Worship Weblog
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Report from ‘Writing as Christian Proclamation in Contemporary Contexts’
Report from Week 1 of Writing as Christian Proclamation in Contemporary Contexts: The Truth’s Superb Surprise, led by Debra Rienstra of Calvin College, sponsored by CICW and hosted by Seminars in Christian Scholarship:
Our first week has acquainted us with a variety of compelling Christian voices from (mostly) the past 10-15 years, including Anne Lamott, Kathleen Norris, Brian McLaren, and some intriguing newcomers such as Rob Bell and Russell Rathbun. We began with memoir and then moved to apologetics, noting how the two are becoming less distinct—an author today is more likely to embed an assertion of the truth of her faith in a personal narrative, which fleshes out beliefs with experience (or the other way around), while apologetics may ring hollow to readers now without personal reflections on doubt and struggle—argumentation alone isn’t enough (more on memoir here). We made Debra blush as we praised her book, but we had a point: the book has two important things we don’t usually think about as ingredients for apologetics: beautiful crafting and also consistent hospitality and respect for the reader. One of the most helpful words to tie these two together, offered by one participant, was witness. Meanwhile, we’ve all been struck by how differently two people can react to the same book, and develop different feelings toward the same author, especially with such a beautiful blend of different voices and experiences in the room.
Below are our beginning discussion questions from each day, and some summary statements that emerged from our discussion. Also read a blog reflection by participant Al Hsu, author and editor for InterVarsity Press. (Other links: blogs of Jana Riess of Publishers Weekly, who joined us all of last week, and Andy Crouch of Christianity Today, who joins us this week. Authors Vinita Hampton Wright and Al Hsu are here for the entirety of the seminar.)
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Monday, July 24, 2006
‘Worship Composition’ in Perspectives
Perspectives‘ current issue on worship includes this essay by CICW’s Greg Scheer.
Worship Composition: Looking Back, Looking Forward
by Greg ScheerToday’s worship is riddled with polarities. “Traditional” is set against “contemporary."1 Hymn is set against praise song. The wisdom of professional musicians is juxtaposed with the will of the untrained people in the pews. Some champion aesthetic quality of worship music, while others promote utility.2 Does this “either/or” mentality discourage us from exploring creative new forms of congregational song? Perhaps we have become like the barmaid in the Blues Brothers movie: “We have both kinds of music here: Country and Western!”
In the midst of these tensions, is there a way to build (or rebuild) bridges between conservatory-trained composers and the church?3 The answer calls for rigorous collaboration among composers, theologians, and church musicians.
The first step in charting new territory in church music is to understand the past. Looking back at the history of church music, we find an array of compositional possibilities that can be applied to future worship compositions. The following sections analyze various aspects of these historical worship musics to provide insight for fresh application to modern church compositions.
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Bunyan and Wesley e-books
Da Vinci Code: A Response - by Nicky Gumbel (also in Spanish)
Grace Abounding - by John Bunyan
John Wesley’s Journal
Pilgrim’s Progress, The - by John Bunyan
Way into the Holiest, The - Expositions of the Epistle to the Hebrews - by F.B. Meyer
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Alban Weekly on ‘A Ministry of All’
I believe many people within congregations operate with a vision of ministry that is too limited. For some of us, that limited vision results in our viewing ministry as something best done by professionals. For others, it means limiting ministry to that which is done within the confines of—or, at the very least, through the sponsorship of—the church.
Second, we live compartmentalized lives. What we do on Sunday isn’t connected with what we do in the rest of our lives—and that compartmentalization impacts clergy as well as laity.
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Friday, July 21, 2006
Report from ‘Global Consultation on Music and Missions’ 2
From Bert Polman (previous report):
Here are my comments on the final days of the Global Consultation on Music & Missions in St Paul, MN, which I attended during July 11-15 with some 200+ missionaries, ethnomusicologists, and other musical types interested in indigenous styles of Christian music. (You may recall that this event was partially funded by a grant from CICW.)
The plenary sessions for Thursday and Friday morning were led by Ron Man who did solid biblical teaching on worship and cultural engagement. Thursday evening, John Witvliet led worship (with Randy Engle at that sizeable ethnic instrument which western peoples call a pipe organ), and shared ”vertical habits” (among other things) with the conferees. During one of the breakout sessions I attended, the leader gave a wonderful talk about how worship is first of all our whole life and only secondly a specific event. Ironically for a conference so dedicated to redeeming and transforming many elements of culture, the concluding gospel hymn for that session featured the escapist sentiment, “You can have the whole world, but give me Jesus!”
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Reports from ‘The Preacher’s Oasis’
Reports from ’The Preacher’s Oasis‘ by co-presenter Mary Hulst: Day 1/Day 2/Days 3-5. Also see a report from the Center for Excellence in Preaching.
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Martin Marty on blogging and denominational politics
Safely one generation (which means about two and a half years) behind on each unfolding of new technology, I had to do some research via print media, my natural home, and the web itself. The latter took me to any number of formal comments about blogs, and to blogs about blogs. Several things come to mind at once. First, blogs are democratic, since geniuses and self-advertised idiots have equal access. Second, they can in rare instances be creative, since the human imagination, unrestrained especially when it belongs to an anonymous person, can come up with ingenious notions. Third, they can represent the worst kind of populism, allowing for every prejudice and idiocy to go unmonitored and criticized only by other bloggers. Cruise the web and you will find evidences abundant.
Last Thursday I spoke to the American Theological Library Association at its annual meeting. Several people who approached me after the talk mused about how the blog will change denominations and other religious structures. No one yet knows how or how much. They agree that it’ll be somewhat harder for backroom dealers to deal, power-brokers to go for broke, and establishments to keep reestablishing their power, limited as that is in denominations these days.
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Lauren Winner on Clergy Spouses as Ministry Partners
Lauren Winner with a wry piece in the Wall Street Journal:
Wifely Duties
If you’re married to clergy do you have to host church teas?
BY LAUREN F. WINNER
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Reports from Recent History of Worship seminar
Here are all the reports from the ’Recent History of Christian Worship‘ Seminar:
Day 9 - Worship shaped by wisdom rather than regulation; concluding reflections
Day 8 - Mystery and embodiment in worship; influence of cultural individualism
Day 7 - Three pieties common to different traditions; openness as an ideal of missional worship
Day 6 - Seven influences on changes in congregational song
Day 5 - African American traditions; worship and evangelism
Day 4 - Mainline liturgical developments; Arlo Duba
Day 3 - Charismatic movement and new paradigm churches
Day 2 - Vatican II continued; the authority of tradition
Day 1 - Introduction to Vatican II
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Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Worship at African Community Fellowship Church
Photo: Members of African Community Fellowship Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, display art they developed as part of their Vertical Habits series.
Report from Betty Grit on worship this past Sunday at African Community Fellowship Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., a Vertical Habits partner church with CICW:
Pastor Mwaya Wa Kitavi extended warm hospitality to us as visitors by inviting the congregation to sing their traditional African welcome song. With smiles and waving arms, their joyful voices told us that we are one with them. Throughout the service, music in African languages as well as English reminded us that throughout the globe, in many languages, we are all one in Christ. A young man and woman sang Precious Lord, Take My Hand, reminding us that we are one in Christ, through all generations.
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Report from ‘Global Consultation on Music and Missions’
From Bert Polman (filed last week):
I’m attending the Global Consultation on Music & Missions in St Paul, Minn., with some 200+ missionaries, ethnomusicologists, and other musical types interested in indigenous styles of Christian music. (This event is partially funded by a grant from CICW.) We began Tuesday evening with a wonderful procession of some 40 ethnic instruments from all over the world, and with worship songs from all over the world—some of them bi-lingual. Roberta King of Fuller Seminary gave the opening plenary address, and used in part texts from Isaiah 60-61 to speak about “Springs of Righteousness and Praise: A Doxology of the Nations.” She was followed by a Chinese conductor who spoke about the Chinese housechurch collection “Canaan Hymns”—over 900 texts by one Chinese village Christian woman—the Chinese equivalent of a Fanny Crosby!
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Monday, July 17, 2006
Report from ‘Googling Youth’ Conference
Report from Betty Grit about Googling Youth in Troubled Times, a conference held last week at Calvin College, co-sponsored by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.
As more than 100 teachers, pastors, youth leaders, parents and others interested in the spiritual formation of young people gathered in the Prince Conference Center for the Googling Youth Conference, David Smith reminded us that a “conference” means to confer. This group had gathered to learn from one another about how we can work together to nurture the faith development of youth.
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Monday, July 10, 2006
Recent History 9
Final report from the ”Recent History of Christian Worship” seminar:
The final two books we read for this seminar were Gaillardetz’s Transforming Our Days and Plantinga and Rozeboom’s Discerning the Spirits. Transforming Our Days focuses on technology. One participant observed that convenience drives technology and explored how this mentality affects worship and community practices. Another commented about the role of technology in relationships and suggested we should consider how technology affects our presence with others. The discussion centered on the idea that we should not get rid of technology; rather, we should discern how to use it.
Discerning the Spirits led into a discussion about the necessary and unnecessary aspects of worship. From its modeling, we proposed deliberately moving conversations about worship from an atmosphere of law to a rhetoric of wisdom. We brainstormed a list of possible conclusions to “Wise is the worshiping community that…” Some of these conclusions included “helps people connect Sunday prayer in congregational life with daily prayer,” “asks what will make the community richer,” “praises and laments,” “acknowledges sin,” “engages the body in worship,” and “knows it’s part of a worldwide Christian community.”
John concluded the seminar by asking what questions and ideas participants would take home with them. Here are several of responses:
• What is the role of emotion in worship?
• I want to learn more about praise and worship music and think about a balance of timely and timeless music in worship.
• I want to create a service with praise and worship music, but also meditative—one that is mysterious, intimate, and ritualistic.
• I want to convince my congregation to celebrate the Lord’s Supper more often.
• How can help my students more faithfully lead their congregations in worship?
• How can I get my pastor to stop worrying about numbers and start worrying about how we are changed when we go out in the world?
• How can we encourage a willingness to celebrate what each tradition does well and encourage a desire to learn from each other?
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Friday, July 07, 2006
Recent History 8
View the present through the promise, Christ will come again.
Trust despite the deepening darkness, Christ will come again.
Lift the world above its grieving through your watching and believing
in the hope past hope’s conceiving: Christ will come again. SNC 90:1
The first part of our discussion used Torevell’s Losing the Sacred as a starting point. Although some argued that this book makes judgments too soon, it was still helpful to foster a discussion on mystery and the use of the body in worship. One participant pointed out that there is a difference between mystery and not understanding something. Another described mystery not as something that is unknowable, but as something that you can keep studying and always have more to learn more. Another reminded us that we don’t have to know everything or be able to explain everything to everyone. He encouraged us to observe silence and allow time to wonder.
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Recent History 7
Report from the ”Recent History of Christian Worship” seminar:
We began today with a discussion on Michael Horton’s A Better Way. Horton uncompromisingly comes out of a strong reformed tradition. He emphasizes covenant, worship as dialogue, sovereignty of God, scripture and preaching, and the sacraments. Several participants spoke against his strong voice and his attacks on other traditions. One commented about the lack of missionary zeal, and another suggested his high view of the sermon occasionally bordered on idolatry.
Our discussion transitioned into examining different pieties that exist in just about every tradition: doctrinal, evangelistic, and sacramental. These different foci affect how ordinary church members, even within the same denomination, pray. We also commented on the influence popular Christian press and radio has on the local church regardless of denomination.
We then moved to a discussion of Gerardo Marti’s A Mosaic of Believers, which focuses on a mission driven church near Hollywood that emphasizes creativity, relevance, and culture. One participant described this church as “the church that flies by the seat of its pants.” Another explained, “Mosaic is not a Hollywood church but [for this church] Hollywood is a way of life that is mirrored in religious life.” In reaction to this congregation’s focus on being open and forward looking, one participant remarked that every group of people will eventually reach a point where they can stretch no further and maintain their identity. How does a group, such as this one that claims their identity is openness, determine where that point is? The discussion raised several other questions as well: How do congregations that target one demographic minister to the whole range of life experiences (from birth to death)? Are we just doing entertainment, or are we sharing arts in worship that draw people into asking deeper questions? Is the goal worship renewal or innovation, and how do these play out in the life of a congregation?
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