Worship Weblog
Thursday, December 21, 2006
New Year’s Resolutions for Spiritual Formation…
... are not like resolutions for weight loss; they cannot be quantifiably or even deliberately achieved. In his sermon Spiritual Geography—which is a fitting and meaningful read for New Year’s—Leonard Vander Zee quotes these central principles of spiritual formation:
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O Come, Let Us Adore Him
Nicholas Kroeze, Time to Worship
Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be glory given;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.
O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.
-from “O Come All Ye Faithful”
‘Philosophy in the Service of Theology’
Westminster Theological Seminary’s current e-newsletter includes a link to info and an excerpt of Reasons for Faith: Philosophy in the Service of Theology.
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FACTS report on congregational growth
New at the CSR blog (more about this blog):
What has distinguished growing American congregations from their stagnant and dwindling cousins? Some tentative answers are found in a new report from Faith Communities Today: a growing, youthful demographic setting, a multiethnic constituency, a “vital”, contemporary worship style, and a purposeful organizational disposition to grow and change. Drums and “joyful” worship often went with growth; worship described as “reverent”, unfortunately, did not often accompany numeric growth in weekly attendance (see pages 9 and 10 of the report).
Whether these recent trends are worthy of emulation is a theological and social matter the current report does not address directly. But scholars and laypeople of all stripes may find evidence to inform their perspectives. The report, covering many faiths and denominations, is based on nationwide data collected in 2005 by the Calvin College Center for Social Research.
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Spurgeon on keeping Christmas year round
Charles Spurgeon, quoted at Carl Stam’s WQOTW:
There is no reason upon earth beyond that of ecclesiastical custom why the 25th of December should be regarded as the birthday of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ any more than any other day from the first of January to the last day of the year; and yet some persons regard Christmas with far deeper reverence that the Lord’s-day. ...
You may keep his birthday all the year round, for it were better to say he was born every day of the year than on any one, for truly in a spiritual sense he is born every day of every year in some [people’s] hearts, and that to us is a far weightier point than the observation of holy days. Express your faith first, as the angels did, by public ministry. Some of us are called to speak to the many. Let us in the clearest and most earnest tones proclaim the Savior and his power to rescue [us]. Others of you cannot PREACH, but you can SING. Sing then your anthems, and praise God with all your hearts. Do not be slack in the devout use of your tongues, which are the glory of your frames, but again and again and again lift up your joyful hymns unto the new-born King. Others of you can neither preach nor sing. Well, then, you must do what the shepherds did, and what did they? You are told twice that they SPREAD THE NEWS. As soon as they had seen the babe they made known abroad the saying that was told them, and as they went home they glorified God. This is one of the most practical ways of showing your joy. Holy conversation is as acceptable as sermons and anthems. There was also one who said little, but thought the more: “Mary PONDERED all these things in her heart.” Quiet, Happy spirit, weigh in thy heart the grand truth that Jesus was born at Bethlehem. Immanuel, God with us;—weigh it if you can; look at it again and again, examine the varied facets of this priceless brilliant, and bless, and adore, and love, and wonder, and yet adore again this matchless miracle of love. ...
Come and worship God manifest in the flesh, and be filled with his light and sweetness by the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
more quotes on worship here and here
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Thursday, December 14, 2006
Calling all Symposium volunteers!
On Tuesday we set up this information table, along with hot chocolate and marshmallows, outside our central office here at Calvin College, to recruit volunteers for Symposium.
The hot chocolate is gone, but we’re still taking volunteers! Volunteers get free admission and a unique opportunity to meet some of the speakers and attendees that come from around the world for this time of worship, fellowship, and learning. If you’re interested, e-mail .
Apprenticeship and mentorship in youth ministry
John Witvliet, from a recent presentation on youth ministry and spiritual formation:
We need to promote a culture of apprenticeship for people of all ages in every type of program. My 5-year-old daughter had a good pre-kindergarten year, in part, because of her 4th-grade buddies. If this can work at a school, it should be able to flourish at church and in other local communities. I think of a local church in my city, St. Luke’s AME Zion, who invites a high-school age youth to participate in each church committee or task-force. The questions we need to ask ourselves, then, are not simply whether we are finding mentors for our youth, but also a) whom are we asking our youth to mentor? and b) do we have mentorship built into each of our programs, at all levels of engagement?
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Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Worship at New Community Church
Report from Betty Grit about worship at New Community Church, a Worship Renewal Grant recipient:
It is a cold Friday evening as we are warmly greeted at New Community Church. Just weeks before Christmas, we had driven past busy malls with people rushing to finish their shopping. Here people had come to worship. As we enter the worship space, there is energy and a sense of anticipation in the room.
Community Recovery, led by Pastor Mark Vander Meer has been offering worship, small groups and fellowship on Friday evenings for more than seven years to people whose lives are broken by addictions. Many who gather this evening are in residential treatment facilities. Others come because they know this is a place of acceptance and healing.
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Friday, December 08, 2006
Advent Worship
King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth he stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood;
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.- from “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence,” sung in morning worship at Calvin College this morning
WorshipHelps on the Advent Wreath in Worship
WorshipHelps on the Advent wreath in worship
C.S. Lewis on Christmas: “what is uncreated, eternal, came into nature”
Quoted at Carl Stam’s Worship Quote of the Week:
C.S. Lewis, from GOD IN THE DOCK, “The Grand Miracle” :
‘The Christian story is precisely the story of one grand miracle, the Christian assertion that what is beyond all space and time, what is uncreated, eternal, came into nature, into human nature, descended into His own universe, and rose again, bringing nature up to Him. It is precisely one great miracle. If you take that away there is nothing specifically Christian left.’
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Worship Planning: ‘a new way of working, together”
Sally Morgenthaler on collaborative worship planning, at covchurch.org’s WorshipConnection blog:
What does it truly mean to worship corporately? Have we ignored the “we” of worship in favor of the “I”? And that question isn’t just for Sunday morning. It’s relevant for how we craft this most sacred of experiences. If worship is the community formed by God (the Church) interacting with the community of God (the Trinity), why do we as worship leaders keep planning worship all by ourselves, stuck in our cubicles? ...
People ask me all the time, “What’s next for worship?” I don’t think it’s a style. It’s a new way of working, together.
Related Publication
Designing Worship Together: Models and Strategies for Worship Planning
Smithsonian magazine on Rembrandt at 400
Had you traveled through any major city in the Netherlands this year, you would likely have met the piercing gaze of a rather startling face. The wild-haired, wide-eyed character who greeted you from street signs, store windows, magazine covers and chocolate boxes is Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-69), master painter of the Dutch Golden Age. Rembrandt’s incomparable art has always been a major selling point for Dutch tourism, but his self-portrait was everywhere in 2006 because Hollanders were celebrating the 400th birthday of their nation’s most famous artist. In fact, Rembrandt 400, a yearlong national event under the patronage of Queen Beatrix, touched off a worldwide celebration involving museums and cultural institutions from Krakow to Melbourne. Among American institutions taking part is the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where “Strokes of Genius: Rembrandt’s Prints and Drawings” will be on view through March 18, 2007.
(image: Stolen in 1990 from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, “Christ in the Storm on the Lake of Galillee” has not been recovered. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
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Alban Weekly on “Twenty Observations about Troubled Congregations”
I have worked with troubled churches for 20 years. I never cease to learn from these experiences. The list below includes some of what I have learned about congregations in times of conflict.
1. Most people are interested in relieving their own anxiety rather than managing the crisis or planning for a clear direction. Their primary goal is anxiety reduction, not congregational renewal.
2. Under certain conditions, anxiety is neutral. As much as possible, effective leaders normalize anxiety. Considering what is happening, anxiety’s presence is what we would expect. By normalizing, people will not automatically think anxiety exists because the community is flawed.
3. If anxiety is high, people lose their capacity to be self-reflective. They look outward, not at themselves. Self-awareness is dim, and the ability to identify with the life processes of others is impaired.
4. Peace is often preferred over justice. Congregational members can resist or be hesitant about taking stands, making decisions, or charting a course of action that would offend or upset the community. By placing a premium on togetherness, they play into the hands of the most dependent people who can threaten to incite disharmony as a way to receive what they want. When such superficial harmony—so-called “peace”—must prevail, then the pursuit of justice often is sacrificed and others who are involved become excused from responsibility.
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Hartford Institute for Religion Research website redesign
The website of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, has a new look. HIRR is one of over 20 religion websites funded by the Lilly Endowment, along with CICW, that meets once a year for a national consultation.
Here’s how HIRR introduces its new site:
- We now have a new Fast Facts about American Religion section with quick answers to questions like how many churches are there, how much are pastors paid, and where are all the megachurches. http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/fastfacts/fast_facts.html
- We have a separate section about megachurches including new papers from around the Web and a number of Scott Thumma’s powerpoint presentations from the past year. http://hirr.hartsem.edu/megachurch/megachurches.html
- We are just beginning a new section on Practical Theology. http://hirr.hartsem.edu/theology/theology.html
- We have increased our resources in the Congregational and Denominational Sections of the site. http://hirr.hartsem.edu/cong/cong.html; http://hirr.hartsem.edu/denom/denominations.html
- We have greatly added to the Sociology of Religion resources. http://hirr.hartsem.edu/sociology/sociology.html
- It is still being worked on some, but the megachurch listing is now in an actual searchable database and is SO much faster! http://hirr.hartsem.edu/megachurch/database.html
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