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

A New Testament Understanding of Culture

A New Testament Understanding of Culture

This entry is part 1 of 7 in the series A New Testament Understanding of Culture You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

There is a lot of talk about culture these days, but I’m convinced that most of the people who talk about it have never really given careful thought to what, exactly, culture is. I have argued elsewhere that the parallel concept to “culture” in the New Testament is not terms related to race or ethnic identity, nor… Continue Reading

It’s time to order your Christmas daily devotional – “Rejoicing in Christ, the Newborn King: 25 Meditations for Family Worship During the Christmas Season”

It’s time to order your Christmas daily devotional – “Rejoicing in Christ, the Newborn King: 25 Meditations for Family Worship During the Christmas Season”

Last year we published a new daily devotional for the Christmas season by Pastor Taigen Joos that was very well-received. This devotional is perfect for both families and individuals to use as they prepare to worship Christ during the Christmas season. Each daily reading is a rich, yet brief meditation on an event or characteristic of… Continue Reading

Gospel impact and the world’s approval

Gospel impact and the world’s approval

Christians today seem to assume that the best way to have the greatest gospel impact in the world is to gain the world’s approval and acceptance first. If we can just earn their respect, perhaps they will give us a better hearing. There is certainly some truth to this: our behavior before the unbelieving world should… Continue Reading

Why gather for corporate worship?

Why gather for corporate worship?

Both Old Testament command and New Testament example demonstrate that God desires that believers lift His praises together. He wants His children to gather for the purpose of honoring Him. This worship is still an individual, heartfelt response toward God, but it is expressed publicly in the presence of other believers. That brings God even… Continue Reading

Samwise Gamgee understands the power of poetry and music

Samwise Gamgee understands the power of poetry and music

I have spoken many times about the power of poetry and music to express what words alone cannot. Yesterday evening, as I was reading The Two Towers with my son, I came across this passage where Sam is asked about the beauty of Galadriel: “The Lady of Lorien! Galadriel!” cried Sam. “You should see her, indeed… Continue Reading

How corporate worship is and is not like a baseball game

How corporate worship is and is not like a baseball game

Yesterday I attended a baseball game with my family, and I found myself pondering again a comparison I’ve often heard made by preachers between corporate worship and sporting events. “Look at how excited and enthusiastic everyone is,” they observe. “If we can get that excited about sports, we should be even more enthusiastic about God… Continue Reading

The most significant misconception about music in worship

The most significant misconception about music in worship

Here’s one of the most important concepts about music in worship I think needs to be communicated to pastors and parishioners alike: Music in the context of corporate worship is not primarily about giving people an authentic expression through their preferred musical style. Music in worship is (as is liturgy and preaching) formative. It shapes right spiritual… Continue Reading

On Texas heat and musical meaning

On Texas heat and musical meaning

I grew up in Michigan. I now live in Texas. Texas is hot. Really hot. And it stays hot for a long, long time. However, as I was working on some yard projects Monday, I noticed that after four years of living in Texas, I’ve grown accustomed to the heat. I found myself observing that… Continue Reading

How I order corporate worship

How I order corporate worship

Although there is no prescribed liturgy1 in Scripture, we do have clear commands that our corporate worship be “decent and in order” (1 Cor 14:40). Furthermore, since we are shaped by doing things over and over, our weekly corporate gatherings for worship are formative in shaping the worship in the rest of our lives, and… Continue Reading

Free eBook of Back to Basics Series

Free eBook of Back to Basics Series

This entry is part 10 of 10 in the series Back to Basics You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Over the past several months I have written a series of short articles in which I dealt with the major categories of a biblical philosophy of worship and music in a brief way. My desire was to introduce the basics of these issues to those who hadn’t carefully considered them. I have the posts linked below,… Continue Reading

Reading recommendations on musical meaning

Reading recommendations on musical meaning

I received some good feeback from my post last week briefly explaining musical meaning. Several were on Twitter: “@ScottAniol: Meaning in music is a tricky thing. http://t.co/0jyftIC025” This is the best article I’ve read on this topic! — Daniel Wilson (@NinjaDan4287) May 29, 2014 Excellent article “@ScottAniol: Received some good feedback on this simple article… Continue Reading

Meaning in Music

Meaning in Music

This entry is part 9 of 10 in the series Back to Basics You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Meaning in music is a tricky thing. Most people think it’s tricky because music is so abstract and lacks specificity such that describing its meaning with words is nearly impossible. On the contrary, meaning in music is tricky for exactly the opposite reason. As Felix Mendelssohn once noted, “What music expresses its not too indefinite to… Continue Reading

Affections and Passions

Affections and Passions

Perhaps one of the most important ideas to grasp in any discussion of music and worship is the difference between affections and passions. Premodern thought understood a distinction between kinds of emotion. At the time of the writing of the New Testament, common Greek thought articulated a distinction between the splankna — the chest — and the koilia —… Continue Reading