Worship Studies

Evaluating Worship as a Performance Art

September 4, 2024 Worship Studies

In the beginning God created… These words echo through the green rooms of many worship musicians. Because we are created in God’s image, we too, are creative. This is not new. For centuries, our creatives serve the functions of the church. Architects are the artisans that design physical structures that support our beliefs about congregational worship. Is the pulpit the center of the platform? Does the choir face the congregation? Does the organ fill the physical as well as auditoryRead More

Can We Usher in Something New?

September 12, 2020 Worship Studies

As I have shared in a previous post, my working definition of worship is that when God reveals himself, our human response is an act of worship. In a hefty read called Israel’s Praise, Walter Brueggemann examines the role of the Psalms in the cultural context of Israel’s daily life. In his preface, Brueggemann lays out his purpose: “I have tried to take up the sociological question of the Psalms, to suggest that the Psalms can only be understood and usedRead More

Understanding a Priority for Worship

August 29, 2020 Worship Studies

According to the Westminster Confession of faith, the “Chief end of man is to know God and enjoy him forever.”  What lead the writers of the confession to instruct us about our priority of worship?  It has been said that all of humanity will worship something. We were created for worship. Prior to creation, God had a host of Angels who served him, but He wanted more than servants. So, God created mankind in his image. His desire was forRead More

God Reveals Himself and Our Response in Worship

April 8, 2020 Worship Studies

In a recent small group conversation, the question was asked. “Who is God?  If you had to tell someone else who God is, what would you say?”  The point of the discussion was that we often know about God, but don’t really know Him. Humanity has used a diversity of words to describe God. In the Westminster Confession of Faith, God is defined as “infinite, self-existent, spirit, eternal and unchangeable in His nature, being and attributes.” These are words we humans useRead More

Defining Worship–A Work in Progress

March 19, 2020 Worship Studies

Over the years, I have participated in a number of worship conferences and small group discussions.  Any discussion about worship usually starts with, “What is worship?” Often, the conversation starts with the English roots for the word worship. The root of the old English word “Woerthscipe,” means that we ascribe worth to something that is meaningful. In the context of worship, we decide that God is worthy; we may sing, “He is worthy of all glory, honor and praise.” The HebrewRead More

A Difficult Task?

January 3, 2020 Worship Studies

When I started my work on worship studies over thirty years ago, the expectations for worship leaders were dramatically changing. Fast forward to 2020 and the issues are the same but magnified. This is a model for discussion about expectations and needs. Truthfully, the model can be modified to serve a discussion for any role in ministry. For worship leaders, life gets exponentially more complicated when the musician is asked to coordinate all creative arts. While the artistic personality canRead More