In November, I will be teaching a series called “Singing Theology.” We will be talking quite a bit about music and worship. Over the years, my thinking on this issue has swung back and forth a bit. On Sunday, our congregation sang people’s favorite hymns. Generally, we worship using music from many different ages. We… Read More »
The Content of Worship
Recently, someone showed me a “new worship song”. They were so excited about the way it made them feel closer to God. The “new worship song” opened with a pretty, melodic piano piece and was then followed by a single phrase – something like “I want to see you” – repeated five or six times… Read More »
Break Away from the Myths
Myths are powerful things. They are stories that might have some grounding in truth but are usually expanded far beyond their original scope. They drive and control the lives of those who accept them as fact without considering whether they align with reality. Recently, I sent a link to this article from Jon Nicol about worship… Read More »
The Blues
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWqA1Z4lPHw] When I was learning the guitar, my dad had a whole bunch of blues tablature books. There were some modern players like Jeff Beck and Jerry Garcia, but most of his books were about acoustic, finger style blues. I cut my teeth on stuff like “Black Snake Moan” by Lemon Jefferson and old, old… Read More »
Worship Manifesto, post 3
Worship cannot be generated through mood lighting or great musicians because the source of worship must be the understanding (in part, 1 Corinthians 13:12) of God’s glory in Jesus Christ. Worship is not of this world; it is an attribute of resurrection. Only those raised in Christ can truly worship.
Worship Manifesto, post 2
Worship can be found in all of these things, to some extent, but worship’s core is the person of Jesus Christ. At the very core of worship must be the gospel – that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, come to redeem and restore all of creation.
Worship Manifesto, post 1
manifesto  (ËŒmænɪˈfÉ›stəʊ) — n  , pl -tos , -toes a public declaration of intent, policy, aims, etc, as issued by apolitical party, government, or movement I am endlessly fascinated by the machinations of the modern church, in our varied attempts to justify our own existence. When we feel that sentiment is pulling toward social engagement, we become activists. When it is pulling toward leadership and programming, we become businessmen. When it pulls toward conversionism, we become evangelists. There… Read More »
Childlike Wonder
I wouldn’t trade being the father of a little girl for anything in the world. My sister has five sons (ages 11-1), and I have a couple of friends with lots of boys. I wouldn’t mind having a boy as well, but Ariel is a tremendous joy. Her friend Paige comes over a couple times… Read More »
Music Flashback
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FqpJlqqvjQ] This is from November 2010, right before the merger. It is interesting in a couple of ways – not just how the stage and band has been shuffled and reformed but also the congregation that is gathered (although we can only see the backs of people’s heads). I love our musicians and cannot wait… Read More »
Raise Your Voices
Worth watching and considering. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqVWx-rXCkI&sns=em]
