Here’s a timely resource that might be a fitting follow-up to my “Open Letter to Praise Bands” (and the P.S.): At the Calvin Worship Institute’s 2012 Symposium, I had the privilege of being part of a panel discussion (and hymn-sing!) on the “re-tuned” hymn movement. I was really just an interloper, since the panel, hosted…
So, I guess my little “Open Letter to Praise Bands” generated some interest. I’m glad that it could be a catalyst or foil for some intentional reflection on the how of Christian worship. I won’t even attempt to address the array of responses it has generated. I’m content to let some misreadings spin themselves out….
This TED talk encapsulates the core thesis of Alain de Botton’s new book, Religion for Atheists: A Non-believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion. Anyone who has read Desiring the Kingdom will note obvious overlapping concerns and sensibilities. And while much more deserves to be said (I’ll do so in a forthcoming review of the…
Dear Praise Band, I so appreciate your willingness and desire to offer up your gifts to God in worship. I appreciate your devotion and celebrate your faithfulness–schlepping to church early, Sunday after Sunday, making time for practice mid-week, learning and writing new songs, and so much more. Like those skilled artists and artisans that God…
Well, I just dropped this off at the offices of Baker Publishing Group: the manuscript for the sequel to Desiring the Kingdom. My working title (we’ll see if it survives) is Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works. Now I’m coming up for air. The past two months have been a blur. Deanna has passed along…
I’m honored to announce that I’ll be delivering the 2012 New College Lectures at the University of New South Wales in Sydney this coming May. The gracious invitation to give the lectures immediately brought to mind Stanley Hauerwas’ powerful little book, After Christendom, as I remembered that it had begun its life as the New…