Who is watching? Who is singing? Who really cares?
There is a wonderful, thought-provoking text by the hymn writer Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863) titled “There’s A Wideness In God’s Mercy. It speaks to this generation perhaps even more powerfully than to his own. It is not sung as often…
Today is Maundy Thursday — no, not Monday Thursday, which would be an interesting concept: society could work Monday through Thursday, with Fridays off! Some Christians misunderstand that this day is only a “Catholic” celebration. Christians both ancient and modern…
One of my favorite expressions by a key mentor in my life, Lyle Schaller, relates to what time it is. During the 1990s Lyle often said, as an example, “Next year is 1995. The trouble is that too many congregations…
Saturday “Maaa-maaaaah!” The wail comes over my phone. It’s late in the afternoon following a beautiful day with friends at the park. My six year old is now in full meltdown, transmitting her frustration from Dad’s phone. We are driving…
On a recent Sunday, our church choir sang “Find Us Faithful” as the anthem in the traditional worship service. I have always liked this song that was written by Jon Mohr and popularized by Steve Green. In fact, we used…
Churches must be intentional about forming a community that includes everyone. I have been in youth ministry for over 12 years. In college I was introduced to the One-Eared Mickey Mouse Model of youth ministry. I ran into it again…
The decline of hymnody is harmful to the theology and music quality in many of today’s churches. I am becoming very burdened about what I am seeing, feeling and experiencing in worship these days in many churches. Things are different,…
I was 24 and living in Mill Valley, Calif., when I first encountered Ash Wednesday. The Christian liturgical calendar had figured not much at all in my Southern Baptist experience to that point. But one February morning in 1983, spurred…
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