Worship Weblog
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Report from Louisville Consultation
Here in Louisville, Kristen and I have been attending a consultation of religion websites funded by the Lilly Endowment.
It’s been a great opportunity to re-connect with colleagues from these other websites, some with very similar aims for their sites, some very different, but all coming with something to teach, something to learn, and experiences to share. We’ve been paying particular attention to visual presentation of our site, including how we could make increased use of graphics and photos. I also gave a presentation yesterday on how CICW has developed various resources over the past year that make use of RSS feeds.
As always, we welcome any questions or suggestions you have about our website that will help us serve you better.
You can also receive a quarterly e-newsletter about these Lilly-funded religion sites.
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Friday, October 27, 2006
Reflections on “counsel” and “tree” in Psalm 1
As we reflected on Psalm 1 in staff meeting this week (by singing SNC #85), I was struck by how weak the English word “advice” is in the first verse. (I’m persuaded that the NRSV is generally the
best available English translation of the Bible, but no translation is perfect.)
Advice is worth two cents—at least, that’s what an honest person will tell you when offering her advice: “This is just my two cents, but if you want my advice…” “Counsel” is a weightier word, although a little dated (as is the phrase “walk in the counsel,” which was used by the KJV translators, following the lead of Wycliffe’s “yede [goes] not in the councel of wickid men”). “Counsel” might capture a little more of the Hebrew word etsah (“counsel, advice, purpose”). Etsah seems like more of an deliberate strategy, a detailed plan, not casually-dispensed opinion or an answer from Ann Landers. Etsah is the word used for “plan” in the first verse of Isaiah 30:
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CRC Disability Concerns office and issues related to worship and disabilities
We were grateful to meet as a staff recently with Rev. Mark Stephenson, the new director of Disability Concerns for the Christian Reformed Church, to discuss multiple issues related to disability and worship.
The work of Disability Concerns was examined recently in the Journal of Religion, Disability and Health, in an article by Rev. Eric Pridmore:
Summary: The Christian Reformed Church is presented as a “model” for inclusion of people with disabilities in relation to both society’s legislative responses to disability rights culminating in the ADA and the denomination’s decision to “conform” to the ADA is to be located in its theology and its position with respect to social location as an immigrant church with Calvinist leanings. The response of New Hope Church in Atlanta is critiqued as a “test case” of the CRC’s ADA policy which indicates mixed compliance. However, the CRC is affirmed as a pattern for other denominations to follow.
Also see our Vital Worship feature story on disability and worship, and Friendship Ministries.
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Redeemer Presbyterian monthly prayer theme
Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City provides a monthly prayer theme for prayer and reflection. This month’s theme is “A Spirit of Humility: Let us come before Christ our King in humility and allow Him to heal our city.” Also see Redeemer’s excellent page of resources for prayer.
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Emily Brink honored with Alumni Award
We celebrate with Emily Brink, who was honored last week with a Distinguished Alumni Award from the Campus Chapel and Center for Faith and Scholarship in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Update from Keith and Kristyn Getty
Update from Keith and Kristyn Getty in their monthly newsletter (sign up at www.gettymusic.com:
Dear Friends,
The past month has probably been the busiest month we’ve ever known, as we’ve been combining a busy touring schedule with recording a new album.
This album is the first recording, which both of us have worked on together and recorded ourselves. It features fresh versions of many of our songs about the birth, life, words, death, resurrection and return of Christ; all sung by Kristyn.
...
For more, go to www.gettymusic.com.
We look forward to worshiping with the Gettys at Symposium 2007!
Also see our Vital Worship feature story on the Gettys and an interview with Keith Getty in the current issue of Reformed Worship.
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Hastings College article on worship grant
Article from Hastings College in Nebraska on its Worship Renewal Grant:
“The grant has affirmed the on-campus conversations we have had about worship, and allows us to draw others into our conversations,” McCarthy said. “The students in Chapel Worship Band have learned a lot about worship, and I’m proud of the maturity they bring to their work as we meet with churches that are dealing with some of the same issues we face on campus.”
Also see Hastings College’s poster:
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Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Report from Workshop on Leading Worship Renewal
Betty Grit reports on a workshop on leading worship renewal held last week at Grand Rapids Christian High School, sponsored by Volunteers in Service:
Intentional focus on worship renewal can take many forms and will have unexpected results. Four project directors recently led a workshop in which they shared their experiences and provided insights for those who may wish to lead a process of worship renewal in a congregation.
- Stan Mast described how La Grave Avenue Christian Reformed Church engaged in a year-long study of youth in worship, especially traditional worship. They discovered that style of worship doesn’t matter. What is important is that worship be filled with Passion for God, that worshipers be confident that there is a Place for them and that they have opportunity for Participation. Pastor Mast told us that he recently planned a worship service with eight young people. Their contribution to the planning process led them to express their appreciation for the worship service and the significance it had for them.
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Story and Worship blog from Jeff Barker
Jeff Barker, a friend of CICW and partner in the Vertical Habits project, has a new blog, Story and Worship, that will include serial short stories on the art and story of worship.
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Alban Weekly on Promoting Healthy Congregations
From Alban Weekly: Excerpt of Peter Steinke’s Healthy Congregations:
Congregational leaders are the key stewards of the congregation as a unit in itself. They, by virtue of their positions in the system, can most promote congregational health. More important than any of the conditions congregations face is the capacity of their leaders to make clear and effective responses to the conditions. On what specific items or forces, then, will they need to focus in order to impact the health of their respective congregations? What generally influences congregational health? Seven health promoters do—purpose, appraisal and management of conflict, clarity, mood and tone, mature interaction, healing capacities, and a focus on resources.
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Monday Prayer from William Willimon
Monday Prayer by William Willimon, in his weekly column.
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What Worship Leaders Could Learn from Bono
WorshipHelps shares 7 Worship Leading Principles that pastor and author Dr. Steven Taylor got from Bono:
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5. Create hope by drawing the best from the past. Bono tells the audience in the Vertigo DVD, “We as a band are looking to the future. We’re taking the best of the past and moving forward with hope.”
6. Plan participation. Bono can draw one boy from the audience to sing to, one woman from the audience to dance with. He uses repetition to call forth prayer and encourage congregational singing.
7. Invoke passionate practices
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‘Worship in the Fourth Gospel’ by Jerome Neyrey
From Biblical Theology Bulletin:
Worship in the Fourth Gospel: a cultural interpretation of John 14-17.
Jerome H. Neyrey.
Biblical Theology Bulletin 36.3 (Fall 2006): p107(11).
[access via Calvin College Library]Typical readers interpret John 14-17 as a Farewell Address, and for good reason. But that hardly exhausts its contents, for the form of a farewell address simply misses all that Jesus has to say about worship in the group. From the gospel’s beginning we find a steady focus on temple, mountains for worship, feasts and their objects of prayer and celebration, and the like. But in John 14-17 we are told about prayer: Jesus’ own prayer to God and his instructions to the disciples to petition “in my name.” If prayer is communication to God, God also communicates to his devotees, primarily in words. Hence we find exhortations to remain and to love; oracles of many sorts, such as warning, judgment, assurance, salvation and the like. We find a particular focus on the words of Jesus, things he said but were not understood, special revelations to a special group, all of which is facilitated by the Advocate/Spirit. Most importantly, the personnel of worship are clearly defined: the Patron Father who bestows benefaction on his clients by means of Jesus, the Broker. Jesus, in turn, brokers the concerns of the clients to the Patron. Finally, the household with many rooms is not space out of the world, but relationships brokered by Jesus. These remain miscellaneous pieces until seen in the light of a cultural model of worship.
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