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On the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary
© 2024 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Kizombo Kalumbula and Artie M. Lindsay Sr. helped found a church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, modeled on leading by giftedness. Gradually Tabernacle Community Church realized that their natural diversity was a gift from God meant to be stewarded during “such a time as this” in American culture.
Valuing diversity in worship includes but goes beyond multiethnic considerations. It also means helping people of different ages, abilities, and vocations see themselves as living out their part to usher in God’s shalom. Two pastors offer practical insights for congregations interested in work and worship.
Artie Lindsay is the teaching pastor at Tabernacle Community Church, a multiracial congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In this edited conversation, he talks about the joys and challenges of serving the Alger Heights neighborhood.
Contemporary-worship congregations are rediscovering hymns as treasuries of theological depth that express the full range of emotions and Scripture. Singing hymns together helps people connect across generations and cultures.
If your congregation experiences hymn singing as dull and lifeless, then try Jonathan A. Powers’ advice on finding, introducing, and teaching hymns that will resonate with your worshiping community.
Some congregations worry that singing songs outside their own tradition might be inauthentic or offensive. Ethnomusicologist Katie J. Graber gives reasons for using worship songs from other cultures and eras—and how to do so with proper appreciation and attribution.
COVID-19, “the triple pandemic,” and future universal health threats will continue to prevent many congregants, especially senior members, from attending worship in person. But for those willing to put up with some “holy messiness,” Herbert H. Tsang offers low-tech solutions to connect, sing, and worship together.
Knowing more about the hymns they are singing helps worshipers feel more connected to God and each other in the universal body of Christ that spans all times and places.
The common thread in LaTonya McIver Penny’s pastoral and professional lives has been God’s calling to help faith communities, especially Black churches, become more inclusive. Learn why she sees inclusion as broader than welcoming people with cognitive or physical disabilities.
Moses Chung and Christopher Meehan cowrote the book "Joining Jesus: Ordinary People at the Edges of the Church." They hope these stories will give people and congregations hope, encouragement, and imagination to see what God is already doing in their neighborhoods.
Church pianists who apply William Phemister’s advice can introduce congregations to hymnody or more deeply immerse them in it. Typical worshipers may be surprised to learn that pianists don’t necessarily play every note as written in the hymnal—and there are good reasons why.
Participating in Calvin University’s Ministry Leadership Cohort and doing a summer ministry internship at his church taught one pre-med student a lot about God’s promises. You can apply some of what he learned to your own congregation.
