Dead Worship, Anyone? Every new worship leader goes through that painful transition period where the rose-colored glasses come off and you realize that not everyone is as “into” worship as you are. Part of the reason you took on this role is that you simply love to worship God with the people of God, and your fervor is spilling over. But, when you’re doing it week in and week out, and when you’re looking out upon the countenances, posture, and … Read More
The Worship Leader and the Trinity, Part 2
Andrei Rublev, Angels at Mamre**FREE BOOK GIVEAWAY of Doxology & Theology, released last week, still going on. Enter by going here.** The previous post in this two-part series outlined the first half of my chapter, “The Worship Leader and the Trinity,” in Doxology & Theology: How the Gospel Forms the Worship Leader, where we saw how the Trinity effects the possibility and proximity of worship and protects the priority and purity of worship. We now move from high-level to ground-level in processing a … Read More
The Worship Leader and the Trinity, Part 1
**You’ve got ONE MORE WEEK to sign up for the FREE BOOK GIVEAWAY of Doxology & Theology, released last week. Enter by going here.**
In honor of the release of Doxology & Theology: How the Gospel Forms the Worship Leader, I want to cliff-note-outline my chapter in two parts in hopes that (a) it will make the topic of the Trinity in worship even more digestible, and (b) it will entice some of you to get this great book and read it in its entirety. I want to start by saying that the Trinity, or God’s three-in-oneness, is one of the most relevant, applicable doctrines for living out the Christian faith on the ground level. Think of any issue in life, from the highly philosophical to the mundanely pragmatic, and it can–and should–be informed, indeed formed, by the Trinity. If you have a hard time seeing this, I’d suggest Michael Reeves’ Delighting in the Trinity (135 pages) as an accessible starting place, then graduating up to Fred Sanders’ The Deep Things of God (256 pages) as a good next step.
Doxology & Theology – FREE Book Giveaway!
Doxology & Theology Released May 1, 2013 I’m pleased to announce the release of Doxology & Theology: How the Gospel Forms the Worship Leader, edited by Matt Boswell and authored by some of my favorite worship leaders in the US. I had the privilege of contributing a chapter on how the Worship Leader is shaped by the Trinity, synthesizing important theological reflections on what it means to be truly Trinitarian in our worship. This book is by worship leaders, for worship … Read More
Rhythms of Grace – A Book Every Worship Leader Should Read
A few weeks ago, I picked up Mike Cosper’s Rhythms of Grace (Crossway, March 2013) and quickly devoured it. Mike is Pastor of Worship & Arts at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY. That I knew I would love and highly recommend the book is a no-brainer, because Mike and I have tracked along the thought-patterns of many of the same theologians, philosophers, thinkers, writers, and practitioners in the field of Christian worship today. I want to point out a few … Read More
Thoughts on the Altar Call
The altar call is a sensitive topic In the almost four years of this blog’s life, I’ve yet to post on the use of the altar call in worship. It’s important to me to remain respectful of other traditions outside my own (Presbyterian/Reformed) and to try to understand practices from the inside out as opposed to from the outside in. The altar call is actually something I have a lot of (positive) experience with, having grown up in a wonderful, … Read More
Glenn Packiam’s The Mystery of Faith – Another Testament to Modern Worship’s Increasing Embrace of Liturgy
Pentecostalism Meets Historic Liturgy Several years ago, while still in Colorado, my wife, kids, and I stopped by New Life Church in Colorado Springs one Sunday evening to worship with the saints there. Glenn Packiam was pastoring the community of Christians what would regularly gather in one of their smaller spaces on the megachurch campus. I was taken aback by how much historic liturgy and practices were incoprorated into that service, especially when it was coming out of a church … Read More
What the Church is Informs what Worship Looks Like
Pragmatists by Birthright We evangelicals have pragmatism encoded in our DNA. To “do what works” is so instinctual it sometimes feels as though we’ve come up with a sixth sola—solus whateverworkus. We think this way because it’s part and parcel to the Western American psyche and because, well, “doing whatever works” works. The proof is in the pudding. The statistics don’t lie. Pragmatism is not inherently evil. In fact, pragmatism is a sub-set of something very good and very biblical—wisdom. … Read More
Why the Spirit is the Artist’s Best Friend
“May Hour of Pentecost,” by Makoto FujimuraBringing Life & Bringing Beauty There is an interesting link worth pondering between the Holy Spirit’s creative and aesthetic roles. Scripture speaks often of the unique role of the Spirit in vivifying—bringing life. Job 33:4 exclaims, “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Isaiah prophesies, “The Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems … Read More
What Does Spirit-Filled Worship Look Like?
“Holy Spirit Coming,” by He QiThere’s a lot of talk about what the Spirit does in worship. Often, we hear assumptions about His work through comments like, “Wow, the Spirit was really moving this Sunday!” or, “I really felt the Spirit’s presence during that song.” Often times, we equate the Spirit’s presence and power with spontaneity coupled with ecstatic emotional experience. I do not want to take away from this in what I am about to say, because I believe … Read More