Worship and Music Research Papers (original) (raw)

Collected from presentations during the first biennial Christian Congregational Music conference (congregationalmusic.org), this book explores the role of congregational music in Christian religious experience, examining how musicians and worshippers perform, identify with and experience belief through musical praxis. Contributors from a broad range of fields, including music studies, theology, literature, and cultural anthropology, present interdisciplinary perspectives on a variety of congregational musical styles - from African American gospel music, to evangelical praise and worship music, to Mennonite hymnody - within contemporary Europe and North America. In addressing the interconnected themes of performance, identity and experience, the volume explores several topics of interest to a broader humanities and social sciences readership, including the influence of globalization and mass mediation on congregational music style and performance; the use of congregational music to shape multifaceted identities; the role of mass mediated congregational music in shaping transnational communities; and the function of music in embodying and imparting religious belief and knowledge.

- by and +1
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- Christianity, Church Music, Ritual, Congregational Studies
- by Tanya Riches
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- Liturgy, Pentecostalism, Worship and Music

In studies of spirituality, increased attention is being paid to experiences that foster a deepening sense of the sacred. Corporate Christian worship is a spiritual practice designed to focus on the glory of God and to deepen one's faith. To identify key processes that might contribute to the worship leader's spiritual engagement and embodiment, 26 music worship leader exemplars, from various ethnic and denomination al backgrounds, were interviewed. Primary areas of inquiry included the roles of embodiment, cognition, affect, and spirituality in worship, leader preparation, and the congregation's role. Transcripts were ana lyzed using qualitative analysis software, NVivo 9. The most prominent themes were bodily signals, God's action and presence, God-centric engagement, facilitating worship, divine purpose, and continual commit ment to spiritual formation. These worship leader exemplars highlighted the importance of an embodied orientation where they sensed being used by God and where worship preparation was viewed as an ongoing orientation in daily life.

- by Gillian Grannum
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- Religion, Psychology, Spirituality, Qualitative Research
- by Andrew McGowan
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- Patristics, New Testament, Liturgy, Early Christianity
- by Tanya Riches
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- Music, Australia, Worship and Music, Hillsong
- by Christopher Preston
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- Music, Church Music, Worship, Worship & Preaching

Chalice Press, 2013. 131 pages.

- by Lance Beaumont
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- Liturgy, Worship and Music

The power of music and its relationship to 'worship'.

- by Nick J Drake
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- Music, Church Music, Contemporary Music, Worship

The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented need for innovations in churches around the world. Organizational innovativeness, a precursor of successful innovations in organizational contexts, is rarely studied in churches. This study of American church attenders (N = 244) found that perceived innovativeness of churches (conceived of as the elements of a church's culture which promote innovation, specifically, creativity, organizational openness, future orientation, risk-taking, and proactiveness) was a very strong predictor of church commitment (conceived of as intentions to stay in the church, r = .60, p < .001). Of the moderators examined in this study (membership tenure, age of participant, church size, and gender), only gender moderated this relationship; the relationship between perceived innovativeness and church commitment was stronger for females than for males. This suggests that innovations that facilitated relationship development and relationship maintenance had the greatest impact on church commitment during the pandemic.

- by David Dunaetz and +2
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- Christianity, Creativity, Organizational Culture, Management of Innovation

Os cultos da Brasa Church, ministério de jovens vinculado à Igreja Brasa, em Porto Alegre, RS, têm se destacado no cenário evangélico local pela implementação de uma tendência estético-musical denominada worship. A partir de uma abordagem material da religião, esta dissertação aborda as formas pelas quais o worship engaja sentidos e materialidades na produção de experiências religiosas cultuais. Tais experiências, dispostas em regimes de sensibilidade, promovem uma determinada “cultura” de adoração: uma “cultura do Reino”. Por essa disposição teológico-prática, os jovens são estimulados a transformar a “cultura” – instância que é situada no espaço do “mundo”, ou do secular. Os deslocamentos da “cultura” efetivados pela “cultura do Reino” evidenciam reconfigurações evangélicas quanto às relações entre sagrado e secular. Através de um trabalho etnográfico atento às mediações materiais da adoração, pretende-se demonstrar como o worship materializa a “cultura do Reino” e se constitui em uma estética da adoração estabelecida a partir de articulações materiais que fornecem um suporte para a transformação da “cultura” para o Reino.

- by Taylor Pedroso de Aguiar
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- Cultural Anthropology, Gospel music, Worship, Antropología cultural

Volume 71, Issue 2 (Spring 2020), 54-55

- by Nelson Cowan
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- Liturgy, Theology and Music, History of music, Hymnology
- by Santiago Rea
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- Worship and Music

Wie können wir einen Gottesdienst musikalisch gestalten? Was können wir aus der Bibel über Musik im Gottesdienst lernen? Und warum wird ein Gottesdienst eigentlich so gefeiert, wie er gefeiert wird.
Um Fragen wie diese geht es in diesem Buch. Kurz und bündig vermittelt es theologisches Grundlagenwissen und gibt Musikern und Gottesdienstmitarbeitern unterschiedlichster Gemeindetraditionen wertvolle Praxistipps für die Gestaltung und Liedauswahl.

- by Daniel Dangendorf
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- Liturgy, Practical theology, Worship, Worship and Music

The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented need for innovations in churches around the world. Organizational innovativeness, a precursor of successful innovations in organizational contexts, is rarely studied in churches. This study of American church attenders (N = 244) found that perceived innovativeness of churches (conceived of as the elements of a church’s culture which promote innovation, specifically, creativity, organizational openness, future orientation, risk-taking, and proactiveness) was a very strong predictor of church commitment (conceived of as intentions to stay in the church, r = .60, p < .001). Of the moderators examined in this study (membership tenure, age of participant, church size, and gender), only gender moderated this relationship; the relationship between perceived innovativeness and church commitment was stronger for females than for males. This suggests that innovations that facilitated relationship development and relationship maintenance had th...

- by Anna Covarrubias
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- Christianity, Creativity, Organizational Culture, Management of Innovation
- by Nelson Cowan
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- Liturgy, Evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, Worship
- by Travis Cooper
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- Religion, Anthropology of the Body, Ritual, Sociology of the Body
- by Nathan Myrick
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- Music, Theology, Liturgy, Practical theology

How to use the Lectionary for Year A to greater effect on Palm Sunday

- by Thomas O'Loughlin
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- Liturgical Studies, New Testament, Liturgy, Ritual
- by Michael Philliber
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- Christianity, Epistemology, Theology, Systematic Theology
- by H. Wayne Johnson
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- Worship & Preaching, Worship and Music
- by Jeffrey T . Riddle
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- Evangelicalism, Studies on worship, Christian Theology, Worship

This article examines Celebrating Grace Hymnal published in 2010 by Celebrating Grace, Inc., founded out of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. I explore the musical and textual contents of the hymnal, compare it with its immediate predecessor, Baptist Hymnal (1991), place it in its historical context within twenty-first century Southern Baptist life, and highlight several important contributions it makes to the study of hymnody. I also reflect on its reception and adoption as a resource for congregational worship within its first five years of publication.

- by David Toledo
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- Church Music, Baptist Theology, Worship and Music, Hymnody

The marriage of popular music and Pentecostal worship is well documented. Its advocates point to meaningful experiences for the worshiper, or more broadly church growth and the younger demographics of Pentecostal congregations as evidence of its efficacy. Its opponents highlight popular music's secular or profane associations, or the contemporary congregational song (CCS) genre's commercialisation, individualisation, and lack of theological weight in its lyrics. These are the battle lines drawn for the " worship wars " of the 1990s and 2000s. While some of the more acrimonious contentions have dissipated in recent popular and academic literature, underlying presuppositions and arguments have not necessarily been resolved. This paper seeks to freshly reexamine the marriage of popular music and Pentecostal worship from the perspectives of Pentecostal theology and musicology. This paper begins by exploring popular music's somatic, emotive, and metaphysical qualities. Those qualities are also identified in the contemporary congregational songs (CCS) utilised in Pentecostal worship. Following this, the Pentecostal values of embodiment, experience, and encounter are introduced. An alignment will be drawn between somatic popular music and the Pentecostal theology of embodiment. Similarly, a link will be drawn between the emotive capacity of popular music, and the experiential orientation of Pentecostalism. Finally, popular music's unlanguable and liminal elements will be aligned with the Pentecostal theology of encounter. In so doing, this paper proposes a justification for the marriage of popular music and Pentecostal worship. At the same time, it raises the problematic nature...

- by Michael Philliber
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- Liturgy, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, Evangelicalism

Kate Bowler and Wen Reagan. 2014. "Bigger, Better, Louder: The Prosperity Gospel’s Impact on Contemporary Christian Worship." Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation, Vol. 24, Issue 2, pp. 186-230. This article makes... more

The present article discusses what musical instruments are appropriated to adoration. General principles are presented in relation to the selection of instruments to worship and some biblical texts that may look problematic in the light of the given principles are considered. This article does not claim to be the last word. Rather it aims to stimulate respectful discussion in relation to this controversial issue.

- by Roy E . Graf
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- Worship, Worship and Music, Theology of Worship and of its Music, Worship and Art
- by John Witvliet
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- Church Music, Liturgy, Sacramental Theology, Liturgical Theology

Paul F. M. Zahl writes about “Formal-Liturgical Worship”, which he also calls Bible-based verticality. He defines the concept formal as “dignified service that is not governed by the spontaneity of the moment or the spontaneity of the officiant. It means service in a form, within a mold. It is not off the cuff or as mood would govern. Rather, it accepts the constraint of a consistent and predictable pattern.” And, liturgical means it is a “prescribed worship, service that is required for a given occasion.” He insists on the prominence of the Bible as the source for all kind of worship. It must be based on the Word. Theology has to precede the act of worship, he says.

- by Ricardo Diegue
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- Liturgy, Leadership, Christian liturgical music, Hymnology

Theologische Beilage zur STHPerspektive August 2015

- by Stefan Schweyer
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- Music, Church Music, Church singing, Singing

A comparison of contemporary worship and charismatic theology

- by Nicholas Payne
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- Christianity, Theology, Systematic Theology, Studies on worship
- by Michael Philliber
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- Liturgy, Book of Psalms, Christian liturgical music, Psalms studies

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the many changes in the present socio-cultural context point to the importance of innovation in churches. A theoretical framework for understanding innovation in churches is presented, featuring 6 key elements. These elements include the cultural context of the church and the church's target audience, a culture of innovation within the church, innovations in church programs, processes, and personnel, social capital (social ties) which permits church members to navigate the changes associated with innovation, program loss (that which is lost when programs change), and progress toward the church's goals. The church's goals and the church's context determine which innovations would be most appropriate. A culture of innovation and strong social ties permit innovations to be implemented successfully. Program losses may reflect aspects of the church's goals that are neglected when innovations are implemented.

- by David Dunaetz
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- Creativity, Organizational Culture, Leadership, Culture

This article, appearing in vol. 32, issue 1 (2017) of the journal Liturgy, chronicles the “style periods” of contemporary worship music in the USA from 1960s to the present, showing the range of differing, sometimes conflicting beliefs and concerns communicated by musical stylistic choices. Liturgy is quarterly journal of dedicated to pastoral liturgy published by The Liturgical Conference, intended for both scholars and church leaders.

- by Monique Ingalls
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- Music, Liturgical Studies, American Religion, Evangelicalism

Abstract
This project will investigate the link between physical expression and emotions in music. Since the emotive nature of music is already well known, it will focus on the following questions:
1. Is physical expression a natural result of emotions?
2. Alternatively, can emotions be induced by physical expression?
Section A will explore the answers to these questions using musicology. After demonstrating that bodily movements both express and induce emotions, it will deal briefly with the possible danger of manipulation. In section B, the Bible’s teaching on bodily expressions used in worship will be investigated. After a broader framework of holistic worship has been established, it will explore some key worship terms in Hebrew and Greek. Examples of physical gestures used in worship in the Bible will be given, followed by physical gestures used in musical worship. In section C, musicology and the Bible will be brought into dialogue with each other. In particular, the bi-directional nature of physical expression and emotions in music will be discussed from the perspective of both fields of study. Practical implications for corporate worship involving music will be teased out . Finally, it will be established that physical gestures should be used in corporate worship and concluding recommendations will be made.

- by Megan Ng
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- Music, Musicology, Psychology of Music, Music Psychology

This article aims to further the ethnomusicological study of pilgrimage by examining the role of music in two US evangelical Christian conferences. Through congregational singing, participants imagine the conference gathering to be an embodiment of the heavenly community, bringing heaven to earth through song. Examining lyrics, musical style, and social organization as forms of eschatological discourse reveals several crucial differences in how social relationships in heaven are imagined, which carries strong implications for how the religious community on earth is formed. Examining music in conference pilgrimage shows how twenty-first century evangelicals understand community, negotiate difference, and construct a religious imaginary.

- by Monique Ingalls
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- Anthropology of Music, Popular Music, Ethnomusicology, Anthropology of Pilgrimage

An examination of how Spurgeon used and highlighted the benefits of lament psalms in congregational worship in the book, Finding Lost Words: The Church’s Right to Lament. Edited by G. G. Harper and K. Barker. Australian College of Theology Monograph Series. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2017. The full book can be purchased here:
http://wipfandstock.com/finding-lost-words.html

- by Alan J Thompson
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- Preaching, Baptist Theology, Pastoral Theology, Worship & Preaching
- by Daniel Thornton
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- Christianity, Media Studies, Popular Culture, Youtube

THE HOUR IS COMING AND IS NOW HERE”: THE DOCTRINE OF INAUGURATED ESCHATOLOGY IN CONTEMPORARY EVANGELICAL WORSHIP MUSIC Matthew David Westerholm, Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2016 Chair: Dr. Esther R. Crookshank This dissertation critically evaluates the portrayal of the doctrine of inaugurated eschatology in an identified core repertory, the most-used contemporary congregational worship songs in churches in the United States from 2000 through 2015. Chapter 2 explores views on the role of congregational singing as it relates to the presence of God and the spiritual formation of the believer. It compares Edith Humphries’ concept of the worship service as “entrance” with Ryan Lister’s view that God’s presence is both a goal and a means of accomplishing his purposes. Then, using the work of James K. A. Smith and Monique Ingalls, chapter 2 explores the role congregational song plays in forming the identity of churches and believers. The chapter concludes by suggesting...

- by Matthew Westerholm
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- Philosophy, Liturgy, Evangelicalism, Eschatology

This book is written by a self-described former "foot soldier" in the movement to drive traditional churches to accept contemporary Christian music (CCM) in their worship. He now rejects the use of CCM in evangelical churches and has written this book to expose the dangers of its uncritical acceptance. He summarizes the reasons for his departure, as follows, "Our key premises were that music is amoral; God accepts all music styles; and no one should judge another's preferences or tastes. As I dug into the Bible to prove them right, instead I saw that they were man-centered, illogical, and misrepresentations of basic biblical principles" (34). The author outlines his theological and philosophical objections to the use of CCM. He begins by questioning the wisdom of using contemporary music in order to meet the felt needs of or to appeal to the human worshippers. He calls this the lie of "God accepts us as we are." He makes the serious charge that CCM presents dangers of immorality (by use of secular music), divisiveness (splitting churches between traditionalists and CCM proponents over worship styles), and deception. Among his comments: "Our acceptance of CCM into our worship services has hurt an entire generation of older Christians, has led to church splits, and has created a breeding ground for immorality, selfishness and divisive attitudes in younger generations" (46). Central to Lucarini's argument is the idea that musical style is not morally neutral (amoral) or merely a matter of tastes and preferences. On the contrary, he argues that CCM is based on rock music which "is clearly and unequivocally associated with immorality, especially promiscuous and adulterous sex, glorification of drugs, and rebellion against authority" (91). He thereby raises a question that is seldom heard even in our doctrinally conservative churches: "With what moral dimension is my favourite music associated?" (91). In the closing chapters of the book, the author anticipates and answers typical arguments that are raised for acceptance of CCM. These include the question of whether the use of CCM is justified in order to reach people. Lucarini concludes: "We should not accept just any worldly method to reach the lost. Instead we must discern carefully what methods are acceptable for use in the kingdom of God" (100). Based on the research of John Makujina (Measuring the Music), Lucarini also debunks as evangelical myth the frequently used argument that CCM is justified because past luminaries like Luther and Wesley adapted secular tunes to gospel use. The author further derides the use of blended services and separate services (traditional and contemporary) as a "slippery slope" that inevitably leads to "blurring" that "is almost always towards contemporary shades" (123). In conclusion, I believe that Lucarini's book deserves to be read and discussed by those who lead worship in local churches. Lucarini's report is anecdotal and personal and is certainly not an exhaustive Biblical and theological treatment of this subject. It does, however, raise courageous questions in a direct but not mean-spirited manner about the evangelical church's sometimes uncritical rush to jump on the CCM bandwagon. We would do well to consider prayerfully whether or not the church has been aided or hindered in its faithfulness by making use of worldly musical styles in its services of worship.

- by Jeffrey T . Riddle
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- Evangelicalism, Pastoral Theology, Christian Theology, Worship and Music
- by Jeffrey T . Riddle
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- Christianity, Protestantism, Book of Psalms, Worship and Music