The history of the Reformed tradition of Christianity is beautiful and bizarre. When I was an outsider looking in (I didn’t grow up in the Reformed tradition), I thought the tradition’s historical map was a lot more straight-lined than it was. I did not realize that within a generation or two after John Calvin, Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger, and Thomas Cranmer (I consider all these names, in varying ways, influencers in the Reformed reformation), there would be such a divergence … Read More
Spontaneity, Planning, and the Holy Spirit in Worship
In the Cracks For many of us who have been knowingly or unknowingly schooled by a certain influential slice of evangelical worship, our view of the Holy Spirit’s role in worship is pretty straightforward. The Spirit comes in the “cracks”–the surprising moments, the in-between times, the unplanned invasions. And, to God’s glory, Scripture describes the Spirit’s work in this way. We witness Jesus, for instance, sparring with a well-educated theologian with this little jab about the way salvation works: “The … Read More
Leading Worship Through a Major Church Crisis
It’s been a while since my last post. Most of you all know what has happened at Coral Ridge, and I’ve personally received a lot of love, prayers, and support from so many of you. Thank you! This blog, for me, has always been a place to think out loud by wrestling thoughts to the ground, processing in real time the ins and outs of one local worship leader who is asking questions about worship and pastoring in his little … Read More
Two Diagrams That are Captivating My Imagination Right Now
I’m continuing to chip away at this book of mine. It’s amazing to see the ways God is using the very chapters I’m working on to minister to specific and immediate needs in my life and the lives of my brothers and sisters at Coral Ridge. I’m working on a couple of diagrams that visual learners might appreciate. (Click on the diagrams for detail.) The “Gospel-Shaped” Emotional Journey of a Worship Service This is a kind of “schematic” of the … Read More
How Worship is the Most Important Form of Pastoral Care
I’ve been working on my book, The Worship Pastor (read about it here), and I came across this fabulous quote. Keep in mind that this is a Roman Catholic writer making these observations: For centuries, the liturgy, actively celebrated, has been the most important form of pastoral care. This was especially true of those centuries in which the liturgy was being created. Unfavourable conditions brought it about that in the late Middle Ages, in spite of the liturgy being celebrated … Read More
Exciting New Projects for Coral Ridge Music
I want to share two things that we’re doing with Coral Ridge Music that really light my fire. They are extensions and expressions of the way that we’re trying to think pastorally about the way we write and produce music for our local church…with the hope that it will help some other churches out there, too. A Kids’ Worship EP One of the things we felt burdened to do was to translate for kids some of the ways we’re experiencing the … Read More
How Singing Together Rehearses Mutual Submission
As I’m writing my book, I’m enjoying the disciplined privilege of dialoguing with old friends and mentors who sit on my shelves, reminding me of their ministry to my life. I was cracking open one relatively recent “old friend,” Resonant Witness: Conversations Between Music and Theology, edited by Jeremy Begbie and Steven Guthrie. I opened up Steven Guthrie’s amazing chapter, “The Wisdom of Song,” to discover fierce underlining. Many of the ideas I had interacted with in those pages were … Read More
So…I’m writing a book
(Read UPDATE #1)(Read UPDATE #2) I’m very excited to announce to my readers that I’ve got a book coming down the pipeline. I’m joining forces with a great team of folks over at Zondervan to deliver a project that has been on my heart for quite a while. The Back Story For the last five years, I’ve been thinking long and hard about my own journey as a worship leader, and I’ve been thinking a lot of those thoughts … Read More
In Search of the Emotionally Persuasive Liturgy
Over at Reformed Worship, I wouldn’t want you to miss an important post of mine that posits some very current questions I am asking. Once again, my investigation of Thomas Cranmer has proven a helpful launchpad into current worship issues and reflections. The questions I’m seeking Cranmer’s help in answering actually have a lot to do with yesterday’s post on my journey in listening better to the charismatic tradition. Maybe to encourage you to go check out the post, here … Read More
Listening to the Charismatic Tradition
If you’re a worship leader engaging in any way with the mainstream of the music of modern worship today, you are interacting with and encountering charismatic Christianity in some way, shape, or form. Lately, God has led me into a season of earnest listening to the Pentecostal and charismatic traditions (many understandably lump the two together, but the more I hear from them, the more I understand their distinctives). God has placed some pretty amazing friends and worship leaders in … Read More