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Thursday, September 11, 2008
Prayer on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks
Among the recommended resources and reflections for today:
- “How Do We Pray?” by John Witvliet on Sept. 12, 2001
- “Truth-Telling Comfort” by Walter Brueggemann on Sept. 12, 2001
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Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Stringfellow on ‘the vocation of the baptized person’
William Stringfellow, quoted in this Baccalaureate sermon at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary:
The vocation of the baptized person is a simple thing: it is to live from day to day, whatever the day brings, in this extraordinary unity, in this reconciliation with all persons and all things, in this knowledge that death has no more power, in this truth of the Resurrection. It does not really matter what [you as] a Christian [do] from day to day. What matters is that in whatever [you do, you do it] in honor of the triumph of Christ over death and, therefore, in honor of [your] own life, given to [you] by God and restored to [you] in Christ, in honor of the life into which all persons and all things are called. The only thing that really matters is to live in Christ instead of death.
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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Workshop and Worship at Open Table of Christ United Methodist Church in Providence, R.I.
We were grateful to get this note and these pictures from Open Table of Christ United Methodist Church in Providence, Rhode Island, one of our current grant recipients, and share them here with permission.
We had a glorious, Spirit-filled Pentecost that touched everyone involved.
Over 20 people attended the Saturday afternoon workshop that Jorge led. At
its conclusion at 4 PM, many people asked, “Can’t we just keep going?” We
learned to think more thoughtfully about style versus content, sacred
moments and memories and how to attempt to facilitate the holy.
Jorge continued the singing and teaching at our Pentecost potluck for about
90 people, including some new Cambodian refugees.
Sunday morning was glorious with Jorge both leading music and preaching. We
sang new music and experienced a new beautiful sung communion. We had a
powerful sense that this weekend was a turning point for the church in terms
of worship renewal and that we now moving forward with greater joy,
enthusiasm, fuller conscious participation and awareness of the Holy Spirit
in our worship and in our lives.
Learn more about our Worship Renewal Grants Program
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ISOT on Covenant-God, not Contract-God
[We should see our relationship with God not] in terms of a legalistic contract between humanity and God rather than a gracious covenant. Whereas a covenant is unconditional, Torrance explained, a contract is a legal relationship and has mutual conditions. ‘First and foremost, the whole federal scheme is built upon the deep-seated confusion between a covenant and a contract, a failure to recognize that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is a Covenant-God and not a contract God.’
Here’s the Torrance reference:
James B. Torrance, ‘Covenant or Contract? A Study of the Theological Background of Worship in Seventeenth Century Scotland’, Scottish Journal of Theology 23 (1970), p.66.
Related Resource
Worship as Covenant Renewal
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Thursday, May 15, 2008
Friendship Ministires on ‘What can I do to make large-group prayer more meaningful?’
From Friendship Ministries(pdf):
If you’ve ever asked this question, you’ve probably asked another: “What is prayer?” The answer may be simple–prayer is talking with God–but of course this simple answer raises even more questions! And perhaps your old answers to these questions have changed as you’ve experienced prayer with people for whom spoken communication is difficult or impossible. In the context of so much intriguing mystery, we would like to share some practical ideas to consider as you seek to enhance group prayer:
The newsletter goes on to provide 12 helpful pointers for leading prayer with those with disabilities—check it out(pdf)
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Monday, March 24, 2008
Easter Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Christian worshippers attend Easter Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally believed to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, March 23, 2008. (AP Photo/Ahikam Seri,Pool)
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Thursday, March 20, 2008
Good Friday lament
John Witvliet in Reformed Worship:
Ideally, worship on Good Friday should include a bit of all three of these elements: We should narrate Jesus’ death. We should sense the profundity of his passion. We should acknowledge the world-changing ramifications of the cross for the salvation of the world. Many typical patterns for Good Friday worship)—such as tenebrae or the stations of the cross— feature some combination of these three elements.
Even so, there may be one essential ingredient that is missing. That ingredient, I would suggest, is lament. Previous articles in this series have explored the importance of liturgical lament in times of crisis and during Advent worship (see RW 44 and 45). These articles suggest that lament is a key ingredient in worship that arises from honest, soul-searching faith. But lament finds its most natural liturgical home on Good Friday.
Related Resource
John Witvliet on Good Friday moralism
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
‘Soul Searching’ documentary
Nurturing Youth notes the release of a documentary based on Christian Smith’s Soul Searching (related earlier post), and links to the trailer.
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Thursday, November 29, 2007
Fleming Rutledge: “Advent begins in the dark”
Advent teaches us to delay Christmas in order to experience it truly when it finally comes. Advent is designed to show that the meaning of Christmas is diminished to the vanishing point if we are not willing to take a fearless inventory of the darkness. ...
The authentically hopeful Christmas spirit has not looked away from the darkness, but straight into it. The true and victorious Christmas spirit does not look away from death, but directly at it. Otherwise, the message is cheap and false. Instead of pointing to someone else’s sin, we confess our own. “In our sins we have been a long time” [Isaiah 64]. Advent begins in the dark.
- Fleming Rutledge, “Advent Begins in the Dark,” from The Bible and the New York Times
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Sardis Baptist blog
Sardis Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, a 2007 grant recipient, posts various worship resources and reflections at their blog, including a slideshow of worship art by children in their church.
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Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Christian Smith on “emerging adulthood”
There is a new and important stage in life in American culture, and it is not entirely clear that the Christian church understands or particularly knows what to do with it. I am talking about what scholars call “emerging adulthood.” This is the time of life between ages 18 and 30, roughly, a phase which in recent decades has morphed into quite a new experience for many. Researchers in sociology, psychology, and human development have been investigating the contours of this new life stage and have recently published some fascinating books on the subject, whose findings are well worth pondering for their implications for church and culture.
One of the most helpful articles on what has become a much-discussed subject—young adults and the church—was John Seel’s “Recovering the Lost Logic of the Church” (“The institutional church,” he states, “only makes sense if truth is objective, if belief is determinative, if plausibility is communal, and if real presence is uniquely promised.”)
Related Posts
Ministering to the Missing Generation (includes related links)
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Friday, October 12, 2007
‘Rise up church with broken wings’
In chapel at Calvin College this morning, we sang “Shout To The North and the South,” and I was struck by the lyricism and ecclesiology of this verse:
Rise up church, with broken wings;
Fill this place with songs again,
Of our God Who reigns on high.
By His grace, again we’ll fly.
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Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Worship: Ascribing the Ultimate Value
Quoted at Chip Stam’s Worship Quote of the Week:
How do we face troubles with peace, rest, and equilibrium? The ultimate way to handle the troubles of life is not just through prayers of petition, but through worship. ... Worship is the act of ascribing ultimate value to something in such a way that it engages the entire being: mind, will, and emotions.
— Timothy J. Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City), from a sermon on Psalm 95 and “biblical worship,” July 7, 2002. The tape ministry of Redeemer Presbyterian has kindly granted permission to put this audio sermon on my Institute for Christian Worship web site. To listen, go to http://www.sbts.edu/icw, and then click on “other resources” at the bottom of the page. You’ll find it.
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Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Blacksburg Worship Service set for Nov. 4
We’ve been journeying with grant recipients in Blacksburg, Virginia, and are delighted to see their journey culminate (but not end) in an ecumenical worship service on Nov. 4, with Tony Campolo preaching. More info at www.blacksburgworships.com:
Celebrating, Healing, Serving
Gather with Christians from around Blacksburg on the campus of Virginia Tech for a community All Saint’s Sunday worship service. The Reverend Dr. Tony Campolo, internationally known speaker and author, will be the guest preacher for the event. The theme of this ecumenical event is Celebrating, Healing, Serving and it will include adult and children’s choirs from participating churches. All the churches of the Blacksburg community, as well as the campus ministries and students of Virginia Tech, are being invited to be involved with this family-friendly worship event. This service is partially funded through a grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship of Grand Rapids, Michigan, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment, Inc.
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Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Fulton Street Revival anniversary conference - Update 2
Report from Peter Armstrong. Peter is worship director at Bellevue CRC and a student at Fuller Seminary NW in Seattle. He is currently studying at Calvin Theological Seminary and interning at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. Read his previous report.
“One man’s obedience to prayer…began a revival…that transformed a nation.” This quote about Jeremiah Lamphier brings us back to the 150th Anniversary of the Fulton Street Revival conference, held September 21-23 at the Hilton in Midtown Manhattan. It is certainly the only worship conference I have attended in which the President of Iran would be in the same room 24 hours later (he spoke at the Hilton on Monday). And yet this very fact illustrates the importance of New York City as a global city that could be a huge influence for the Gospel around the world. The importance of NYC was also illustrated by Saturday’s morning speaker, Jack Hayford, who told us that he flew out from Los Angeles to deliver a thirty minute talk; talking to Christian leaders about revival in New York City was worth that sacrifice in his mind.
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