As of late, there have been some very important reflections on the state of Christian music (whatever you think of the phrase, I’m using it as shorthand). Two weeks ago, I had a face-to-face discussion with a man who’s been in the industry for quite some time, working for some pretty influential major labels. For an industry-insider, he was surprisingly blunt about the industry, sharing a lot of critique centering around basically two realities (which many people have pointed out): … Read More
Famous Modern Worship Leader Seeks PhD in Theology
Critics who paint modern worship as being thoughtless, a-theological, and mind-numbing are having to come to grips with an increasingly large canvas. Their broad-brush strokes aren’t so broad, anymore. Modern worship is diversifying its portfolio. Could we ever have imagined ten years ago that a major touring modern worship artist would pursue theological education at the doctoral level? No, Chris Tomlin isn’t headed to Harvard.
Is “God Inhabits the Praises of His People” Really Biblical?
I reluctantly lift up the truce-flag of exegetical honesty. I desperately want it to say it. Many worship leaders (including myself) have quoted it as saying it. It would be a great proof-text-style summary verse for a very important aspect of the theology of worship. But the fact is that the translational evidence leans heavily against us being able to say that “God inhabits the praises of His people” is an accurate rendering of the Hebrew of Psalm 22:3. Now, it is certainly a possible translation, but it is not the one that makes the best sense of the poetry. Before we unpack this, let’s look at why it would be so valuable for it to say what it doesn’t say.
Do Some of Our Historic Images of Jesus Hinder Our Ability to See God as Joyful?
If you don’t think that art has the ability to shape the spirituality and worship of the Church, hopefully this little exercise will shift your perspective. What’s your reaction to the statement, “God is an intensely joyful God”? Or, perhaps more starkly, “God is Joy.” My Pentecostal brothers and sisters have no problem with joy in worship. Modern worship capitalizes on it. But what about the more traditional-liturgical traditions? Is there a sense of joy in our worship? Many of … Read More
If You’re Trying to Think More Pastorally About Worship…
If you’re trying to think more pastorally about worship, then you should read this interview. It is both a model of what pastoral thinking looks like and a display of some application of thinking pastorally in the local church context. Bobby Gilles, over at My Song in the Night has a great set of Q & A with Bruce Benedict of Cardiphonia. My favorite two parts of this interview: Bobby Gilles: What do you say to a pastor or worship leader … Read More
Our Worship is a Measurement of What God is Worth to Us
Both the content of and effort in our worship say something about what God is worth to us. Often we don’t realize that even mundane decisions we make about worship speak to how we view God’s worth. We evangelicals are often accused of being pragmatic in our decision-making when it comes to worship–and for good reason. We have a long history of making decisions based on pragmatics like “what will get the most people in the door,” or “what’s most convenient for guests.” Certainly these aren’t all bad considerations, but we do need to ask important questions about where such considerations fit within the hierarchy of our priorities for worship.
Eleven Reasons Why Singing Is Important
As a worship leader who tries to engage people pastorally, I not infrequently encounter men and women who don’t care one bit about the singing portion of a worship service. It’s pulling teeth for them. There are a host of reasons. Often times, it’s personal–they don’t feel they have a good voice, or the emotion tied to singing is uncomfortable and foreign for them. Sometimes it’s philosophical–they believe that the only important part of a worship service is the sermon and so they just want to “get on with it.”
Worship Reading Goals for 2012
Worship leaders should be worship readers, so here’s my ambitious list for 2012 (off the heels of what I have read in 2011). These are the books I want to focus on in the field of worship, but they won’t be the only things I read. In fact, I want to take seriously C. S. Lewis’s admonishment to read one old book for every new one. These are all relatively new books, and though I won’t read as many old … Read More
My Favorite Worship Reads from 2011
The beginning of 2011, for me, was largely about getting a recording out the door. Halfway through, I picked up a few books, and I’ll mention the ones that had the most impact in the area of worship, music, & arts. I’ll post my anticipated reads for 2012 later this week.
**If you’re a pastor, worship leader, or worship thinker, I’d love to know what books, articles, or other works influenced you this past year. Please share!**
John Jefferson Davis, Worship and the Reality of God: An Evangelical Theology of Real Presence (2010)
This one lit a fire under me, and I’ve been challenging others I know to read it. Its central thesis: evangelical worship needs to recover a sense that God is truly present among us in a unique way when we gather for worship. It not only diagnoses the historical and theological reasons why evangelical worship lacks a sense of God’s real presence, it proposes very helpful solutions to the problem. It is my number-one recommendation to my readership. If you can only read one book on worship this year, read this one.
What’s STILL Great About the Organ? A Guitarist’s Perspective
I serve in a worship environment that some might consider akin to “the wolf lying down with the lamb.” I share office space with a world-class opera singer and one of the finest organists in the Denver Metro region. Many Sundays, I crank up my Gibson ES-339 in a reverberant sanctuary alongside a drum enclosure which shares visual and symbolic space with a huge, expensive Wicks pipe organ. I am an ever-growing, ever-learning rock musician with a modest but effective bachelor-level classical music education. And I love pipe organ music, especially when accompanying congregational hymns.