I don’t believe in allegorical interpretation of the Scriptures. I believe in understanding the Bible in its historical and grammatical context and interpreting passages of Scripture in light of human and divine authorial intent. Some might think that applying how OT Israel struggled with their physical enemies to how NT Christians struggle against the enemy is allegorical interpretation. Here’s why that’s not true. First, OT Israel’s struggle against their physical enemies (neighboring pagan nation-states such as Philistia, Ammon, Moab, etc.) … Read More
Put Your Offering in a Clever Soda Can
Because the Gospel isn’t motivation enough… (I don’t want to blast the company. I just got this email from a popular liturgical supplier. I honestly kept looking for the punchline. There wasn’t one.)
Important Large Church Makes a Bold Move to Unify Worship Services
Tullian Tchividjian, Senior Pastor of well-known Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, gave reasoning on his blog behind the bold move toward unifying the worship at their church. Coral Ridge will not be having services of different styles of music/liturgy/worship. They will all be the same. I applaud this effort wholeheartedly. I think his reasons are sound and Gospel-driven. They are a challenge to churches like mine that continue with services characterized by two different worship styles. I can’t imagine that the … Read More
“God is the Audience” a Poor Metaphor for Worship
“Worship is fundamentally a series of actions. We sing, we pray, we praise, we confess, we cry out to God. But none of our actions would mean much if God did not act as well…In fact, we could not worship at all if God did not invite us and enable us to do so…This is why the view of worship in which we are the actors, so to speak, and God is the audience—a view attributed to the Danish philosopher … Read More
Crowder and the Hymns Movement Converge
The David Crowder Band is hosting a Church Music Conference at Baylor University in Waco, TX, September 30-October 2. This is exciting on many levels. I’m pumped to see the name of a Friday breakout workshop: “A New Old Vision for Worship – Liturgical Spirituality for Post-Modern-Semi-Reformed-Hipsters.” Here’s what is truely exciting: more signs of the subversive growth of influence of the hymns movement are on the horizon. The David Crowder Band (for those who didn’t know) is THE name … Read More
The Cows in the Corn: Lessons in Worship Style Perspective
This funny and painful parable preaches more eloquently in a nutshell to the issue of traditional worship vs. contemporary worship, modern worship vs. classical worship, than I ever could. It’s all about perspective. Of course, it’s hyperbole. Only those who have truly wrestled with bridging the gap in the worship wars can truly appreciate both sides of this. **** An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church. He came home and his wife … Read More
Tonight’s Prayer
O Lord,Give me Your love for my wife.Give me Your love for my children.Give me Your love for Your Church.Give me Your love for the lost.All founded upon Your love for me.Amen.
The Higher the Liturgy, the More Scripture is Heard
Yesterday’s post, “The Higher the Liturgy, the Lower the Preaching” was made as a generalization based on D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ observations of England 40 years ago and of mine in the present. Dissenting commenters made a good point, however…which I don’t believe is in contradiction with yesterday’s observation. Their comments can be summarized in an experience relayed to me by Don Sweeting–former pastoral mentor and colleague, and now President of Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. Don took a much needed … Read More
The Higher the Liturgy, the Lower the Preaching
It is fascinating that a book published in 1971 has so much relevance to very current trends in church worship right now. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ Preaching and Preachers (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971) was aimed at British churches (and, secondarily, US churches) who were discounting the importance of preaching in the life of the church. Lloyd-Jones makes several observations which are nearly graph-able in their correspondence. One such observation is noticing the correlation between the greater emphasis on formal liturgy and … Read More
The Big Picture of Indelible Grace: Kevin Twit and the Ryman Hymnsing
“Edible Grace…what?” That’s the type of reaction I get when I talk to mainstream evangelical worship leaders about the hymns movement and their golden boy, Indelible Grace. IG is a move back to substantive modern worship. Their M.O. is to combine modern folk and rock instrumentation with old hymn texts. Many people misunderstand “old hymns to new music” as throwing a contemporary beat and sound on a hymn…just think of all the forced, “contemporary” versions out there of “Great is … Read More