Bad worship leads to bad theology. Bad theology leads to an unhealthy church. It’s that simple. Here are seven ways in which contemporary worship is starving the church from the nourishment and sustenance it needs. Contemporary worship is “contemporary.” By its very own definition, contemporary worship could never be a good thing.Let me stop for a minute to explain myself. Contemporary worship is, at least in one sense, a bad term, because it’s not used to describe worship in a... Read more

Second Sunday of Advent Isaiah 11:1-10 11:1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 11:2 The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 11:3 His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide... Read more

Someone asked me the other day if I was planning to check out the new film entitled The Young Messiah. I’m not planning to, because, A) I’m pretty busy right now, and B) I’m fairly certain I know how the plot turns out. If I’m missing something spectacular, please let me know, and I’ll pencil some time in to check it out in, say, June. But the title reminded me of an unrelated musical work from the genius of late-80s/early... Read more

The American church is obsessed with its demise. That’s understandable, of course, since it is declining, and sense there is apparently nothing it can do to reverse the trend, or even slow it. I’ve heard talk about church growth my entire life, but it’s a bigger topic of conversation now than ever. Again, understandably. Even now, most of you have probably seen the clickbait on Facebook and Twitter, advertising simple, easy steps toward experiencing exponential growth in your church. And... Read more

First Sunday of Advent Matthew 24:36-44 24:36 “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 24:37 For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 24:38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 24:39 and they knew nothing until the flood... Read more

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. It’s beginning to sound a lot like Christmas, too. And that’s a problem. Because, Auntie Mame, we’re not even to Thanksgiving Day yet. In the words of Clark Griswold, “Where’s the Tylenol?” And how many people with their “Keep Christ in Christmas” bumper stickers seem content to follow along like little red and green sheep, with their decorations and their music and their outfits, oblivious to the fact that the sole reason... Read more

Happy New Year! Well, almost. Welcome to the Lectionary Hymn of the Week! One of my goals for Ponder Anew has been to introduce new regular or recurring features. I was planning on introducing this new weekly feature to Ponder Anew as we began a new church year with Advent. But there are so many great hymns for Christ the King, I just couldn’t wait. So here we go! Each Friday, I will post the text of a great hymn... Read more

There are a lot of articles and posts written by some great people who left the contemporary worship movement. That’s not my story, so this is not one of those posts. I grew up in a Southern Baptist megachurch in suburban Houston, Texas. I was surrounded by contemporary worship for the first 16 years of my life, but I never bought into the trend. I never joined because it always seemed superficial. It’s time for us to admit that you... Read more

  Me-worship is about us, and for God. True worship is about God, and for us. Me-worship is relevant to our felt needs. True worship is relevant to the needs of our neighbors. Me-worship is about music that I like. True worship, steeped in God’s Word and the Holy Sacraments, is about praying in a way that makes us God’s prayer for the world. Me-worship pursues our own comfort and amusement. True worship calls us to sacrifice our own comfort... Read more