Where, O where did the hymnals go?  The once constant bastion of the pew, the loyal book that would meet you wherever you happened to be worshiping on a given Sunday, has left the building.  When I was a teenager and hymnals began to collect dust as overhead projectors took over I welcomed it as an opportunity to get with the times.  Computers were taking over the world, and I had heard of AOL and the Internet---the world seemed like it was ready to ditch the book and go electronic.

I'll be live blogging my Good Friday all day today...

Heh, just kidding.

I woke up and was at church to pray early this morning and it was very powerful.  It was the first time I have used my prayer beads (more on them next week) and it was a profound experience.  The Passion was much more vivid for me than it has been in previous years.  My church has been bringing in liturgical elements for Holy Week worship and I have been able to worship more dynamically in church, which is a blessing. ... more

Tonight at my church we are having a soup dinner followed by communion and a hymn sing to commemorate the Last Supper.

Maundy Thursday has been maligned in different Protestant circles over the years, but it has been making a roaring comeback in recent years.  I think this mostly has to do with the prospect of food. 

Holy Week has always focused on the dramatic realism of Christ's Passion.  Christian traditions of all walks try to incorporate a realistic rendition of the commemoration of time.  The Passion week becomes our week, we walk in Jesus' steps, do the things he did, and attempt to recreate this holiest of weeks.

That's why it strikes me as odd that so many paintings of the Last Supper are so sacramentalized---they don't appear to be photographic as much as metaphorical, whereas most paintings of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection are more realistic. Pictures after the jump! ... more

When discussing the worship of children, there seems to be three main approaches that churches follow. The first assumes that children worship in the same manner as adults but in a different style that is unique to their world. These churches will typically have a separate service for the children with great variance; from flannel graphs and a single teacher to a full production with teams of dancers, drama and more. The second assumes that children worship or should be made to learn how to worship, in the same manner and style of adults. These churches typically have children present during the service times along with their parents or guardians who are encouraged to keep the children quiet and still as much as possible. The third approach assumes that children worship in the same manner and style as adults and includes them in the presentation of the main service. These are typically more artistic churches that seek to be inclusive of all ages and will allow children to read a poem, scripture or dance.

All three models have one thing in common which is the assumption that children worship in the same manner as adults. Children, by their mere existence give praise to God and they do it as well through their play, their imagination and their conversations. The question that has been going around in my head recently is: if we simply observed children in their day to day life, would we in fact conclude that they do worship in the ways we assume they do? Or have we made our children express worship in the methods that are most comfortable for adults and then conclude if they go through the motions correctly, they have in fact, worshiped? ... more

A great read in Christianity Today is their in-depth article, The Future Lies in the Past, on what is losely called Ancient-Future worship in Evangelical cirlces.

Personally, I am a big proponent of Ancient-Future worship and feel it is the best mediator between the early church and cultural developments within non-liturgical American churches. ... more

This post on Out of Ur, McChurch, ruined my Friday.

Too often I confuse church-related-busyness with worship. I have reached that point again recently, excusing my lack of personal worship time by telling myself that it is only because I am spending so much time preparing to minister to my students at school and preparing Sunday school lessons for church. The other day I was sorting through some old files on my computer, and I came across a poem/song I wrote during a similar time in my life some eight years ago as a senior in high school. It served as a reminder to stop my busyness and simply worship.