church sign, which I used to pass frequently, boasted "The Singing Church," under the church's name. That a church would describe itself this way can serve as a starting point for realizing that music can be either too important to us as Christians-or not important enough. Many people today are driven by music, and especially […]
The White Horse Inn radio program and Modern Reformation magazine recently cohosted a roundtable discussion on the divisive subject of contemporary trends in worship music. The participants were Michael Horton (MH), editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation and co-host of the White Horse Inn, Ken Jones (KJ), pastor of Greater Union Baptist Church in Compton, California, and […]
MR: What is a good definition of worship? CF: The apostle Paul did a pretty good job in defining worship as action in Romans 12:1-2. The key word here is "therefore," which refers to Paul's meditation regarding the work of God in Jesus Christ in the previous chapter. Worship is a holy spiritual sacrifice involving […]
The energy and accomplishments of Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) are undeniably impressive. After beginning his career as a Reformed pastor and theologian, he expanded his work into the realms of journalism, education, and politics. His ultimate achievements included the formation of a new ecclesiastical denomination, the founding of a university, and a stint as Prime Minister […]
In Growing Up Protestant, Margaret Lamberts Bendroth offers a fascinating account of northern mainline Protestant attitudes about families and children in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Bendroth, professor of history at Calvin College, begins her account with the domestication of the family in the North during the mid-nineteenth century. As programs of catechesis were replaced […]
The republication, with a substantial new afterward, of Rowan Williams's Arius should be welcomed by the thoughtful Christian public for several reasons. First, at the time of writing, Williams is one of the main contenders for the vacancy at Lambeth Palace and may well be the head of the Anglican communion by the time this […]
After several years of discussing the nature and possibility of Christian scholarship, a discussion prompted largely by evangelical scholars, Alan Wolfe wrote a piece for the Atlantic Monthly (October 2000) entitled "The Opening of the Evangelical Mind." The essay's title was promising and Wolfe gave reasonably high marks to Evangelical liberal arts colleges. But he […]
n Scripture, worship of the living God involves at least three activities. First, we bow down to God, thereby acknowledging his sovereignty and indicating our loving and faithful subservience. Second, we glorify God by praising his attributes and recounting his deeds and virtues. Third, we draw near to God in adoration, thanksgiving, and supplication. Music […]
It is reasonable to think that music and song have existed for as long as there have been human beings. Scripture notes that Lamech's son Jubal "was the father of all those who play the harp and flute" (Gen. 4:21). Scripture represents music accompanying both work-in Numbers 21:17, 18, Israel sings as a well is […]
Many evangelical churches today have lost the distinctive doctrines of the Reformation. But why now? What accounts for this loss in churches where Reformation faith was heralded for generations? Why is the faith once delivered now being abandoned? It is because we have lost the reformer's God. Behind the church's current theological crisis is a […]
y students tell me that their high schools are segregated according to music tastes. Some teenagers like pop; others like rap. And then we have the heavy metal head-bangers (themselves divided into factions favoring death metal, thrash, Goth, and other musical sects). Then there are the "alternative" fans, the devotees of techno, and those who […]
