Consumerism and Congregational Song
Blogger David Bjorlin is a worship pastor at Resurrection Covenant Church (Chicago), a lecturer in worship at North Park Theological Seminary (Chicago), and a published hymnwriter. What Is Water? In David Foster Wallace’s now famous commencement address at Kenyon College in 2005, he began, after the briefest of introductions, with what he […]
26th of August 2019
A Pastor’s Music Question
One of the joys of my position as the Director of The Center for Congregational Song is to be asked interesting questions from people who are working week in and week out to get their congregations singing. This series of blogs will take some of the questions I’ve been asked and post the answers publicly. […]
19th of August 2019
Modern Justice Songs
One of the joys of my position as the Director of The Center for Congregational Song is to be asked interesting questions from people who are working week in and week out to get their congregations singing. This series of blogs will take some of the questions I’ve been asked and post the answers publicly. […]
1st of July 2019
Crossing Cultures – Creating Unity: An Interview
Felicia Patton is a lifelong Chicago native and worship leader at Urban Village Church. Felicia received an undergraduate degree from North Park University followed by two graduate degrees from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Introduction We all have a history; a history that shapes who we are and what we believe. This is true for all aspects of our lives, […]
18th of June 2019
Strong Black Lead: Power Gospel Soloists PART II
Guest Blogger Joslyn Henderson is a full-time graduate student at Truett Seminary and Baylor School of Music, having first earned her Bachelors in Music, Vocal Performance from Spelman College in Atlanta. Part I of this blog post can be found here. Moving down into the 2000s, the following entries reflect gospel music as […]
10th of June 2019
Strong Black Lead: Power Gospel Soloists – Part I
Guest Blogger Joslyn Henderson is a full-time graduate student at Truett Seminary and Baylor School of Music, having first earned her Bachelors in Music, Vocal Performance from Spelman College in Atlanta. When she finishes at Baylor, she will add a Master of Divinity and Master of Music in Church Music to her education. She is a […]
30th of May 2019
Context Matters: A Case for “I” in Worship
Blogger David Bjorlin is a worship pastor at Resurrection Covenant Church (Chicago), a lecturer in worship at North Park Theological Seminary (Chicago), and a published hymnwriter. [In my previous post, I explored how The Sound of Music’s “Edelweiss” helped me understand that a congregational song’s theological content can only be interpreted correctly if we […]
20th of May 2019
Finding the Risen Christ in Community
Blogger Ginny Chilton Maxwell is Music Minister at Church of the Ascension in Norfolk, Virginia, where she serves as organist, choirmaster, and elementary music teacher. Eastertide Eastertide is the season where we get to hear a little each Sunday from the book of Acts, a record of the wild experiences of Jesus’s […]
13th of May 2019
A Healthy Body Image for the Worshiping Church
This blog is by guest blogger Joel Payne and was originally posted on the ResoundWorship Blog in 2018. Body Image It’s well accepted these days that fashion magazines have played their part in promoting an unrealistic, even unhealthy, body image. But what about the worship music industry – could it be that […]
7th of May 2019
Lord, You Can Turn All Mourning into Dancing
Blogger Brian Hehn is the director of The Center for Congregational Song. SOLEMNITY It’s pet peeve time. Let’s talk about the word solemn. Especially in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and other traditions with similar liturgical tendencies, the word solemn is used quite a bit. You hear about celebrating a “solemnity,” keeping this “solemn […]
