Category Archives: contemporary worship

This song by the Wailin’ Jennys is stuck in my head today. I have transcribed two voices and the viola, but that third harmony just doesn’t want to come. I don’t mind listening to it over and over, though. That’s … Continue reading →

Here’s what a lot of people hate about “contemporary worship”: Contemporary worship parody Wasn’t that awful? Wait, what was awful? The fact that there’s a commonly used style, which can be made fun of? That’s true of any religious service … Continue reading →

This is not necessarily the best way to accomplish the task. Give her a B3 and a couple of Leslies, dude! (Cartoon by Christian Musician and parodist Bim Ingersoll.)

Some interesting quotes I ran across recently: Our worship service is designed to help people experience greater wholeness and integration in their lives, to take down some of those barriers between the sacred and the profane that divide our lives … Continue reading →

When I named this blog, I made a mistake: “loud” is not the defining characteristic of contemporary worship or contemporary worship music. Granted, it was louder when we started doing this, by virtue of having a drum kit on stage. … Continue reading →

After three years of contemporary worship at a third service on 12:30 Sundays, we are “going primetime”, that is, folding the contemporary services into the two morning services. Current plan is to see how it works with two contemporary and … Continue reading →

One of the thorniest barriers to moving to a contemporary style, I think, is that there are beloved hymns that are going to be sorely missed by long-time members. If you’re moving from a traditional service style to a more … Continue reading →

This is a great way to spend 20 minutes being uplifted and inspired. Scottish conductor Charles Hazelwood talks about (and conducts) how integral trust is to making music. And to being in a spiritual community, which is what a really … Continue reading →

I’ve let this one sit for a couple of weeks to let the comments come in, but it looks like it’s quiescent, so it’s time for me to pile on. Should Worship Be Entertaining? by Debra Dean Murphy, in Sojourners … Continue reading →

It’s not true that you have to break eggs to make omelets. You can make a couple of small holes in the egg shell and blow out the tasty part, keeping the beautiful part intact. Win-win! I think we can … Continue reading →