It is bad theology to say, “You worship that way, but let me worship my way.” We do not worship only as far as we feel comfortable in the same way that we do not make ethical decisions as long as they meet our convenience. The world might do this but not people who...
What we are individually, twenty-four hours a day, is more important than what happens in church once a week. The secret of acceptable worship lies in how we are at home, or at work, and when we are alone and nobody knows what we are doing. It lies in our total...
I am afraid that in our day we are too often prone to think that God is only worshiped in the “Wow” moments, and then we begin to feel pressure as musician-ministers to “produce” those moments. We confuse inspiration and worse yet, cheap thrill with Spirit power. It...
It is sometimes forgotten that hymns are the offering of the entire congregation, not merely of the clergy and choir. In the worship of almost all Christian groups (even those with a pre-scribed liturgy) hymns are pre-eminently the part of corporate worship in which...
Paul actually expects Christ to be encountered as his people share with one another a whole range of verbal ministries in the congregational. For example, as they “sing psalms, hymns and spiritual song,” with gratitude in their hearts to God, they will fulfill the...
Music, of course, does not remake us; the Holy Spirit does. But it seems possible that music may be one means by which the Holy Spirit makes us people who feel and respond. We are brought to our senses. We are drawn out of the darkness of self-absorption and become...
Advent is not a season that is very popular… Once Thanksgiving is over…we want to push this in-between time of stillness aside and move on to Christmas. We are eager to begin putting up decorations and singing Christmas carols, to go shopping and plan parties—in...
It is a monumental accomplishment for 200 voices to sing one note in tune—let alone 80 minutes of 4 to 7-part harmony. And it takes everybody caring every second.
You never know where your idea is going to go but you’ve got a guarantee that it won’t go anywhere unless you share it. Put it out there. Sing the song. Write the book. Start the business. There’s a whole world waiting for your idea.
Martin Luther, when he walked in the woods, used to raise his hat to the birds and say, “Good morning, theologians—you wake and sing, but I, old fool, know less than you and worry over everything, instead of simply trusting in the heavenly Father’s care.