Longer Form Articles
We have probably all heard that there is an “audience of one” in worship. While the sentiment of the phrase tries to focus our attention on God (which is good), it is simply not true. A worship service is intended to be a table set for at least two, even three, yeah four. Certainly, we speak, […]
Service For Two, Please Read More »
The use of narrative passages of Scripture in a worship service can pose some difficulties for a music director. If the choice of music is governed by how best to support the preaching of the Word, as I believe it should be, you want the hymns or psalms you choose to relate to the passage
Music and narratives Read More »
The church musician has been given a number of titles: Music Director, Music Minister, Worship Leader, Chief Musician, Pastor of Worship, etc. Diva could be added to the list, but let’s assume no one wants that title. Which title is best? In reality there is probably a lot of crossover. Greg, Henry, and I (authors
Director, Minister, Leader, Chief, or Pastor Read More »
The following post first appeared with Christward Collective last year. The season of Easter draws to a close with the Ascension and Pentecost—the final days of the earthly ministry of Christ and the birthday of the church. There’s a very real sense in which the work of the resurrection is not complete until the ascension
Hymns for Ascension Read More »
The idea of consonance reaches far beyond the idea of pleasant sounds or music. To be sure, consonance in music can be readily expressed and comprehended—partly because we have an innate sense of what accord or agreement should be. However, consonance, or harmoniousness, is a principle that pertains to much of life: health, relationships, society,
The Glorious Consonance of the Ascension Read More »
One temptation for the church musician is to become overly focused on crafting an experience for worshippers. We can easily spend a lot of time developing a certain feel to a liturgy or a certain genre of music. This is a distraction at best and leads us away from the Word at worst. Though worship
Stop Crafting a Worship Experience Read More »
God commands His people to worship and our response to that call is much more about obedience than our feelings. One could argue that when we do not feel like going to church or participating in worship that that is indicative of our very need to do so—to obey the command to worship, to heed
Acting and Feeling Read More »