Scott Aniol

Scott Aniol is the founder and Executive Director of Religious Affections Ministries. He is Chair of the Worship Ministry Department at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he teaches courses in ministry, worship, hymnology, aesthetics, culture, and philosophy. He is the author of Worship in Song: A Biblical Approach to Music and Worship, Sound Worship: A Guide to Making Musical Choices in a Noisy World, and By the Waters of Babylon: Worship in a Post-Christian Culture, and speaks around the country in churches and conferences. He is an elder in his church in Fort Worth, TX where he resides with his wife and four children.

Author Archives: Scott Aniol

Preserving Transcendent Beauty

Preserving Transcendent Beauty

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This entry is part 2 of 8 in the series That They May Be One: Conservatism, Cooperation, and the Center of Christian Unity You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Last week I began a series that seeks to answer the question of how important one’s philosophy of culture and worship is in relation to ecclesiastical cooperation. While most “gospel-centered” authors today would argue that philosophy of worship and culture should not affect cooperation, I am arguing that they are central. In other words, I am… Continue Reading

The “Two Hands” of Ministry

The “Two Hands” of Ministry

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In 2006 an approach to church ministry began to gain popularity. It was called a “two-handed” approach to ministry. One closed hand represented the theology of the church and its grasp of biblical truth and principles. The hand being closed symbolized the non-negotiable aspects of theology. One open hand represented the methodology of the church.… Continue Reading

Should philosophies of culture hinder cooperation?

Should philosophies of culture hinder cooperation?

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This entry is part 1 of 8 in the series That They May Be One: Conservatism, Cooperation, and the Center of Christian Unity You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

There are several adjectives that I happily use to describe myself and my beliefs. The first is obviously, “Christian,” but there are a lot of people and groups that call themselves “Christian” with whom I have significant disagreement, so I need other adjectives to modify “Christian.” I happily call myself a Baptist Christian, which says… Continue Reading

National Anthems and the Universal Language

National Anthems and the Universal Language

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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) about national anthems and the universal nature of musical communication. Here’s what I wrote (March 28, 2005): In discussing the cross-cultural communication power of music with a friend of mine,… Continue Reading

Receive a MA or PhD in Worship Studies without Relocating

Receive a MA or PhD in Worship Studies without Relocating

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For the past five years I have had the privilege of teaching at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. It has been a joy to teach courses like History and Theology of Worship, Philosophy of Ministry, Congregational Song, Aesthetics, Spiritual Formation, Culture, and Biblical Foundations of Worship alongside a world-class faculty that are… Continue Reading

Work that Serves Christ

Work that Serves Christ

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Many Christians think about serving Christ as something we do inside the church. If you’re a really good Christian, you’ll volunteer in the church nursery, or you’ll serve in a small group, or you’ll sing in the choir, or you’ll go on a mission trip. And if you’re a super Christian, why then you’ll become… Continue Reading

The Path

The Path

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It was to be his first journey through the forest. Gram watched excitedly as his grandfather hitched the wagon to the old family work horse. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, the morning sun peaking its rays over the horizon in the distance. He turned and looked at the forest. Daylight would soon paint the… Continue Reading

Democracy of the Dead

Democracy of the Dead

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Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about. -G. K. Chesterton Continue Reading

John Makujina’s Preface to the Third Edition of Measuring the Music

John Makujina’s Preface to the Third Edition of Measuring the Music

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The closing of Old Paths Publications combined with continued demand has occasioned another printing of Measuring the Music, under a new publisher. Therefore, the author in conjunction with Religious Affections Ministries is pleased to present the third edition of Measuring the Music. This version is essentially a reprint of the second, with minor corrections and… Continue Reading

Calvin Johansson’s Foreword to Measuring the Music

Calvin Johansson’s Foreword to Measuring the Music

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As I write this foreword we are halfway through the last year of the last century of the second millennium A.D. Far from being a warmed-over cyclical version of previous epochs, this century of centuries birthed much that was genuinely new: unparalleled advances in science, technology, computer systems, and powerful media cartels for both the… Continue Reading

My favorite parts of Measuring the Music

My favorite parts of Measuring the Music

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I announced yesterday the publication of the Third Edition of John Makujina’s classic analysis of the Contemporary Christian Music movement, Measuring the Music. If I remember correctly, I first encountered Measuring the Music the year after it was first published in 1999. Since then, I have read the book several times through, consulted it often, and assigned… Continue Reading

Making Measuring the Music by John Makujina Available Again!

Making Measuring the Music by John Makujina Available Again!

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I am very pleased to announce the publication of a Third Edition of John Makuina’s valuable analysis of the Contemporary Christian Music movement, Measuring the Music. This volume is the premier evaluation of Contemporary Christian Music. It has been read by thousands since the publication of its first edition in 1999, and we are thrilled to… Continue Reading

What makes something classic?

What makes something classic?

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“Classic”–a word that can describe any number of things, including art, literature, music, theology, and tradition. But what does it mean? What makes something classic? A very helpful explanation of what makes something classic, and the value of classic things, can be found in Jacques Barzun’s Begin Here: The Forgotten Conditions of Teaching and Learning. Barzun… Continue Reading

New book by David de Bruyn: The Conservative Church

New book by David de Bruyn: The Conservative Church

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I am very pleased to announce the publication of a new book by David de Bruyn: The Conservative Church. The following is Kevin Bauder’s foreword to the book: In 1 Corinthians 3, the apostle Paul compares the local church to a building—in fact, a temple. He claims to be the chief architect who has laid the… Continue Reading

Maintaining appropriate unity and necessary disunity through worship

Maintaining appropriate unity and necessary disunity through worship

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This entry is part of 8 in the series Worship and Doctrinal Distinctives You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Over the past several weeks, I have been demonstrating how the theology and practice of worship has historically divided Christians into various denominations, provided the means for appropriate unity across denomination lines, and more recently blurred important doctrinal distinctions. What I have shown is that worship theology and practice has always been central to denominational… Continue Reading

Lessons from a Worship War for a People in Exile

Lessons from a Worship War for a People in Exile

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Here is a sermon I preached yesterday at our church that’s relevant to matters we discuss often here. Read 1 Kings 18:1-40 The Rise and Fall of the Hebrew Empire This account of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal is one of the most well-known and colorful narratives in the whole of the Old Testament.… Continue Reading

Blurring doctrinal distinctives with Church Growth

Blurring doctrinal distinctives with Church Growth

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Last week I discussed how the Praise and Worship movement has blurred important doctrinal distinctives between churches and denominations by making musical style the predominant issue for church identity and for choosing a church. The church growth movement built off this tendency to define a church’s identity by musical style and recognized it as a… Continue Reading

Blurring doctrinal distinctives with Praise and Worship

Blurring doctrinal distinctives with Praise and Worship

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This entry is part 1 of 8 in the series Worship and Doctrinal Distinctives You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Over the past several weeks I have been showing that, while differences over worship theology and practice have been one of the most significant doctrinal dividers, traditional psalmody, hymnody, and liturgy provided a means by which distinct denominations were able to enjoy an appropriate unity while at the same time maintaining necessary theological and practical boundaries.… Continue Reading

Liturgy as an appropriate unifier

Liturgy as an appropriate unifier

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This entry is part 2 of 8 in the series Worship and Doctrinal Distinctives You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

God wants his people to be unified, but some doctrinal and practical matters are important enough that secondary division is necessary. Such is the case with issues such as baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the regulative principle. However, even when God’s people must separate over important matters, it is always a good thing when they… Continue Reading