Description: In a conversation with Randall Bradley, hear of the story telling journey from artist Ken Medema. This session will dive into the life and legacy of Ken's work. Location: Baylor University, Waco, Texas
Congregational Song
Randall Bradley – Why I Believe in the Transformative Power of Congregational Singing (and You Should Too)! (2024 Alleluia Conference)
Description: This session will explore ways in which congregational singing transforms lives, impacts belief systems, and nurtures community. Randall Bradley will share from his own experiences and lead you to reflect and re-imagine music’s impact on your individual...
David Music – Isaac Watts at 350 (2024 Alleluia Conference)
Description: Isaac Watts is often called the "Father of English Hymnody." This session will explore how his hymns created a revolution in congregational song and why many of them have proven so enduring. The session will include singing some of his best-known hymns,...
Terry York & Shannan Baker – How Do We Sing the Lord’s Song? (When We Know Who Wrote It) (2024 Alleluia Conference)
Description: Have you ever considered not including a song in your church gathering because of the artist who wrote it? If not, you know someone who has! With controversies and differing theologies, worship pastors have struggled with whether to plan songs by specific...
Maria Monteiro – Worldwide Worship: That is God’s Idea (2024 Alleluia Conference)
Description: Panelists: Maria Monteiro, Eric Amouzou, Adekunle Oyeniyi, Antonius Priyanto, Sen Kikon This session is an invitation for you to consider Christian worship through a multicultural lens. Panelists from Brazil, Ghana, India, Indonesia, and Nigeria will...
Mary Louise Bringle – 2022 Northcutt Lecture Series
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…
David Music – Spring 2021 Northcutt Lecture Series
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.
Ryan Flanigan – Spring 2020 – Hearn Innovators Series
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.
Greg Scheer – Fall 2019 – Hearn Innovators Series
Lecture is on “Songwriting from the Psalms” and explores some of Greg’s own compositions based on varying subjects as expressed in the Psalms.
Benji Stegner – A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols as Intergenerational Worship (2019 Alleluia Conference)
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
David Music – 300 Years of Isaac Watt’s Psalms of David Imitated (2019 Alleluia Conference)
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
Michael Huerter – Songs of Young and Old: Singing the Stages of Life Together (2019 Alleluia Conference)
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 – Spring 2019 – Northcutt Lecture Series
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…
The relational ethics of church music – Nathan Myrick
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…
John Witvliet – Spring 2018 Northcutt Lecture Series
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 …
Exploring homilies and hymnody : the thematic relationship between George Whitefield’s sermons and A Collection of Hymns for Social Worship – Leslie Robinson
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…
David Music – The Efficient Choir Rehearsal (2017 Alleluia Conference)
The greatest enemy of the choir director is time. This session will give suggestions on…
Randall Bradley – Singing Ourselves Into Belief: Song Leading’s Best Practices (2017 Alleluia Conference)
While we lead songs every Sunday with the band, from the pulpit, or from the organ bench, reflection on best practice…
Brian Hehn – Spring 2017 – Church Music Forum
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 Ramsey – Fall 2016 – Church Music Forum
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…
Nate Myrick – Formative Power of Singing (2016 Alleluia Conference)
Explains how the congregational singing facilitates actual experiences of unity and emotional connection. Provides insight into how regular participation in the…
David Cherwien – Variety in Traditional Hymnody (2016 Alleluia Conference)
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…
David Cherwien – Creative Registrations for Congregational Singing (2016 Alleluia Conference)
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…
David Cherwien – Helping Congregations Sing (2016 Alleluia Conference)
Simple ways the organist can encourage (or inadvertently discourage) robust singing. The basics include pulse, breathing, reliable downbeat, and finding the “right” tempo.
Heather Potter – Hymns for Children (2016 Alleluia Conference)
Suggested titles, arrangements, and teaching techniques for encouraging hymn singing with children.
Bill Gaither – Fall 2015 – Hearn Innovators Series
Bill Gaither offers insight stemming from his experiences as songwriter, producer, performer, and entrepreneur.
Stephen Cowden & Jacob Sensenig – Using Global Hymnody in Local Congregations (2015 Alleluia Conference)
More than a new genre of music for worship, global hymnody represents an opportunity for the integration of faith and…
Constance Cherry – Encountering God Through Song (2014 Alleluia Conference)
Participants will discover the importance of evaluating musical choices for congregational song to ensure theological, musical, and lyrical integrity….
David Bolin – How Shall We Sing This (2014 Alleluia Conference)
This session will offer information on how to select accompaniments that fit your congregation’s voice and…
Jacob Sensenig – The Iona Community (2014 Alleluia Conference)
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
Randall Bradley – Using Children’s Instruments with Congregational Singing (2013 Alleluia Conference)
The session will explore practical ways to use children’s instruments with congregational songs both for children’s learning…
Mark Edwards – Accent on Worship (2013 Alleluia Conference)
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…
Brian Wren – Spring 2013 – Northcutt Lecture Series
Dr. Brian Wren is Emeritus Professor of Worship, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia. He is a writer, preacher, worship and workshop leader, and…
Marcia McFee – Spring 2013 – Hearn Innovators Series
Our Spring 2013 Hearn Innovator, Marcia McFee, presents a lecture on the four different primal patterns that affect the flow and rhythm of worship.
The public invitation and “Gospel Hymns Nos. 1 to 6” – Emily Snider
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 – Fall 2012 – Contemporary Worship Mistakes (Baylor Chapel Service)
Isaac Wardell lectures in Baylor Chapel on the mistakes of contemporary Christian worship.
Chelsea Stern – Fall 2012 – Church Music Forum
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.
Jacob Sensenig – Engaging the Psalms in Worship (2012 Alleluia Conference)
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…
I-to Loh – Spring 2012 – Northcutt Lecture Series
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 – Spring 2012 – Church Music Forum
Michael Morgan, organist at Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA, leads a festival of psalms.
Ken Medema – Fall 2011 – Hearn Innovators Series
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.
Emily Snider – Intersection of Hymns & Theology: God’s Transcendence and Immanence (2011 Alleluia Conference)
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…
Carl Daw Jr – Spring 2011 – Northcutt Lecture Series
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…
Alison Adams – Spring 2011 – Church Music Forum
Songs for Children and all ages worshiping together. Alison Adam works with groups of all ages, encouraging folk…
Trey Harper & John Lassitter – An Introduction to the Community and Music of Taize (2010 Alleluia Conference)
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 Brink – Spring 2010 – Northcutt Lecture Series
Emily R. Brink is Senior Research Fellow of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and editor emeritus of…
David Toledo – The Growth of Calvinism in Southern Baptist Churches – Colloquium on Baptist Church Music
That the landscape of corporate worship among Southern Baptist churches in America has changed drastically in the last fifty years is an inescapable fact…
A. Merril Smoak Jr. – Collecting Baptist Hymnals: Two New Early Nineteenth-Century Sources from Upstate New York – Colloquium on Baptist Church Music
Baptist pastors such as Jason Lothrop and Jairus Handy published regional hymn collections for local conference meetings and private social gatherings.
Lance Peeler – More Than Half a Fool: Elias Henry Johnson & Anglican Chant in Baptist Hymnody – Colloquium on Baptist Church Music
Description: Baptists began including chants in their hymnals through the influence of Lowell Mason and the Better Music Movement. The extensive influence that Mason, his colleagues, and his students—among them William Bradbury—had throughout Protestant America...
David Music – Krishna Pal’s O Thou, My Soul, Forget No More – Colloquium on Baptist Church Music
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…