Creature Canticles: or, Where Have All the Animals Gone? Throughout the Bible, the whole creation is called to join in praise of God: from wild animals and cattle, to creeping things and flying birds (Psalm 148:10). However, hymn texts from the Western Christian tradition contain…
The 2021 Northcutt Lecture featuring Dr. David Music was presented virtually on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. Over his forty-year academic career, Dr. Music has become widely known as a prolific scholar, a gifted editor, a notable hymn arranger, and a wise mentor.
In this talk “The Music in Our Bones,” Ryan explores the origins of Liturgical Folk and exploring the reasons why this kind of music has special appeal and should be incorporated more in the liturgy of our churches.
Lecture is on “Songwriting from the Psalms” and explores some of Greg’s own compositions based on varying subjects as expressed in the Psalms.
This session will examine the Nine Lessons and Carols service, its history, and how it offers flexibility to serve as a model for a variety seasons, churches, and institutions. Most valuably, the service (in its form at King’s College
The Psalms of David Imitated was a groundbreaking work of congregational song and the source of such hymns as “Joy to the World” and “Jesus Shall Reign.” This session will include discussion of Watts’s
Music carries deep meaning for people and their faith stories. Worship music and various musical styles have often been points of contention and conflict between generations in the church. But how might we find new ways to engage with
Constance Cherry is Professor of Christian Worship and Pastoral Ministry at Indiana Wesleyan University. She is a published author, composer, and hymnist. Her areas of expertise…
Music is an “indispensable” aspect of Protestant Christian worship, to use Brian Wren’s term (2000, 48). Yet it is also perceived as one of the most divisive aspects of that activity, with scholars, practitioners, and congregants alike contributing to this perspective. As scholars such as Donald Hustad (1993), Harold Best (1993, 2003), J. Nathan Corbitt (1998), Brian Wren (2000), James K. A. Smith (2009) and Jeremy S. Begbie…
Dr. Witvliet is director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship at Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary. His areas of interest include the history of Christian worship, worship practices in various denominations, biblical and systematic theology of …
This thesis examines George Whitefield’s A Collection of Hymns for Social Worship and presents a thematic analysis of the hymn book’s lyrical content. This research contributes to a fuller understanding of Whitefield’s evangelistic mission, provides a perspective on Whitefield’s views on singing and hymnody, and suggests that the values that motivated Whitefield as a preacher also shaped his decisions as an editor and compiler of hymn texts. Whitefield’s religious zeal, theatrical tendencies, rhetorical abilities, and desire for Christian ecumenism are underscored as important factors that…
The greatest enemy of the choir director is time. This session will give suggestions on…
While we lead songs every Sunday with the band, from the pulpit, or from the organ bench, reflection on best practice…
Brian Hehn is Director of The Center for Congregational Song at The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. Brian joins us as a speaker
Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr. is a musicologist, pianist, composer and the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Ramsey joined the Church Music Forum…
Explains how the congregational singing facilitates actual experiences of unity and emotional connection. Provides insight into how regular participation in the…
Hymns have come to us from a large variety of times and places, which gives us the opportunity to bring out this variety! How? Topics will include tempo…
The organ is an instrument full of a variety of colors, uniquely able to evoke a wide range of expression in the singing. Ideas for keeping registration…
Simple ways the organist can encourage (or inadvertently discourage) robust singing. The basics include pulse, breathing, reliable downbeat, and finding the “right” tempo.
Suggested titles, arrangements, and teaching techniques for encouraging hymn singing with children.
Bill Gaither offers insight stemming from his experiences as songwriter, producer, performer, and entrepreneur.
More than a new genre of music for worship, global hymnody represents an opportunity for the integration of faith and…
Participants will discover the importance of evaluating musical choices for congregational song to ensure theological, musical, and lyrical integrity….
This session will offer information on how to select accompaniments that fit your congregation’s voice and…
For over 75 years the Iona Community has served as a model for Christians interested in spiritual and liturgical renewal. In an age of declining churches and commercialized worship, the Iona Community has
The session will explore practical ways to use children’s instruments with congregational songs both for children’s learning…
Worship music that is more traditional in style doesn’t have to be stale and lifeless. Discover some ways and resources to freshen up singing hymns in worship…
Dr. Brian Wren is Emeritus Professor of Worship, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia. He is a writer, preacher, worship and workshop leader, and…
Our Spring 2013 Hearn Innovator, Marcia McFee, presents a lecture on the four different primal patterns that affect the flow and rhythm of worship.
Perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of traditional evangelical worship is the widespread practice of the “invitation” near the close of the worship service. A significant element of that invitation is the accompanying hymn, one that emphasizes the need for conversion and spiritual renewal. This thesis addresses the origin and early evolution of the public invitation, and more specifically, the hymns that have been used by evangelicals for this part of their worship. Hymns from Gospel Hymns Nos. 1 to 6, the most popular hymnal among evangelicals in the…
Isaac Wardell lectures in Baylor Chapel on the mistakes of contemporary Christian worship.
Chelsea Stern, Music Associate at 1st Presbyterian Church of Fort Worth, Texas, talks on the the life lessons she has learned through experiences in ministry.
This session will present an inter-disciplinary approach to crafting worship services which bring new life to the Psalms. Many congregations shy away from using the Psalms because…
Dr. I-to Loh is Adjunct Professor of Worship, Church Music, and Ethnomusicology at Tainan Theological College and Seminary, Taiwan Theological College and Seminary…
Michael Morgan, organist at Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA, leads a festival of psalms.
Ken Medema talks about his desire for a fresh perspective on the use of music in the church and the need for the church to reach beyond its walls.
Talented hymnwriters know the teaching and formative power of their hymns as theological agents. The critical singer/reader of hymns will note the viewpoint(s) of the hymns he or she sings. Interested in studying where and how hymns…
The Reverend Dr. Carl P. Daw, Jr., is an Episcopal priest and writer who served as the Executive Director of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada from…
Songs for Children and all ages worshiping together. Alison Adam works with groups of all ages, encouraging folk…
Through simple chants rooted within the context of a monastic tradition, Christians from around the world unite in one voice by singing praises to God at the Taize community in…
Emily R. Brink is Senior Research Fellow of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and editor emeritus of…
That the landscape of corporate worship among Southern Baptist churches in America has changed drastically in the last fifty years is an inescapable fact…
Baptist pastors such as Jason Lothrop and Jairus Handy published regional hymn collections for local conference meetings and private social gatherings.
Early Western missionaries to Asia, Africa, and South America have often been criticized for bringing not only the gospel, but also Western culture to the lands in which they…
The purpose of this presentation is to take a look back through the Baptist Hymnal published in 2008 by LifeWay Christian Resources to see what it tells us about the worship culture of Baptist churches today.
Early hymnody within the emerging Baptist churches in Scotland was influenced, primarily, by the relatively recent events of the Scottish Reformation…
This discussion concerns the hymns of the Baptist presidents. While it has much interesting material, this session can only be completely understood as supplemental…
A Chinese hymnal, just as a Western one, reflects to one degree or another where the church is and where it is moving. Chinese hymnody began with twenty-seven leaves…
Never has the church had so many options for congregational singing than today. What does the song of the current age say theologically about the church…