Canned bread. Bread in a can… I did not believe that such a thing as a canned bread existed until someone showed it to me in their cupboard. Apparently, B&M – a Portland, Maine, based company – manufactures and cans this stuff. There are plenty of people here in New England who love it. They eat… Read More »
Why is it that when we talk about children’s ministry in the church, we often think of cartoon characters and bright colors; but when we think of “adult church”, it is often drab or dark? For Thanksgiving service this year, we printed out some color sheets and put baskets of crayons at the tables for… Read More »
In November, I will be teaching a series called “Singing Theology.” We will be talking quite a bit about music and worship. Over the years, my thinking on this issue has swung back and forth a bit. On Sunday, our congregation sang people’s favorite hymns. Generally, we worship using music from many different ages. We… Read More »
Recently, someone showed me a “new worship song”. They were so excited about the way it made them feel closer to God. The “new worship song” opened with a pretty, melodic piano piece and was then followed by a single phrase – something like “I want to see you” – repeated five or six times… Read More »
Myths are powerful things. They are stories that might have some grounding in truth but are usually expanded far beyond their original scope. They drive and control the lives of those who accept them as fact without considering whether they align with reality. Recently, I sent a link to this article from Jon Nicol about worship… Read More »
Worship cannot be generated through mood lighting or great musicians because the source of worship must be the understanding (in part, 1 Corinthians 13:12) of God’s glory in Jesus Christ. Worship is not of this world; it is an attribute of resurrection. Only those raised in Christ can truly worship.
Worship can be found in all of these things, to some extent, but worship’s core is the person of Jesus Christ. At the very core of worship must be the gospel – that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, come to redeem and restore all of creation.
manifesto (ˌmænɪˈfɛstəʊ) — n , pl -tos , -toes a public declaration of intent, policy, aims, etc, as issued by apolitical party, government, or movement I am endlessly fascinated by the machinations of the modern church, in our varied attempts to justify our own existence. When we feel that sentiment is pulling toward social engagement, we become activists. When it is pulling toward leadership and programming, we become businessmen. When it pulls toward conversionism, we become evangelists. There… Read More »
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FqpJlqqvjQ] This is from November 2010, right before the merger. It is interesting in a couple of ways – not just how the stage and band has been shuffled and reformed but also the congregation that is gathered (although we can only see the backs of people’s heads). I love our musicians and cannot wait… Read More »
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