church in history also removes the focus from an individual preacher/performer and places it on Christ who reveals Himself to us in Word and Sacrament. Howard describes all the major elements of the historic liturgy of the Western Rite and gives not only giving the doctrinal motivation behind particular practices but also recalling his reaction as an Evangelical first encountering it. This provides a personal touch that avoids the pedantic qualities that common in books recounting conversions to the historic Churches. Howard never harangues Evangelicals on their weaknesses but warmly invites them to seriously consider the faithful witness of the Church in history. Particular parts of the ancient rites are skillfully used by Howard as a springboard to discuss points of doctrinal or ritual divergence between the ancient and modern expressions of the Christian faith and a compelling case is made for the traditional outlook. Placing these differences in the context of Christian worship rather than discussing them as abstract propositions makes far clearer the discontinuity of Evangelicalism with the rich spirituality characteristic of the early Church. It also avoids clouding the issues with the modern cultural prejudices imported into so much of contemporary Evangelical thought. Howard manages to make to make his case with passion and thoughtfulness yet with a great appreciation of those with whom he parted ways - no small feat for books in this genre - and a spiritual maturity and great sincerity evident throughout. Once could easily make the case that the most rancorous thing about Evangelical is Not Enough is the title. For those who have traveled from Evangelical Protestantism to historic Christianity, there may be no better choice to explain your decision to friends and family than Evangelical is Not Enough. With charm, wit, and great love, Howard has provided a great witness for Christ and His Church.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, profound, warn, and gracious.
Review: As an evangelical deeply interested in and sympathetic to Catholicism, I found Thomas Howard's "Evangelical is not Enough" to be one of the most moving religious books I've read in years. Howard was born into an evangelical family, moved into an Anglican communion as an adult, and subsequent to the first publishing of "Not Enough" became a Roman Catholic. This is NOT a Roman Catholic apologia. As noted, Howard's famous (and, within evangelical circles, highly controversial) conversion post-dates this book. Instead, is an apologia for all the apostolic liturgical starins of Christianity (including the Anglican and Orthodox traditions). Although the story is obviously colored by Howard's faith journey, this is not a biography or memoir. Instead, it is an exploration of the liturgical tradition written by someone deeply sympathetic to the evangelical tradition. Howard explores such controverted issues as Mary, the authority of scripture and church teaching (sola scriptura), justification (sola fide), and liturgy. I believe (with Howard) that the evangelical churches have gone too far in rejecting liturgy. A traditional High Church service touches my soul far more deeply than the modern praise worship so common in evangelical services. (I was recently in one of those mega-churches where they serve Starbucks coffee and everybody takes their latte into the pew. I'm glad there are churches like that for people who prefer that style of worship, but its not for me.) The hard questions for me are the touchstones of Reformation theology--sola scriptura and sola fide. Does the apostolic tradition have authority or is only scripture authoritative? Is salvation by faith alone or by faith and works? Howard has struggled with these issues too and has given us a fair, balanced, honest, and deeply scriptural set of answers. In sum, HIGHLY recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The Rule of Prayer is the Rule of Faith
Review: Howard sympathetically describes his journey from "let's praise God with this lil' guitar and knee slapping" to the riches of the historical CHurch with wit, insight and understanding. If it is true that the rule of prayer is the rule of faith (lex orandi lex credendi) then the Protestant communions, and much of American Roman Catholicism, have to ask themselves why they have tampered with the ancient liturgy to make it more "relevant" and "personal". We trust the Church's decision about the canon of scripture, but we don't trust the Church's prayer from whcih that canon emerged. This is not quite right. You may benefit from reading "Eucharist Makes the Church" and "Sacrament fo Salvation" by McPartlan for an analysis of the connection between worship, eucharist, scriptural interpritation, and the true rule of faith.
Rating: 
Summary: A Journey Into the Liturgy
Review: Howard's book is a wonderful tribute to liturgical worship and the Apostolic Faith. Howard wrote this book one year before completing his journey to the Catholic Faith. However, the reader should not expect this book to be loaded with autobiographical detail or to provide a detailed biblical defense of the Catholic Faith. Rather, it delves into the meaning of worship. Do we worship to experience something or to give something? Though Howard gives no definitive answer, he does provide his answer in making a compelling case that the liturgy is precisely worship and not only experience. However, Howard does not denigrate the worship experience or those evangelicals who worship outside the liturgy. In fact, he finds no reason to pit one against the other. He explains that this liturgy of the Church is far from the dry, boring, or stagnant thing that some perceive it is. He comes to understand that those matters so foreign to his experience as an evangelical have completed his worship of the Lord. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in why Catholics, Anglicans or the Orthodox have preserved the liturgy. It is a very charitable look at the differences between what we all experience of God. It is fairly light on theology and heavy on causing us to contemplate what it means when we worship.
Rating:
Summary: A most refreshing book to read
Review: I found this book when I was still a Baptist. After reading it, I felt for the first time that someone else in the world had lived in my life and walked down the same journey. He loves the Lord. He believes in the new birth. He found evangelical worship in churches severely lacking. They had not strengthened my walk with God. Dr. Webber was able to put into very clear language, what I could only vagely describe from my heart. I have since learned that this was being felt by many good souls, many of whom have moved to the Anglican communion, enjoying the presence of the Lord through the sacrements, yet retaining their personal and intimate connection with God. I strongly recommend this great book!!
Rating:
Summary: A most refreshing book to read
Review: I found this book when I was still a Baptist. After reading it, I felt for the first time that someone else in the world had lived in my life and walked down the same journey. He loves the Lord. He believes in the new birth. He found evangelical worship in churches severely lacking. They had not strengthened my walk with God. Dr. Webber was able to put into very clear language, what I could only vagely describe from my heart. I have since learned that this was being felt by many good souls, many of whom have moved to the Anglican communion, enjoying the presence of the Lord through the sacrements, yet retaining their personal and intimate connection with God. I strongly recommend this great book!!
Rating:
Summary: A brief, but compelling, apologia for the liturgy
Review: Recently, several Evangelical Christians have converted to more traditional and sacramentally oriented churches. The big headlines were that most of these converts were going over to Catholicism and to a lesser extent Eastern Orthodoxy and the Anglican Communion. But, few seemed to notice that one of the main threads through all of these conversions was a strong desire for more meaningful worship after a rush by many conservative Evangelicals to make their services more contemporary. Thomas Howard's book "Evangelical Is Not Enough" speaks perfectly to those longings and shows how the liturgy satisfies them. Growing up in a conservative Protestant background, Howard felt that more sensual and liturgical brands of worship weren't "spiritual" or were nothing but a "dead ritual." Through a journey that spanned several years, Howard explains how the liturgical worship he used to view as a "famine" became a feast to the eyes, ears and touch. Given the title, one would think that this is a fierce polemic on the inadequacy of Evangelicalism. Nothing could be further from the truth. While making sure to praise the Evangelicalism that nurtured him in the faith, he also critiques its deficiencies as someone who loves his fathers in faith so much that he must point them out because of that great love. Howard anticipates virtually every objection that people from his background can make against liturgical worship and answers them briefly, but in a cogent manner. While this is a topic that can be extremely dry, Howard packages his views and spiritual journey in such magnificent prose that the reader is awakened to the drama that takes place at the seemingly hum-drum Mass, Divine Liturgy or Anglican services. This book isn't a complete and thorough apologetic for liturgical worship that goes through every possible objection and answers them with copious footnotes and greek grammar. It does provide for a breezy read that is guaranteed to get you excited about worship, no matter what communion you hail from!
Rating:
Summary: A brief, but compelling, apologia for the liturgy
Review: Recently, several Evangelical Christians have converted to more traditional and sacramentally oriented churches. The big headlines were that most of these converts were going over to Catholicism and to a lesser extent Eastern Orthodoxy and the Anglican Communion. But, few seemed to notice that one of the main threads through all of these conversions was a strong desire for more meaningful worship after a rush by many conservative Evangelicals to make their services more contemporary. Thomas Howard's book "Evangelical Is Not Enough" speaks perfectly to those longings and shows how the liturgy satisfies them. Growing up in a conservative Protestant background, Howard felt that more sensual and liturgical brands of worship weren't "spiritual" or were nothing but a "dead ritual." Through a journey that spanned several years, Howard explains how the liturgical worship he used to view as a "famine" became a feast to the eyes, ears and touch. Given the title, one would think that this is a fierce polemic on the inadequacy of Evangelicalism. Nothing could be further from the truth. While making sure to praise the Evangelicalism that nurtured him in the faith, he also critiques its deficiencies as someone who loves his fathers in faith so much that he must point them out because of that great love. Howard anticipates virtually every objection that people from his background can make against liturgical worship and answers them briefly, but in a cogent manner. While this is a topic that can be extremely dry, Howard packages his views and spiritual journey in such magnificent prose that the reader is awakened to the drama that takes place at the seemingly hum-drum Mass, Divine Liturgy or Anglican services. This book isn't a complete and thorough apologetic for liturgical worship that goes through every possible objection and answers them with copious footnotes and greek grammar. It does provide for a breezy read that is guaranteed to get you excited about worship, no matter what communion you hail from!
Rating:
Summary: great introduction to liturgical worship
Review: This book book goes hand in hand with books like _Becoming Orthodox_ by Fr. Peter Gilquest; _Dancing Alone_ by Frank Schaeffer and _Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail_ as works by Evangelical Protestants who found themselves desiring more historically authentic liturgical forms of worship. If you have read Howards book I also recommend you check out the books by Gilquest and Schaeffer.
Rating:
Summary: Gentle explanation of the Catholic Church
Review: This book is the story of one man's journey from Evangelical Protestantism to Roman Catholicism. It is a highly personal and deeply reflective account of one person's search for a deeper and fuller expression of faith in Christ. He details his own spiritual journey without bashing those whose experiences have been different. I thought the title was a bit misleading, as he does not really portray Evangelicalism as doctrinally or morally deficient. Also, I would caution readers interested in a more historical celebration of the faith to not think of Roman Catholicism as their only option. My own journey led from the Southern Baptist Convention to the Anglican Church, and I am very content in the Church of England. The various Eastern Orthodox churches should also be studied by those interested in an ancient expression of the faith. This book is excellent and thought-provoking, and should be widely read.
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