Trendy worship songs come and go like the evening news cycle. Rather than focus on novelty, we should choose songs that people know and teach them songs with a timeless quality.
Performance Versus Participation (Part 1)
Just as the pulpit symbolically represents the church’s teaching ministry, the stage and the pew—for our purposes—represent two competing views of worship—performance and participation.
Do Church Worship Bands Keep People From Singing?
Body
“In most churches today, the worship time has become a concert. People love the music, but they don’t know the words, and so they just watch. I visit churches pretty much for a living, and as I look around during the services, the vast numbers of the congregation are watching the stage and listening, not singing.” - Phil Cooke
Theology and the Power of Music (Part 2)
It is disappointing when a church that would never let a false teacher into their doors or stand in their pulpit, allows the influence of that deception to enter through one of the most powerful tools God has given to mankind—music.
A New Look at the Good Old Hymns
Body
“We should evaluate the positives and negatives of the gospel hymns, asking questions of the genre and of ourselves. To conclude this series, I would like to present several aspects of the gospel hymns that we as modern believers can learn from.” - P&D
Theology and the Power of Music (Part 1)
Music is so important to God’s people that the largest book in the Bible is a songbook, not only meant to help them worship in song, but also given by God through His Spirit to shape their thinking and guide their emotions.
Defining True Worship, Part 2
In John 4, Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman reveals a pivotal shift in worship. “The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (Jn 4:23). This statement revolutionizes the concept of worship.
Defining True Worship, Part 1
True worship runs far deeper than any stylistic expression. It is not merely the sound we produce but the surrender we offer. Pastors, worship leaders, and all church leaders must recapture the biblical vision of worship.
The New Sacrament?
Body
“All of this came to mind when I read Bob Smietana’s article for Religious News Service entitled If Jesus showed up today, would he play guitar? He was reporting on the Conference on Contemporary Praise and Worship held this summer in Nashville, in which scholars came together to discuss, among other things, ‘whether worship music has become a new sacrament.’” - Gene Veith
Help! I Don’t Like My Church’s Music
Body
“Many faithful Christians are committed to churches they love, even if they don’t always care for the music. They join and stay because the preaching is biblicalb…. Because music engages our affections, though, it can be painful when we don’t love our church’s music.music.” - TGC
