Reformation and Worship in Leipzig under Bach Leading up to a quick summary of the music of the Reformation and beyond, I cover the ideas of biblical craftsmanship and some of the ways that the Enlightenment began to shift the idea and focus of music. Calvin, Zwingli, English Puritans, and Luther express their various thoughts […]
A Short History of Music in the Church, Part 4 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 »
Outside of music, one of my great passions is history. Most evenings, after my children are asleep, you can usually find me in my library or on my back porch, engrossed in some bygone era. While reading in British historian John Keegan’s The American Civil War, I was struck by a passage that touched on my
“Jesus, Lover of my Soul” 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 »