Faith Formation

Elizabeth Broschart on Planning Music in Small Churches

Elizabeth “Beth” Broschart is the pastor at First Presbyterian Church, a small congregation in Boyne City, Michigan. Before that, she pastored a small church in Pennsylvania and helped lead music in churches where her husband was the pastor. In this edited email conversation, she talks about the joys and challenges of planning music in small congregations.

August 8, 2012

Christian Initiation and Community

A lesson plan to accompany Living Worship curriculum that addresses the design and performance of Christian Initiation rites in light of the on-going life and practice of the Christian assembly.

July 11, 2012
A Difficult Assignment: Suggestions for Leading in the Sanctuary

This lecture offers some concrete suggestions as to how clergy and musicians can better work together to inspire a worship life that helps others to unwrap the gift of grace.

July 11, 2012
Mark Labberton on Micah Groups and God’s Broken Heart

Mark Labberton teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary and directs its Ogilvie Institute of Preaching. He wrote The Dangerous Act of Worship: Living God’s Call to Justice and The Dangerous Act of Loving Your Neighbor. In this edited conversation, he talks about why preachers are forming and joining Micah Groups.

July 10, 2012

Steven R. Guthrie on How the Holy Spirit Makes Us Fully Human

Steve Guthrie founded the religion and arts major at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. For the first half of 2012, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship hosted Guthrie as a visiting scholar.

May 1, 2012
Finding family thousands of miles from home: reflections on going where God calls

I did not want to go to California. I wanted to stay home. That desire hit me hard over Christmas break as I watched people in the church I had grown up in come forward for communion.

April 17, 2012

Chapel Planning and Leading: What We Are Learning from Christian Schools

This article identifies some insights about worship that influence our work with Christian schools and shares what we are learning from students and teachers through their experiences of chapel planning and leading. All the comments come directly from feedback we have collected. This collective wisdom is presented in the form of proverbs—wise sayings, or words of advice—in the hope that this will encourage learning over time and across contexts, and spark conversation and further thinking on these topics.

March 13, 2012
Chapel Planning: Asking the Right Questions

Christian high school students, staff, and teachers at Calvin Symposium on Worship 2012 began a chapel planning seminar seated around tables. They introduced themselves and described common questions in their school’s chapel planning process. One person at each table summarized responses to share with the entire seminar.

March 7, 2012