Opening Sentences I recently ran across this article by Tim Wright called “Sunday Schooling Our Kids out of Church.” I don’t agree with everything he says, but he has done a great service in pointing out the Sunday School problem. Over the past few decades, in a largely futile attempt to re-engage the growing segment of non-church attenders, churches have shifted toward a model of separating parents and children on Sunday mornings. Usually, this model advertises a one-hour commitment, sending the adults... Read more

Almost immediately after I published my last post on Andy Stanley’s unfortunate choice of words in a recent sermon, comments and messages came pouring in, informing me that he apologized, and that we should all just forgive him. So, he apologized. Good. But his apology does nothing beyond admitting his rant was offensive and insensitive. For that insensitivity, we should be willing to forgive him, yes. But there’s a deeper problem, a greater offense. The issue isn’t that he painted... Read more

The following quote was taken from a recent sermon by Andy Stanley, Senior Pastor of North Point Community Church, Buckhead Church, Browns Bridge Church, Gwinnett Church, Woodstock City Church, and Decatur City Church, and founder of North Point Ministries, which is a worldwide Christian organization. When I hear adults say, ‘I don’t like a big church. I like about 200. I wanna be able to know everybody.’ I say you are so stinkin’ selfish. You care nothing about the next generation. All... Read more

  Missional Meditation I have tried to avoid God my whole life. I wouldn’t know a traditional hymn from a modernized hymn. I’ve never even stepped foot into a church…until this past Sunday. The people on stage sang a song by David Crowder, and I began to feel the very presence of God. It was like nothing I ever felt before. Tears streamed down my eyes and right then, I bowed down and made a decision to surrender my life... Read more

My recent post calling for a boycott of the worship industry seems to have struck a chord. It looks like it may soon become the most successful Ponder Anew post of all time, which I’m thrilled about. It was great to have over half a million people read my post about hymnals, but this one cuts closer to the heart of what it means to be a worshiping church, and the idea of gathered worship as the church’s ethical responsibility. I’m certainly... Read more

My recent post on hymns that should be forgotten spawned quite a bit of discussion on the blog and Facebook page, and much of that discussion, especially one request from a pastor friend of mine, has led me to consider the other side of the coin. Which songs are worth keeping? Well, here’s a list of 100 hymns worth singing, in (sort-of) descending order, chosen by endurance, historical importance, and theological content. Of course, they reflect both my low church... Read more

As is usually the case when I talk about the problems of commercial worship, my recent post, 10 Worship Songs We Should Stop Singing, elicited a lot of comments from people who really wanted me to know that there are also bad hymns. Of course, bad hymns have been written. But one of the advantages of hymn-singing churches is that most of the really, really bad ones have been filtered out of circulation by decades or even centuries of scrutiny.... Read more

Christian culture’s boycotts rarely do any good. They generally make us look arrogant, aloof, and disconnected, all the while increasing publicity for whoever we’re all riled up about. Anyone remember the Southern Baptists and their bizarre Disney obsession about 20 years ago? No, those kind of boycotts are generally not a good idea. But I think it may be time for a different kind of boycott. Not against corporations and organizations that, like Disney, couldn’t care less what we think.... Read more

The false dichotomy of worship that fractures our churches into “traditional” and “contemporary” worshiping bodies has pitted old against new. This is detrimental in a multitude of ways, not the least of which is our congregational singing. I’ve written before about why we should be singing old songs. Here are a few reasons why we should be singing new songs, as well. 1. Time marches on. So does our story. Much of the church’s song repertoire was borne out of... Read more

I’ve heard that tiny sliver of Psalm 22 thrown around my entire life, by pastors, church leadership, and lay people. I admit I’ve even used it myself. I think we use it for a couple of different reasons. First, it’s a powerful method of crowd manipulation. Nothing gets a crowd’s attention like announcing God’s presence. It’s the complete opposite of saying, “Elvis has left the building.” In all honesty, it always made me feel like a holy Ed McMahon, announcing the real greatness among us.... Read more