Apply for the Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants Program to support and enhance Christian worship practices. We encourage proposals on universal design, cultural engagement, preaching, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and more. Two grant streams are available.
Join us for our Symposium on Worship and Summer Seminars. Engage in inspiring sessions, workshops, and intensive seminars to deepen your understanding and practice of Christian worship.
Since at least the eighth century, Christians have prepared to celebrate the birth of Christ by singing the O Antiphons. These seven songs, or antiphons, function as prayers asking for the Savior to come soon. Each employs a different name for the Messiah found in the Old Testament. In modern times, the O Antiphons are most commonly sung as the seven verses of the Advent hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”
The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship at Calvin University advances Christian worship through resources, events, and grants. Since 1997, we have partnered with congregations and organizations to fulfill our mission.
Robert Nordling on Humility and Christian Leadership
Published on
February 14, 2013
Video length
3 mins
In December 2012, Robert Nordling gave an extended interview. In this edited excerpt, he talks about humility as a key to Christian leadership and formation during college.
Robert Nordling is a conductor, composer, arranger, and educator who says, “Music has been a central part of my life since age three.” He has held music ministry positions in churches in California, Washington, and England. Nordling also serves as resource development specialist for orchestral music for Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.
From 2002 through 2007, Nordling and his wife, Cherith Fee Nordling, worked as co-directors of Christian formation at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also served as Calvin’s orchestra conductor from 2002 through 2012. Nordling left Calvin to join his wife in metro Chicago, where she teaches theology at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Illinois.
In December 2012, Robert Nordling gave an extended interview. In this edited excerpt, he talks about humility as a key to Christian leadership and formation during college.
Nordling says that Christians have for centuries debated whether music is inherently powerful or whether powerful response to music comes from learned experience in a particular context. In this edited excerpt, he explains why humility and authenticity have always been necessary to resolve church music and worship disagreements.
Born of Water and the Spirit: Four Continental Perspectives on Baptism
While Christian baptism is predominantly a transcultural practice, distinct faith communities worldwide experience this initiation rite through unique contextualizing elements. Join us in a fascinating conversation with Christian leaders from five continents about the rich cultural diversity reflected in baptismal liturgies, imagery, and practices, and how they shape Christian life in their contexts.
This panel will explore the intersectionality between culture and disability. What can we learn from the experiences of people across varying cultures and contexts? What do experiences of racism and ableism in the church have in common? How do they overlap? How does belonging for people with disabilities look different in a variety of cultural contexts?
Worship with Teenagers: History Lessons for Ministry Today
Teenagers’ desire to encounter God has been realized throughout history as youth ministry has grown and evolved. Indeed, teenagers have expressed needs and desires to practice and grow their faith at church, school, and home as well as at camps and conferences or on short- and long-term mission trips. On the one hand, these worship efforts have been deeply formative. On the other hand, these worship efforts have focused on attracting and keeping teenagers as much as, if not more than, on spiritual formation. This session will identify key historical patterns in adolescent worship and examine how we might engage their wisdom for faithful worship practices with teenagers today.
Born of Water and the Spirit: Four Continental Perspectives on Baptism
While Christian baptism is predominantly a transcultural practice, distinct faith communities worldwide experience this initiation rite through unique contextualizing elements. Join us in a fascinating conversation with Christian leaders from five continents about the rich cultural diversity reflected in baptismal liturgies, imagery, and practices, and how they shape Christian life in their contexts.
This panel will explore the intersectionality between culture and disability. What can we learn from the experiences of people across varying cultures and contexts? What do experiences of racism and ableism in the church have in common? How do they overlap? How does belonging for people with disabilities look different in a variety of cultural contexts?
Worship with Teenagers: History Lessons for Ministry Today
Teenagers’ desire to encounter God has been realized throughout history as youth ministry has grown and evolved. Indeed, teenagers have expressed needs and desires to practice and grow their faith at church, school, and home as well as at camps and conferences or on short- and long-term mission trips. On the one hand, these worship efforts have been deeply formative. On the other hand, these worship efforts have focused on attracting and keeping teenagers as much as, if not more than, on spiritual formation. This session will identify key historical patterns in adolescent worship and examine how we might engage their wisdom for faithful worship practices with teenagers today.
Bilingual Korean-English Songs for Congregational Singing
Songs from the people of Korea can deeply enrich your liturgy whether you have Korean-speaking members in your congregation or not. This workshop will introduce a variety of bilingual Korean-English songs that have been newly translated in the past few years as well as strategies to lead them effectively in your own worshiping context.
