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Making Sense Out of Reading Theology

This article encourages methodical and reflective methods of reading theological texts in order to receive greater enrichment and nourishment from them.

August 26, 2008 | 6 min read
Community Worship at Mustard Seed School

How can your Christian school design chapel services that connect with real life? Mustard Seed School in Hoboken, New Jersey, has formed a model called community worship. A feature story exploring worship in one small school in New Jersey.

August 15, 2008 | 10 min read
Trinitarian Worship: This doctrine makes a difference in how you worship

What makes worship "work?" Gordon T. Smith and Philip W. Butin are among a growing group of scholars who say that consistently and explicitly naming and invoking the Trinity in worship inspires renewal. A feature story exploring how Trinitarian doctrine shapes Christian Worship.

July 21, 2008 | 7 min read

Philip Butin on How Trinitarian Worship Revitalizes Congregations

You’ve probably noticed something about worship. “We all know there are times when the Word is more profoundly proclaimed and profoundly heard,” says Philip W. Butin, president and professor of theology at San Francisco Theological Seminary and author of The Trinity.

July 21, 2008 | 4 min read
Bringing Our Pain to God: Michael Card and Calvin Seerveld on biblical lament in worship

Lament is an essential ingredient of honest faith, but what does biblical lament look or sound like in real congregations? A feature story exploring how Christians can bring their pain to God in worship.

June 20, 2008 | 12 min read
Interview with C.R. “Kees” van Setten about the Power of Musical Lament to Reconcile Jews and Christians

In this email interview from spring 2008, van Setten tells how the music of lament has helped heal European Christians ashamed of how they’ve treated Jews and helped Jews feel God’s presence. He explains how combining lament and praise can enrich evangelical worship.

June 20, 2008 | 14 min read

Faith Formation: What's the trouble with moralism?

Churches are talking about spiritual formation and faith formation because they've seen the failure of information to form faith that changes people's inner lives and outward behaviors. A feature story exploring the switch from moralism to faith formation.

June 5, 2008 | 12 min read
Take Me to the Water: Ideas for keeping baptism front and center

The theology of baptism has undergone a striking reformation in the last fifty years. So has the practice of baptism, at least in some respects.

June 1, 2008 | 1 min read
Chapel Services at Seminaries: Questions worth asking

Chapel at your seminary is likely different than seminary worship is for your peers at other divinity schools. A feature story exploring different chapel practices and sharing a model for planning worship on campus.

May 16, 2008 | 11 min read

Introduction to The Catechetical Lectures of Cyril of Jerusalem

Can a theologian be a good pastor or evangelist? Can an effective, church-growing evangelist be theological? Can a caring pastor preach doctrine in a relevant way? Is it possible for one person to be a dynamic evangelist, pastor, and theologian all at once? Looking at Cyril, the fourth century bishop of Jerusalem, is helpful.

May 8, 2008 | 2 min read
Kenneth E. Bailey on Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes

Middle East scholar Kenneth Bailey's books, lectures, and more invite Christians to strip away cultural mythologies and worship the real Jesus of the Middle East. A feature story exploring the life of Jesus through his own Middle-Eastern culture.

May 7, 2008 | 15 min read
From Pastor-centered to Participative Worship

Many churches are renewing their worship by changing some practices, yet remaining true to their worship principles. A feature story about a congregation exploring renewal through teaching and intergenerational involvement.

April 15, 2008 | 11 min read