Strange Lyre: Conclusion
A good theologian once drew me a diagram of the progress of Christian doctrine and Christian history from the apostles to our day. He drew… Read More »Strange Lyre: Conclusion
Articles on Music
Cessmaticism: The Strange Hybrid of Contemporary Christian Worship
We began this series by making the claim that Pentecostalism has quietly (or not so quietly) colonised Protestant worship, even in those churches and groups… Read More »Cessmaticism: The Strange Hybrid of Contemporary Christian Worship
The Idols of Intensity and Extemporaneity
A polarized debate goes on between different stripes of Christians over the place of experience in Christianity. One side asserts that experiential faith (what the… Read More »The Idols of Intensity and Extemporaneity
Pentecostal “Praise and Worship”: A Radical Departure from Historic Worship
Christian worship has often had a remarkably similar shape across traditions. Bryan Chapell showed in his work Christ-Centered Worship that corporate worship (sans communion) in… Read More »Pentecostal “Praise and Worship”: A Radical Departure from Historic Worship
Early Beginnings of Pentecostal Worship
An easy error for a historian to commit is to equate or link events or movements in history that are similar, while ignoring or underplaying… Read More »Early Beginnings of Pentecostal Worship
Discerning the Christian Imagination: Consensus and Canonicity
Determining if a poem, hymn, musical piece, novel, devotional work, painting or other work should be considered a helpful work of Christian imagination is mostly… Read More »Discerning the Christian Imagination: Consensus and Canonicity
Discerning the Christian Imagination: Analogies and Proportion
If Christians should grow in their ability to discern superior Christian works of imagination, how should they do this? Must every Christian pursue some kind… Read More »Discerning the Christian Imagination: Analogies and Proportion
What Was Early Church Worship Music Like?
This is an important question because many earnest believers desire to worship on the Lord’s Day in form and content the same way that Christ… Read More »What Was Early Church Worship Music Like?
Scripture-Formed Music
Last week I mentioned the fact that there has been a resurgence of sorts in recent times of emphasis on the disciple-forming power of gospel-shaped… Read More »Scripture-Formed Music
Music That Is Intrinsically Good
The “worship wars” have now ceased, and many people are mostly happy about the cessation. Some of us are less happy, however, because those wars—like… Read More »Music That Is Intrinsically Good
Doctrinal Triage for Worship
Many years ago, Al Mohler published a widely-read article on doctrinal triage, a method for evaluating the seriousness of doctrines. Kevin Bauder then pointed out… Read More »Doctrinal Triage for Worship
A Parable About Pop Music in Church
Christian 1: So I hear you have a problem with lollipops? Christian 2: Lollipops? No, I think they’re just fine. Christian 1: But you apparently… Read More »A Parable About Pop Music in Church
Psalm 130 in the Hands of the Great Composers
I recently walked through Psalm 130 with the congregation I pastor. Psalm 130 My Soul Waits for the Lord A Song of Ascents. [1] Out… Read More »Psalm 130 in the Hands of the Great Composers
How Poetry Forms Us
Singing both helps us express right affections to God in response to God’s character and works, and it also helps to form those affections when… Read More »How Poetry Forms Us
Two Views on Christ’s Invitation
Below are two works of Christian imagination. Both attempt to depict what it means for Christ to invite sinners to Himself, and how sinners should… Read More »Two Views on Christ’s Invitation
The Unproven Premise Strikes Again
The Gospel Coalition recently published an excerpt from a new book by Brett McCracken in which he makes a very common argument about music in… Read More »The Unproven Premise Strikes Again
Using Song to Shape Hearts of Repentence
Up to this point in our study of Psalm 130, we have talked only about the poetic part of a song, but Psalm 130 wasn’t… Read More »Using Song to Shape Hearts of Repentence
Pastors – Become Literate in Christian Culture
When the topic of music and worship comes up, a favorite slap-down argument against thoughtful discrimination of music is that pastors need not study music… Read More »Pastors – Become Literate in Christian Culture
Why Tolkien Wrote About Middle-Earth
Some Evangelicals’ credo might be: “There is only one Tolkien, and Peter Jackson is his Prophet.” While there is no denying that the art of… Read More »Why Tolkien Wrote About Middle-Earth
National Anthems and the Universal Language
While watching an Olympic medal ceremony a few evenings ago, I remembered a blog post I wrote over ten years ago (on a now extinct blog)… Read More »National Anthems and the Universal Language