Anthony Bradley recently submitted a commentary for World magazine publicizing ‘holy hip hop.’ He writes, “If you are looking for theologically saturated Christian music that has the greatest potential for widespread appeal, your best option may be Christian hip-hop.” The first sentence gives away a great deal. First, he missteps in the first clause, for… Continue Reading
A couple weeks ago, I commented on how important it is for Christians in an age of Internet and media distractions to learn to wean ourselves off the habits of a short-attention span culture and cultivate the practice of attention to and appreciation of sustained discourses in texts and sermons. And this holds true, not… Continue Reading
The other day I was listening to a conversation among some ministers and seminary educators. Among them, there was an assumption of sorts that expository preaching is a necessary activity in Christian churches. And I have noticed that many, indeed, appear to agree with these men on the importance of expository preaching. And I agree… Continue Reading
“It’s like reaching the rich young ruler by throwing money at him,” is the apt comparison of T. David Gordon in response to whether or not church music should be “seeker-friendly.” In an interview with Christianity Today‘s Mark Moring that springs from his book Why Johnny Can’t Sing Hymns, Gordon makes the case for traditional worship. Among other… Continue Reading
Our attention spans are shrinking. This is not news, and perhaps I’ve already lost you. Thoughtful people have said that the impressive array of media and entertainment consumption portals play an important role in the attention spans of individuals, especially children and young adults. For example, Jason Fertig writes, Many modern media trends have done… Continue Reading
This morning I was rifling through blog posts in Google reader and noticed a familiar looking image on my feed from the Gospel Coalition. The Gospel Coalition post was by Mike Cosper, and he was lauding the evangelical emphasis of late to dispense with all the old hymn tunes. He wants us to keep singing… Continue Reading
Last week I argued that, if we are committed to conservative worship, it only follows that we should be committed to perpetuating conservative worship in the next generation. We want to continue developing this theme as we post at the Religious Affections blog. What hymns might we teach children? Before I name some specific recommendations, there… Continue Reading
We believe that the great Christian tradition of hymnody should be perpetuated. We treasure the invaluable contributions of the saints to our corporate and private worship in the great texts and tunes. Artistically, we admire the great hymns’ beauty and profundity. Intellectually, we appreciate their imaginative but careful communication of great Christian theology. Experientially, these… Continue Reading
The hymn “Come Down, O Love Divine” is a worthy one if you do not yet know it. I was first introduced to it several years ago by the masterful Kings College Choir recording Best Loved Hymns. The hymn is a prayer to the Holy Spirit to come and pour out his divine grace in… Continue Reading
In my handful of posts this month, I want to give some anecdotes from church history to inform us as to how missionaries, attempting to plant indigenous church, should approach the issue of music in the culture in which they minister. My posts will not always touch on music per se, but instead explore the… Continue Reading
The section on prayer in John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion is surely one of the most beloved passages of that influential work. Therein, Calvin addresses, among other matters, the importance of reverence in corporate prayer. For Calvin, an essential mark of reverence in corporate prayer is attentiveness. He says, Whoever engaged in prayer… Continue Reading
A friend of mine once mused that it was at Christmas that Christians finally sing good hymns. Selah.1 And Chuck Bumgardner (here and here and here) has been providing some excellent commending great hymns of the season. I thought I would take my weekly post here to suggest to you an advent hymn myself. I… Continue Reading
How important is it that we worship God and him alone? Deuteronomy 13:6-11 is one of those passages that jars our modern sensibilities as a stark reminder that God will not be trifled with: [6] “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or… Continue Reading
Reflecting on the demise of Crystal Cathedral, Harriet Baber wrote in the Guardian this stinging indictment of American evangelicalism: Of course we don’t expect popular entertainments to last. Fashion is arbitrary. There was no particular reason why hip-hop replaced disco or why the 1970s favoured earth tones while the 1990s featured violet and teal. We… Continue Reading