I decided to try my hand at video-blogging. I hope that for those of you who weren’t able to attend, you’re able to see and hear more clearly the sights and sounds of what made this conference special. Cardiphonia has put together a great run-through of the entire conference. Check it out. And here are some of my random takeaways. The Best Thing About the Conference: Love Challenges HipsterdomI’ll be honest. Bifrost Arts is just hip. Sufjan is VERY … Read More
Bifrost Arts Conference: Liturgy, Music, & Space – Nicholas Wolterstorff on Why Church Architecture Matters
CHECK OUT MY VIDEO BLOG OF THE WHOLE CONFERENCE Go to Bifrost Arts Conference Video Blog INFO Plenary Session: “Does Your Church Building Say What it Should Say?” Nicholas Wolterstorff was the Noah Porter Professor of Philosophical Theology at Yale University, and taught at Yale from 1989 until he retired in June 2002. Previously, he taught at Calvin College, the Free University of Amsterdam, and the University of Notre Dame and was visiting professor at several institutions. After concentrating on … Read More
Bifrost Arts Conference: Liturgy, Music, & Space – Greg Thompson on Why Liturgy is Important
As I can, I’ll post my notes from the Liturgy, Music, & Space conference in St. Louis, MO. Cardiphonia and I are in an arms race to see who can post first about it all. Hopefully I’ll win! 🙂 INFO Plenary Session: “The Order of Worship and the Order of Love” Greg Thompson is the Senior Pastor for Worship at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesviille, Virginia. Prior to this, he served as Reformed University Fellowship campus minister at the University … Read More
iPad / iPhone Christmas Prelude at North Point
The sacred and the profane meet on a whole new level. What do you think? What does this say?
Keeping Worship Fresh by Widening Your Use of the Names of God
A while back, I wrote a review of Worship Words, by Debra Rienstra and Ron Rienstra. This is a rich and important work. Chapter Seven, “Naming God,” speaks into how we as worship leaders and congregants can keep worship fresh. The authors point out that the more we understand the diversity of the names and expressions of God in Scripture, the more our “theological and doxological imaginations” (my term) are kept fresh and vital. We worship leaders and congregants often … Read More
A Pastoral Letter to a Concerned Parishioner on the Sacred-Secular Distinction
(true name/identity concealed) Thanks, Kevin, I appreciate your response and dialogue. So many times, people keep their struggles to themselves, or (worse) complain without a good “theological dialogue” with a pastor or leader. I appreciate that you feel the freedom to bring thoughts to me, and I take them well, because I trust you, your heart, and your thoughts. God bless you! If I have to sum up some of the difference between your position and mine (and at this … Read More
Great Critique of the Crowder Worship Conference
In his Christianity Today article, arts pastor W. David O. Taylor shares his insights from his time as a presenter and participator in Crowder’s Fantastical Church Music Conference. (I keep posting about this conference because I believe it’s a significant marker in modern church music history.) Here’s some dialogue with a few quotes from the article: You know you are at a worship conference sponsored by David Crowder when a fog machine kicks in and gobo lights wash the stage … Read More
Worship: Exchanging Hip for Intergenerational
Our church has been on an ongoing quest to integrate ministries and capitalize on one of the things many congregations don’t have—an age spread. We’ve come to the conclusion that ministry to one another and to the world will only be as effective as we move to a ministry/mission model which is: (1) less program-driven and more people-centered; (2) less segregated and more integrated and intergenerational. In a recent post, Pastor Tullian Tchividjian pointed out that their church opted for … Read More
Bifrost Arts from a Mainstream Worship Perspective
Check out how one blogger described their experience of joining with Bifrost Arts in worship at the David Crowder Fantastical Church Music Conference. It’s reveals how far people like us have to go in the quest to bridge the worlds of historicity and liturgy with mainstream evangelical worship: Bitfrost Arts, a hymn-sing group from…well, I can’t remember if it was from Virginia or Missouri, but regardless, their sound was at the same time familiar and mysterious. Instead of relying on … Read More
Kauflin Shares Insights on Crowder’s Church Music Conference
Bob Kauflin, Sovereign Grace pastor and worship leader, author of Worship Matters, and blogger at worshipmatters.com, reflects on his time participating in Crowder’s Fantastical Church Music Conference last weekend. As the time was drawing near for this event, I posted about why this conference was significant, especially from the perspective of the hymns movement. See Kauflin’s whole post, but here are some of my takeaways: Isaac Wardell and Bifrost Arts “led us in a low-key but engaging time of singing … Read More