It’s that time of year again. For the next few weeks in the majority of Protestant churches, at least in the megachurches and those who aspire to be like them, you’ll see a microcosmic example of how worship in the church has gone horribly wrong. As Christians, our liturgical life has long demonstrated that we are a people set apart. Our liturgical rhythm finds us repeating and retelling the drama of salvation history year upon year. We aren’t, in theory... Read more
When my old, usually reliable car is giving me trouble, there’s only one person I will trust with it. His name is Juan Marquez, and he’s the septuagenarian owner of Gulf Freeway Auto Service. His place is not easy to find among the rows of nondescript light industrial sheet metal buildings in South Houston, Texas, but as long as he’s in business, I will find Juan. He’s a hardworking, self-employed family man who is as honest, fair, and reliable as... Read more
As a professional Christian, I don’t get many Sundays off. In fact, I tend to take fewer off than I am allowed, since I enjoy my work immensely and am not traveling much these days. But a couple weeks ago I was in Boston on a Sunday morning, and following the recommendation of a few friends, found my way to The Church of the Advent, an Episcopal parish serving Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood since 1844. Google maps directed me from... Read more
You might notice I said “‘hymns’ are better than contemporary worship songs.” Not “old hymns.” Or “classic hymns.” Just “hymns.” There are a couple reasons for this. First, there are good hymns still being written, though they are overshadowed in popularity by the dreck put forth by the so-called “worship industry.” So some hymns aren’t old, and there are brand new hymns being written as I write this. Second, most of the time when people talk about “old” or “classic”... Read more
I want to make one thing clear before I plant my tongue partially in cheek: I love the Bible. Bible studies can be a wonderful thing. But most often they aren’t. And when Bible studies are bad, they are really freaking bad. So many of them are silly and trite, superimposing myopic, self-referential concerns onto the sacred text. Deep, persistent grappling with the biblical text is a mighty tough road, and most Christians don’t have the guts to undertake it.... Read more
In the early 90s, the private music studio of Reva Cooper Unsicker made occasional appearances on public access TV in Peoria, Illinois. Reva was apparently world famous in her hometown, being the highly esteemed organist at First United Methodist Church and a private music teacher for some six decades before her death in 1995. She also liked to play the piano really, really fast. Nobody was ever supposed to see this, of course, but in gracious mercy God and the... Read more
I need to be honest with everyone. There are a lot of contemporary worship songs I really, really dislike. I know. Shocking, isn’t it? This week, a Facebook friend posted a brilliant fundraising idea for churches: a hymn-banning auction. It’s a pretty simple concept: the highest bidder gets to ban a hymn of their choice for an entire year. Pretty soon, my thoughts turned to which contemporary worship song I would get rid of if I could. Now, I wish... Read more
“For the most part institutions are lost, not because they are stormed by hostile outsiders, but because their custodians, overcome by apathy, indifference, and intellectual fecklessness, simply give them away. Will we give away the Church and its gospel power by dumbing it down or by failing to reach out?… Truly, all of us who serve the Church want to be faithful and not to be dumbing down the Church. The question is whether we know when or if we... Read more
Simpsons. Often, I would feign a self-imposed bedtime just as the local news ended, instead falling prostrate under a billowing Read more
I also think Susan Wright is dead wrong. (I also didn’t know we had a “Red Politics” and “Blue Politics” channel, but that’s beside the point.) So church, here’s what you do if you’re afraid someone might be offended by a mom breastfeeding her child. Nothing. You don’t approach her. You don’t direct her to go somewhere else. You don’t stare disapprovingly. You don’t complain to the church staff. You don’t send her Facebook messages when you get home. You... Read more
Ponder Anew
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