“And so this is Christmas what have we done?Another year over,A new one just begun.”True confession: though I live in England, I’m not much of a John Lennon fan. But every year from Dec 26 to Jan 2 this song echoes in my mind - “So this is Christmas… what have we done?” Let me [...]
Debates and dialogue have persisted for many years about the focus of the Sunday gathering – with the spectrum from “only the true believers should gather” to “this is primarily for the unbelieving.” Rather than delve more deeply into those thoughts and answers from the Biblical model, I’d like to ask all of us in [...]
In the “Something’s Happening Here” discussion, we looked at the following things that occur during gathered (in-person) worship in music: We declare God’s worth, character, truths, and the Gospel to ourselves, one another and unbelieving attendees (visitors.) We commune relationally with God in His Presence When we sing as the gathered church, we have an opportunity [...]
Physical Expression in Worship The first time I saw someone raise their hands in a worship setting, I was curious... but not confused. I didn't think anyone was "asking a question". I had been to see Whitesnake and Great White and Motley Crüe in concert. I had seen people fully physically engaged with something that [...]
In Part I, we looked at music in the Church - that the songs we use are to be: - richly full of the message of Christ - sung to God and to one another - from the heart and filled with gratitude But ....what about song formats or structures? What musical style should we use? [...]
I recently was speaking at a church about what our worship gatherings should look like, specifically in the area of music. It's mostly disheartening (but a bit comforting tbh) to know that the Church has argued over musical styles for centuries. Sadly, what is designed (in part) as a demonstration of our unity has been [...]
Firmly convinced that every person is made in the image of God, we looked last time at how that should shape our creative process as well as building relationships with our congregations. Today let’s look at how Imago Dei shapes interpersonal dynamics of a music team. 3. Fellow Servants As a music leader in a [...]
A vital part of any ministry, including arts/music ministry, is an unwavering conviction to the truth of Imago Dei, especially as it relates to the gathered Church and those you serve alongside. Imago Dei. You are made in the image of God Everyone you encounter is made in the image of God. Your best mate [...]
As mentioned in my last post, the church has rightly begun to re-examine the words we use to add clarity and help avoid misunderstanding. Sometimes this from a heart that desires to help the congregation more fully embrace a humble, grateful, Biblical theology and sometimes it’s merely out of a sense of modern Pharisee-ism, wanting [...]
Thanks for joining me on this journey! Having served for a couple decades in church ministry, perhaps some of the things I’ve learned will be helpful for your context. I’m by no means an ‘expert’ in the area of music/arts ministries, and I’ve learned to be very wary of anyone who claims to have [...]
DREaM in London 