Robert E. Webber (1933–2007). Born on November 27, 1933, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a Baptist minister and missionary, Robert E. Webber was a theologian, professor, and influential evangelical thinker, not a traditional preacher, though his teachings shaped worship practices globally. Raised in Mitulu, Belgian Congo, until age seven, he returned to the U.S. after his mother’s death, growing up in Montgomery, Pennsylvania. Converted in his teens, he earned a BA from Bob Jones University (1956), a BD from Reformed Episcopal Seminary, an STM from Concordia Theological Seminary, and a ThD from Concordia (1968). Webber taught theology at Wheaton College (1968–2000) and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (2000–2007), founding the Institute for Worship Studies in 1998 to train worship leaders. His “Convergence Movement” blended evangelical zeal with liturgical traditions, influencing churches through his Ancient-Future series. He authored over 40 books, including Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail (1985), Ancient-Future Faith (1999), Ancient-Future Evangelism (2003), and Ancient-Future Worship (2008), advocating worship rooted in early church practices. Married to Joanne in 1955, he had four children—John, Cynthia, Douglas, and Jennifer—and died of pancreatic cancer on April 27, 2007, in Sawyer, Michigan, saying, “Worship is the retelling of God’s story to shape His people.”