The Worship Planning Team as Conversation Partners
Who is invited to plan worship? What spiritual gifts need to be included on the planning team? How can the planning team leader facilitate conversation among diverse voices?
Symposium 2011 - Parachurch vs. Church: A False Dichotomy
How should we think about the relationship between the local church and parachurch ministries, especially in regard to worship practices? These and other questions will be considered by a panel of scholars and parachurch leaders.
Parenting in the Pew: The Call, Cost, and Challenge of Children in the Sanctuary
Based on the book Parenting in the Pew, this session considered ways the church and home can work together to train children for participation in worship with the intergenerational community.
Symposium 2011 - Alleluias Concentrated: Enabling Expansive Worship in Small Membership Congregations
"If we only had / could ..." can become too common a phrase in smaller congregations. This session equipped and encouraged even the smallest congregation --or small group within a larger community-- to design and experience deep, joy-filled worship using everything God has given them and requiring nothing more.
Symposium 2011 - Someday You'll Be a Good Preacher
The journey to good preaching is as filled with twists and turns as a Rocky Mountain highway. Stan Mast is a veteran road warrior who shares hard-won insights into what it takes to become a good preacher. Special attention is paid to the sharp-tongued critics who can drive aspiring preachers off the road.
Beginning a Communal Conversation: A Process for Developing Intergenerational Worship
The way in which we worship and express faith must remain supple and open to the change necessary to be heard in an changing world.
Table Fellowship
For the last fifteen years LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church has welcomed children to the Lord’s table by means of a Table Fellowship liturgy.
Worship Leading as a Ministry of Reconciliation
When Isaac Wardell interviewed for the job of director of worship arts at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, he learned how often worship changes hurt, confuse, or offend people.
Dealing with Fear in Church Life
How can we worship so that God’s perfect love overcomes all we’re afraid of?
Greg Scheer on Working with Worship Committees
"People fear the unknown above all. You lie awake worrying about what might happen," says Greg Scheer, minister of worship at Church of the Servant in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Worship changes often make people fear they'll lose power, feel discomfort, or watch meaningful traditions erode.
Coop's Column - Father - Like He Tends and Spares Us
Jesus never tired of referring to God as his Father.
The Trouble with Moralism
You've probably noticed disconnects between what people say in worship and how they live. That’s why more church leaders are talking about the difference between moralism and genuine faith formation. They’re asking how worship can form people to picture faith and life as so much more than a list of do’s and don’ts.