…or is beauty in the ‘ear’ of the beholder? T. David Gordon, author of “Why Johnny Can’t Sing Hymns” answers thusly: Yes, and there are objective criteria for what makes some music better than other music. Sacred music has special...
Unless an individual chooses to listen to different kinds of music, the only thing that individual will hear (most of the time) is pop. Sure, one’s sensibilities can be shaped deliberately, and many of us have developed tastes that we...
Yes, it can be, says Tim Keller, citing Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians 14 as evidence: 1. Nonbelievers are expected to be present in Christian worship. In Acts 2 it happens by word-of-mouth excitement. In 1 Corinthians 14 it is...
When the Bible calls us to sing God’s praises, we are not given the tunes or the rhythm. We are not told how repetitive the lyrics are to be or how emotionally intense the singing should be. When we are...
That is, does church feature different kinds of music at different services? Do the children or young people have a separate worship gathering of their own apart from the main congregation? Tullian Tchvidian of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church writes: …Many...
Not sure whether to laugh or cry… HT: Ryan Flanigan, Reform Worship
Good thoughts from David Baroni via CCLI blog: It takes a degree of trust to launch out with other musicians into the unknown waters of spontaneous composition. Our tendency, especially as Greek-mindset influenced westerners who rely on empiricism- that is,...
In the first family, God was looking for true worshipers. Between Cain and Abel, he found only one. “The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but He did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain became...
Ed Stetzer of Lifeway has seven helpful tests to filter through song selections for worship, five of which are cultural rather than theological. The third (Association test) has this anecdote: I was…speaking to a group of pastors, some of whom...
Great post here by Ed Stetzer titled “Ending the Worship Wars without a Truce.” His thoughts about ending the “periennal war over worship” includes these 5 ideas: Rally around Truth, not a truce Acknowledge that preferences are personal Realize relevance...