“About 10 years ago, while I was on a mission trip, I got a compulsion to put Psalm 1 to music,” he said. He liked the tune, how the words were straight Scripture, and that it was different from the typical modern worship song. “I got this delusional idea to try to do them all,”... Continue Reading

“Whether we’re praising or we’re praying, there are certainly numerous biblical examples of repeating the same words to God. Worship leaders use repetition as a tool to let important proclamations and/or petitions not just fly by without the intentionality they might warrant.”   One universal criticism of contemporary worship songs and the flannel-shirted people who... Continue Reading

“The debate surrounding so-called ‘exclusive psalmody’ is both interesting and important. It revolves in large part around the idea of there being a ‘Regulative Principle’ in public worship and how it ought to be understood and implemented.”   Too many churches never sing the psalms in public worship. Despite the fact the two direct injunctions... Continue Reading

“The Psalmist is not only weeping, but he reached to hang up his lyre on the branch of a willow tree somewhere along the Tigris or Euphrates River in this cradle that gave birth to the ancient civilization (137:2). The Babylonians, his captors, wanted to hear him sing a song of Zion. But the Psalmist... Continue Reading

Mr. Wagner acknowledged that Hillsong risked being criticized for participating, but said the documentary “fits right into the church’s M.O.,” which includes the evangelist knack for “being right at the forefront of using every kind of media possible to bring God to the secular popular consciousness.”   Michael John Warren, the director of MTV documentaries... Continue Reading

Augustine, our great North African father, said that each Psalm had a ‘single body of feeling that vibrates in every syllable’. As Peter Brown has noted, Augustine believed that each Psalm could be presented as a microcosm of the whole Bible — the clear essence of Christianity refracted through in the exotic spectrum of Hebrew... Continue Reading

“Cruising Manhattan in the back of a stretch black SUV on a recent afternoon, pin-balling from one corner of the American culture war to another as he promotes his book, Lecrae Devaughn Moore knows he presents a new evangelical archetype. And he loves it.”   The black rap star came on the white evangelical’s radio talk show... Continue Reading

A new hymn-meditation written for congregational singing: It can be sung anytime but especially when there is emotional and mental confusion when tragedy strikes, whether from senseless terrorists killing people at a nightclub in Orlando, a tsunami overwhelms land and people, or wars and rumors of war that break out and upset the soul. So... Continue Reading

The gospel is a timeless message, and by the work of the Holy Spirit it still and will continue to save the lost of this world. It needs no modernization or relevancy, for it is forever relevant. Unfortunately, this musical confirms the destructive reality of cultural Christianity, where the good news of the gospel is... Continue Reading

“Too many of us are going to shows, not church. We savor presentations, not prayers. We are presented with performers, and we are less concerned with seeking the Savior. People are encouraged to love the worship… but how often to love Jesus?”   My wife and I were a little late for church one Sunday... Continue Reading