Welcoming Contemporary Korean English Songs in Sunday Worship
Korean Christians worldwide enjoy contemporary worship songs by Korean composers, but these are seldom sung in the main Sunday liturgies of Korean Protestant churches. An emerging initiative to translate Korean heart songs to English can unite different worshiping generations and cultures. This initiative can also help Korean and English-speaking churches identify, appreciate, and question their cultural views on worship.
April 14, 2025
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11 min read
Becoming a Trauma-Informed Faith Community
Resources to help churches and other faith communities do ministry with people affected by adverse childhood experiences or other trauma.
April 7, 2025
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7 min read
Reuben Kigame on Music that Expresses the Full Gospel
Not many churches in Africa or elsewhere often include songs about social justice in worship. Kenyan scholar and musician Reuben Kigame believes that re-examining what the Bible says about justice and the good news should shift what we define as music appropriate for worship.
February 3, 2025
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9 min read
Nurturing Intergenerational Worship through Song
Lilly Endowment Inc. encourages intergenerational worship through its Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative. Worshiping together can include not only music, but prayer, scripture, drama, visual arts, movement, testimony, and sacraments. However, these three grant projects include or spotlight children’s songs or songwriting for children.
January 28, 2025
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9 min read
Ten Tips for Writing Worship Songs for Children
Lilly Endowment Inc. encourages intergenerational worship through its Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative. Worshiping together can include prayer, music, scripture, drama, visual arts, movement, testimony, and sacraments. Three grant projects include children’s worship music or songwriting for children to create immersive intergenerational worship experiences.
January 28, 2025
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10 min read
Demetrius K. Williams: African American Christians Enlarged the Meaning of the Cross
Through spirituals, freedom narratives, conversion accounts, and Black preaching, enslaved African Americans shared the embodied hope of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Like Paul, they proclaimed that the power of the cross of Christ should advance how the church participates in and quests for a more just and equitable world.
January 14, 2025
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10 min read
Mark Stover on Choral Music as Pastoral Ministry
Singing in a good choir is aesthetically satisfying. But choral directors have the opportunity to do so much more. Mark Stover explains how do pastoral ministry in and through choral ensembles. This includes choosing anthems that promote social justice in ways that express God’s wide welcome.
January 7, 2025
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7 min read
Demetrius K. Williams: Reclaiming the Full Power of the Cross
Probably every Christian knows that Paul preached about the power of the cross of Christ for personal salvation. But Christians often miss Paul’s discourse on the power of the cross of Christ to bring about social transformation. Reclaiming the full power of the cross should bring about unity and equality—in body, soul, mind, spirit, and voice—in the body of Christ and society.
January 2, 2025
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10 min read
W. David O. Taylor on the Collect, an Ancient Prayer Form
You’ve probably heard that we should take all of ourselves to God in prayer. But does God really care about doing laundry, aging rapidly, fighting traffic, or spending time with friends? God does care, according to W. David O. Taylor. His Prayers for the Pilgrimage: A Book of Collects for All of Life offers prayers about mundane sorrows and joys.
December 17, 2024
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9 min read
Helen Rhee on Early Christianity’s Views on Wealth and Poverty
Many Christians think that how they acquire and use money is peripheral to the gospel. Relatively few preachers address wealth and poverty in their sermons. Yet early Christianity proclaimed and practiced the countercultural value of caring for the poor. Their worship services reflected this value.
November 7, 2024
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8 min read
Leopoldo Sánchez on Preaching the Holy Spirit at Advent and Christmas
Many Christians understand the liturgical calendar as a way to follow the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Pentecost season reminds us of the Holy Spirit’s work. But Leopoldo Sánchez suggests a theological twist for Advent and Christmas to remind us of the Holy Spirit’s role in the life of Jesus—and in our own lives.
November 7, 2024
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7 min read
Leopoldo Sánchez on Holy Spirit Worship Practices at Christmas and Beyond
Advent and Christmas present unexpected opportunities to remind us how the Holy Spirit empowers us to participate with and be more like Jesus Christ. The lectionary, visuals, cultural traditions, “Come, Holy Spirit” prayers, and songs can invite us into the trinitarian drama. Spoiler alert: these Spirit Christology approaches apply to every liturgical season.
October 25, 2024
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11 min read
