Hicks, Zac. Before We Gather: Devotions for Worship Leaders & Teams. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2023. ISBN 9780310145073
By Johnny Markin, DWS
In the burgeoning world of literature devoted to informing and equipping worship leaders in the Christian Church, Zac Hicks has become one of the influential writers in the genre, having in recent years crafted the popular The Worship Pastor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016) and Worship by Faith Alone (Downers Grove, IL.: IVP Academic, 2023). As leaders have moved from simply being “song choosers” to fully fledged academics who utilize music to lead worship, the hunger for teaching has also grown. We see this in the growth and success of schools like the Robert Webber Institute for Worship Studies, and Worship Arts postgraduate degrees at several other theological institutions.
Hicks, now a church planting Presbyterian pastor, attempts to resource the growing group of worship leaders who desire to lead theologically, as well as musically. As such, he has prepared 52 weekly devotionals to be read together, including an opening scripture followed by a time of guided prayer. It is a book which attempts to equip and stir the heart for serving in worship, more than one intended to be a theological textbook for training worship leaders. As a result, the book is written more colloquially, allowing the non-academic to be impacted at a heart level. This, ultimately, is the goal of any devotional book: provoking a deeper love and commitment to Christ. For example, he writes of the supernatural, “other-worldliness” of worship, saying, “Weekly, gathered worship is, in a sense, an embassy of God’s kingdom. It’s heavenly soil on earthly territory.”[1] Later, addressing the need to rediscover biblical submission to God’s authority, he writes, “Worship is a check to the despotic tendencies of the human heart. It is a confrontation of our bent toward rugged individualism and arrogant independence, reminding us that we must pray, “Thy will be done.”[2] Yet, the book does contain solid worship theology lessons that inform the devotional content.
Hicks covers topics like prayer, lament, idolatry, the Holy Spirit’s role in worship, Christ’s ascension ministry, the Day of the Lord (eschatological importance of worship), God’s holiness, thanksgiving, remembrance, the glory of God, the Christian calendar, repentance and confession in liturgy, artistry, life-worship, and the Lord’s Table. While not a systematic outline, touching on each of these theological areas opens the door to further discussion and study. In addition, Hicks has organized a series of indexes as a resource for leaders, including topical usage, scriptural reference usage, and a cleverly organized Christian calendar-themed chronological weekly plan.
Hicks ultimately reveals his main goal with a final challenge, drawn from Ephesians 4, that as the “Priesthood of All Believers”[3] leaders are to learn to how prepare these devotionals themselves as they lead their teams.
*Although the work is designed to be trans-denominational in its reception, there are moments where Hicks’ involvement in his own church stream reveals some of his more liturgically orientated views on topics like the Eucharist. Here, he seems to favour a weekly celebration, and the regular use of confession and assurance in worship. Yet, he does so in a manner that should not alienate nor denigrate those in a more free-church context, making this a resource that can both bless and challenge worship leaders and teams from various backgrounds and denominational perspectives. In this sense, it fits nicely with other popular works by the likes of Mike Cosper (Rhythms of Grace[4]) and Bob Kauflin (Worship Matters[5]) as opposed to more scholarly and academic works from authors such as James K. Smith (Desiring the Kingdom[6]), David Peterson (Engaging with God[7]), and William Dyrness (A Primer on Christian Worship[8]).
There are a few places where the exegetical unpacking of the chosen text possibly needs some clarification. For example, in a chapter based on Psalm 34:7 and the term “fear the Lord,” Hicks does a good job at showing how fearing God results in living one’s entire life for God yet fails somewhat to offer the nuance needed to reframe the worship leader’s response as one of reverence and respect, rather than simply fearing punishment. *In another chapter, where Hicks unpacks one of his favourite topics (the encouragement of lament in worship), Hicks uses the analogy of obediently praising, even when the emotion is counter to the words. While the message that the church needs to hear to avoid, as he calls it, our culture’s “allergy to pain and suffering,”[9] is a both theologically sound and helpful, one might question the particular passage used to underscore it. Psalm 149 is taken from the Hallel Psalms and is the penultimate offering of “pure praise” that ends the Psalms’ entire journey from lament to praise. Perhaps using something like Psalm 13 would have been more appropriate, with its “even so … I will trust” textual offering. Instead, Hicks pushes his chosen psalm into a place that is hard to imagine. Even where he points out the seemingly out-of-place verses (7-8) and calls them lament, they are likely more of a ‘war cry’ of doing God’s justice in battle. They are more akin to the victorious allied powers who were about to put the Nazi war criminals in the docket at Nuremberg than a lament of someone feeling abandoned by God.[10]
In still another section, Psalm 118:14 is used to show that when worshippers don’t feel like singing, they should be encouraged, because it is God doing the singing. While Hicks correctly utilizes Zephaniah 3:17 and Hebrews 2:12 to show that God does sing, Psalm 118:14 is not rendered in the same manner, varying from translation to translation. In the English Standard Version, “my song” can mean the subject or inspiration of my song. The New International Version renders song as “defense”, while the New Revised Standard Version renders song as “might”. With such a divergence of opinions on the use of the word, Psalm 118:14 is not the best choice of passages to depict God as a singer. Consequently, this is a good devotional chapter, but risks being so at the expense of theological clarity.
Even with lax exegesis and overstretched meanings of texts, Hinks provides significant high points to convey a biblical understanding of personal and corporate worship. Before We Gather is written in a heart-engaging style that affirms its role as a devotional work. At the same time, it could equally stand as a supplementary reading in academic courses. It is one of an increasing body of work designed specifically for worship leaders and teams that long to grow together in their understanding of worship ministry, and for this it should be highly recommended.
Johnny Markin, MWS, DWS, is an adjunct in Worship Arts at Northwest Seminary & College, Langley, BC. He has served as Worship Pastor/Director in several churches in the United Kingdom and Canada over the last 25 plus years, and is founder of WorshipLeaderInstitute.org, a worship leader training ministry.
Author Copyright.
Johnny Markin, review of Before We Gather: Devotions for Worship Leaders & Teams. Zak Hicks, Northwest Institute for Ministry Education Research, www.nimer.ca (May 23, 2025).
Notes
[1] Zac Hicks, Before We Gather: Devotions for Worship Leaders & Teams (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2023), 93.
[2] Hicks, 139.
[3] “… you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”, (1 Peter 2:5-9, ESV).
[4] Mike Cosper, Rhythms of Grace: How the Church’s Worship Tells the Story of the Gospel, 2013.
[5] Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters (Foreword by Paul Baloche): Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
[6] James K. A. Smith, Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Publishing Group, 2011).
[7] David G. Peterson and I. Howard Marshall, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship, (Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2002).
[8] William Dyrness, A Primer on Christian Worship: Where We’ve Been, Where We Are, Where We Can Go, (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2009).
[9] Hicks, Before We Gather, 108.
[10] As D.A. Carson, et al, point out in relation to Psalm 149:7-8, “God enlists his people into his army to punish the nations. Ps 2:1–3 foreshadows a conflict: the Lord and his anointed are on one side, and the rebellious kings of the earth are on the other (see 110:3 and note). When God’s faithful people praise him, they enter the battle on the Lord’s side, so they must be properly armed for their task (cf. Eph 6:10–18) … According to the NT, followers of Jesus the Messiah will participate as agents in the judgment (Matt 19:28; 1 Cor 6:2–3; Jude 14–15; Rev 20:4), which this and Dan 7:22 foreshadow.” D. A. Carson, ed., NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 1053.