Download or read book Worship as Community Drama written by Pierre Hegy and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2019-03-22 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Church weddings, funerals, and most Sunday services reflect the values and dramas of their communities, even when the ministers are the main or sole actors. This point is illustrated by examples ranging from American television masses to the Zairean three-hour services in the Congo. Of greatest interest to readers might be the Sunday services at ordinary parishes, which also range from friendly but uninspiring to innovative and inviting. There are also two exceptionally vital churches analyzed here: an evangelical church in the Pentecostal tradition and a social justice parish in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. Today one can hardly buy an item in a store or on the Internet without being asked for an evaluation, yet church services are seldom evaluated. There can be no improvement without evaluation. This book proposes a method of evaluation in eight steps that must be rigorously scientific and at the same time offer a vision for spiritual growth. The prophet Elijah found God in earthquakes and fire, but most people find mystery through art, music, rhythm, chanting, expressive readings, evocative rituals, and enlightened homilies. Today people expect “mystagogy” rather than routine performances. Mystagogy can be learned and improved through evaluation, to which this book desires to make a major contribution.
Download or read book Rhythms of Grace written by Mike Cosper and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2013-03-31 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is it singing? A church service? All of life? Helping Christians think more theologically about the nature of true worship, Rhythms of Grace shows how the gospel is all about worship and worship is all about the gospel. Mike Cosper ultimately answers the question: What is worship?
Download or read book Iona Abbey Worship Book written by The Iona Community and published by Wild Goose Publications. This book was released on 2001-03-29 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The services and resources in The Iona Abbey Worship Book reflect the Iona Community's commitment to the belief that worship is all that we are and all that we do, both inside and outside the church, with no division into the 'sacred' and the 'secular'.
Download or read book Worship Old and New written by Robert E. Webber and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2009-12-15 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A reexamination of the actual practice of worship that goes beyond the merely academic to provide a practical perspective through the eyes of the worship leader and the congregation. The most effective approach to worship is one that blends historical and traditional practices with contemporary elements. Worship Old and New is a scholarly, up-to-date, and thought-provoking resource for anyone serious about exploring worship and how to bring about a worship renewal in the church. Now reformatted and updated for an easier, more logical approach to worship theology, this revised edition is divided into four major sections, addressing: The biblical foundation of worship—found in the Old and New Testaments as well as the early Christian movement. The biblical theology of worship—how worship is an enactment of the Gospel. A brief history of worship—from ancient and medieval, to twentieth-century renewal. An overview of how worship is practiced—from content and structure, to the role of music and art. New information is incorporated into each section to give you a better grasp of the biblical themes of worship, a deeper understanding of Old Testament customs, and a solid grounding in modern-day renewal movements. This book is ideal for ministerial, classroom, and congregational settings.
Download or read book The Prophetic Imagination written by Walter Brueggemann and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this challenging and enlightening treatment, Brueggemann traces the lines from the radical vision of Moses to the solidification of royal power in Solomon to the prophetic critique of that power with a new vision of freedom in the prophets. Here he traces the broad sweep from Exodus to Kings to Jeremiah to Jesus. He highlights that the prophetic vision and not only embraces the pain of the people but creates an energy and amazement based on the new thing that God is doing. In this new edition, Brueggemann has completely revised the text, updated the notes, and added a new preface.
Download or read book The Church Between Gospel and Culture written by George R. Hunsberger and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 1996 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This excellent collection of essays, written by a diverse group of Christian leaders working on the frontier of mission within the present North American context, lays the groundwork for the newly emerging missionary encounter of the gospel with North American culture. Demonstrating that the missionary identity of the church is to be found at the intersection of culture-gospel-church, these essays outline the missionary agenda now before the church as it confronts North American assumptions, perspectives, preferences, and practices.
Download or read book A Royal Waste of Time written by Marva J. Dawn and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 1999 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Marva Dawn insists that churches need to engage in a serious process of community discernment concerning worship in order to employ the best tools and forms, and she offers reflections to further the discussion. Each part of A Royal "Waste" of Time begins with a sample Scripture-based sermon since Dawn emphasizes that the church's worship must follow biblical guidelines and form a biblical people.--From publisher's description.
Download or read book A History of Contemporary Praise Worship written by Lester Ruth and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2021-12-07 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christianity Today 2023 Book Award Finalist (History & Biography) New forms of worship have transformed the face of the American church over the past fifty years. Drawing on a wide range of primary sources, including interviews with dozens of important stakeholders and key players, this volume by two worship experts offers the first comprehensive history of Contemporary Praise & Worship. The authors provide insight into where this phenomenon began and how it reshaped the Protestant church. They also emphasize the span of denominational, regional, and ethnic expressions of contemporary worship.
Download or read book The Big God Story written by Michelle Anthony and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2010 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Bible is packed full of amazing accounts of adventure, excitement, and redemption. A beautiful garden, a great flood, dusty travels through a dry desert, a land flowing with milk and honey, good and bad kings, and a holy baby who came to be the Redeemer. In this fast-paced book, you'll journey from Genesis to Revelation, seeing the many ways God has shown us His love and redemption throughout history!--Cover back.
Download or read book Story Shaped Worship written by Robbie F. Castleman and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2013-04-03 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Story-Shaped Worship Robbie Castleman attempts nothing less than to uncover the fundamental shape of worship. Right worship doesn't require a traditionalist return to earlier forms of church, she argues, but a fresh response to God in light of the revealed patterns of worship we find in the Bible and church history.
Download or read book Singing the Congregation written by Monique M. Ingalls and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-09-17 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemporary worship music shapes the way evangelical Christians understand worship itself. Author Monique M. Ingalls argues that participatory worship music performances have brought into being new religious social constellations, or "modes of congregating". Through exploration of five of these modes--concert, conference, church, public, and networked congregations--Singing the Congregation reinvigorates the analytic categories of "congregation" and "congregational music." Drawing from theoretical models in ethnomusicology and congregational studies, Singing the Congregation reconceives the congregation as a fluid, contingent social constellation that is actively performed into being through communal practice--in this case, the musically-structured participatory activity known as "worship." "Congregational music-making" is thereby recast as a practice capable of weaving together a religious community both inside and outside local institutional churches. Congregational music-making is not only a means of expressing local concerns and constituting the local religious community; it is also a powerful way to identify with far-flung individuals, institutions, and networks that comprise this global religious community. The interactions among the congregations reveal widespread conflicts over religious authority, carrying far-ranging implications for how evangelicals position themselves relative to other groups in North America and beyond.
Download or read book Open and Unafraid written by W. David O. Taylor and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2020-03-10 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A book you will want to read and read again." -- Eugene Peterson Afterword by Bono. How can you find a more transparent, resilient, and fearless life of faith? Open and Unafraid by David Taylor takes readers on a profound journey through the book of Psalms, which has been a central pillar for God's people for millennia, across all walks of life and cultural contexts. In reading it, we discover that we are never alone in our joys, sorrows, angers, doubts, praises, or thanksgivings. In it, we learn about prayer and poetry, honesty and community, justice and enemies, life and death, nations and creation. As a professor, pastor, author, and producer of the short film Bono and Eugene Peterson: The Psalms, David Taylor has created an accessible guide to the psalms that resonates deeply with first-time and long-time Bible readers, poets and artists, devout believers and spiritual seekers alike. Open and Unafraid shows you how to read the psalms in a fresh, life-giving way, and so access the bottomless resources for life and experience the presence of God--in order to deepen discipleship and worship. Endorsements: "David Taylor’s take is 'open and unafraid' alright. He really goes there, exposing himself before God in the most beautiful way. He might have called the book Naked, because if you don’t find your own self feeling a little exposed here, it might be time to take some armor off." -- Bono, from the Afterword "A book that you will want to read and read again, and yet again, in order to discover the wisdom of the Psalms that shows us how to walk in the life-giving way of Jesus." -- Eugene Peterson, from the Foreword "A winsome, accessible entry into the Book of Psalms…Connects the poetry of the psalms to real-life wonders and struggles." -- Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary "Taylor reads these biblical prayers with Dr. Seuss, rappers, and other poets, along with theologians and the daily news....Guides readers in tracing out patterns of holy speech that have the potential for healing our hearts and our communities." -- Ellen F. Davis, Duke Divinity School "I have always loved the psalms--for their defiant devotion, their deep joy, and their brutal yet beautiful honesty. And after reading this fantastic book about them, I love them even more." -- Matt Redman, worship leader and song writer "In these fraught and fearsome days, we need the psalms more than ever. And we need more faithful artists and thinkers like David Taylor to mine the infinite gifts the psalms offer across the ages." -- Karen Swallow Prior, author of Fierce Convictions
Download or read book Glimpses of the New Creation written by W. David O. Taylor and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2019-09-03 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do the arts in worship form individuals and communities? Every choice of art in worship opens up and closes down possibilities for the formation of our humanity. Every practice of music, every decision about language, every use of our bodies, every approach to visual media or church buildings forms our desires, shapes our imaginations, habituates our emotional instincts, and reconfigures our identity as Christians in contextually meaningful ways, generating thereby a sense of the triune God and of our place in the world. Glimpses of the New Creation argues that the arts form us in worship by bringing us into intentional and intensive participation in the aesthetic aspect of our humanity—that is, our physical, emotional, imaginative, and metaphorical capacities. In so doing they invite the people of God to be conformed to Christ and to participate in the praise of Christ and in the praise of creation, which by the Spirit’s power raises its peculiar voice to the Father in heaven, for the sake of the world that God so loves.
Download or read book Christianity Art and Transformation written by John W. de Gruchy and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2001-01-29 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the historical and contemporary relationship between the arts and Christianity.
Download or read book Desiring the Kingdom Cultural Liturgies written by James K. A. Smith and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2009-08-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Malls, stadiums, and universities are actually liturgical structures that influence and shape our thoughts and affections. Humans--as Augustine noted--are "desiring agents," full of longings and passions; in brief, we are what we love. James K. A. Smith focuses on the themes of liturgy and desire in Desiring the Kingdom, the first book in what will be a three-volume set on the theology of culture. He redirects our yearnings to focus on the greatest good: God. Ultimately, Smith seeks to re-vision education through the process and practice of worship. Students of philosophy, theology, worldview, and culture will welcome Desiring the Kingdom, as will those involved in ministry and other interested readers.
Download or read book Worship by the Book written by Rev. Mark Ashton and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2010-06-01 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “What is at stake is authenticity. . . . Sooner or later Christians tire of public meetings that are profoundly inauthentic, regardless of how well (or poorly) arranged, directed, performed. We long to meet, corporately, with the living and majestic God and to offer him the praise that is his due.”—D. A. CarsonWorship is a hot topic, but the ways that Christians from different traditions view it vary greatly. What is worship? More important, what does it look like in action, both in our corporate gatherings and in our daily lives? These concerns—the blending of principle and practice—are what Worship by the Book addresses.Cutting through cultural clichés, D. A. Carson, Mark Ashton, Kent Hughes, and Timothy Keller explore, respectively:· Worship Under the Word· Following in Cranmer’s Footsteps· Free Church Worship: The Challenge of Freedom· Reformed Worship in the Global City “This is not a comprehensive theology of worship,” writes Carson. “Still less is it a sociological analysis of current trends or a minister’s manual chockfull of ‘how to’ instructions.” Rather, this book offers pastors, other congregational leaders, and seminary students a thought-provoking biblical theology of worship, followed by a look at how three very different traditions of churchmanship might move from this theological base to a better understanding of corporate worship. Running the gamut from biblical theology to historical assessment all the way to sample service sheets, Worship by the Book shows how local churches in diverse traditions can foster corporate worship that is God-honoring, Word-revering, heartfelt, and historically and culturally informed.
Download or read book A Community Called Taize written by Jason Brian Santos and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2010-01-09 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Taizé--the word is strangely familiar to many throughout the contemporary church. Familiar, perhaps, because the chanted prayers of Taizé are well practiced in churches throughout the world. Strangely, however, because so little is known about Taizé--from its historic beginnings to how the word itself is pronounced. The worship of the Taizé community, as it turns out, is best understood in the context of its greater mission. On the day Jason Brian Santos arrived in the Taizé community its leader was brutally murdered before his eyes. Instead of making Santos want to leave, the way the community handled this tragedy made him long to stay and learn more about this group of people who could respond to such evil with grace and love. In this book he takes us on a tour of one of the world's first ecumenical monastic orders, from its monastic origins in the war-torn south of 1940s France to its emerging mission as a pilgrimage site and spiritual focal point for millions of young people throughout the world. In A Community Called Taizé you'll meet the brothers of the order and the countless visitors and volunteers who have taken upon themselves a modest mission: pronouncing peace and reconciliation to the church and the world.