Keith Getty on Improving Congregational Singing

By now, I'm sure many of you have already seen the helpful reminders from Keith Getty on improving congregational singing, but if you haven't, I encourage you to read what he has to say in this piece on The Gospel Coalition worship blog:

Five Ways to Improve Congregational Singing

Cosper on "Why Do We Sing?"

Mike Cosper reminds us that singing is a gift of a creation with formational effects in this article from The Gospel Coalition site on Why Do We Sing?

At its best, congregational music is a marriage of truth, beauty, and action. Songs that are clear and comprehensible to a congregation, loaded with biblical truth, are set to music that "paints" that text emotionally. By singing with the church, I'm putting truth and beauty into action within me. I'm confessing the truth as I experience its effects. I am "speaking the truth in love" with the church, which as David Peterson points out, is not a reference to interpersonal confrontation, but communal confession. We speak the truth in love when we join our voice with the church, singing together of who God is and what he's done.

In singing, the whole person is engaged. In congregational singing, the whole person is engaged and united with the community around us. This practice takes on its greatest meaning in the church, where that unity shapes and reorients a covenant community to the story of the gospel. When the church sings a lament together, the words and music share the sense of sorrow and anguish of those who are suffering. When they sing a celebratory anthem, the music helps them emotionally taste hope and victory.

It is dangerous to pursue the emotional effect of music without rooting it in the content of God's Word. But it's also dangerous to pretend that music's emotional effects are unimportant or dangerous in themselves. To be stirred by singing is to be human, and it's a means of grace to God's church that such a gift is so easily accessible. You don't even need rock band, or a pipe organ, or a guy with a faux hawk and an acoustic guitar. You just need a song and a reason to sing.

Click here to read the entire article. 

Not Guilty. Now What?

Trillia Newbell's basic reaction to the verdict from the Zimmerman trial: we mourn and we pray.  We mourn with the Martin family over the loss of their son,  and we pray for Zimmerman, whose life will never be the same.

The verdict is in. George Zimmerman has been found not guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The reactions have been strong and may only become more intense and polarizing as analysis of the case continues to roll in. Some believed justice has been done; others that injustice has been committed.

Regardless of the reaction, this remains certain: Trayvon Martin is dead, a mom and dad will never see their son again, and Zimmerman's life will never be the same.

Read her entire article here.

"Engage the South" One Day Conference

Engage the South is a one day conference in Birmingham on Tuesday, September 24. Sponsored by Acts 29 Network in partnership with Beeson Divinity School and The Gospel Coalition, Engage the South is a gathering of church leaders, those considering church leadership, and anyone who has a desire to be a part of church planting in the South, or the world. It will have a cultural framework for church planting in the South, but clearly God’s call is for the gospel to go local and global. Whether you have been in church leadership for many years or a young leader praying and thinking about church planting, this one day wave of truth, experience, and wisdom from godly, proven leaders will be an effective time for you and your team.

Speakers include Ray Ortlund, Bryan Loritts, Kevin Smith, Matt Chandler, and David Platt. 

To see the topics, schedule, and to register, click here. 

Wendell Berry and the Beauty of Membership

Frequent readers of this blog will not be surprised that I was very encouraged by the recent article at The Gospel Coalition site by Matt McCullough regarding Wendell Berry and the Beauty of Membership.  The article focuses primarily on my favorite Berry novel, Jayber Crow, drawing parallels from membership in the Port William community to membership in the church. 

...Berry's stories bring to life truths at the heart of the community we're aiming for when we emphasize church membership. A thriving, covenant-shaped local church requires precisely the sort of self-abnegation Berry celebrates and is opposed by the same self-exaltation he portrays in all its ugliness.

Too often we try on new churches like we try on new clothes and for much the same reason. We're looking for style and fit, for what meets our needs and makes the appropriate statement about who we are. We put our churches in service of our desire to be somebody, and our commitment doesn't outlast the better options of Elsewhere. But this posture—beside its offense to the cross—leads to self-absorption, restlessness, and isolation.

Read the entire article here.

9 Things to Know about Holy Week

Holy Week (or Passion Week) began this past Sunday with Palm Sunday and will reach its climax with the celebration of Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday.  The Gospel Coalition blog has an interesting article on 9 Things You Should Know about Holy Week, which was just sent to me by one of our church members. 

Check it out here.   

How Not to Read Your Bible in 2013

"From one stumbling pilgrim to another, here are five suggestions for what not to do in 2013," says Matt Smethurst in this article from The Gospel Coalition blog on How Not to Read Your Bible in 2013. 

1) Don't overextend.

2) Don't do it alone.

3) Don't just do it whenever.

4) Don't live as if Paul lied.

5) Don't turn a means of grace into a means of merit.

Read the whole article here.

The Value of Theologically Rich Hymns

There is a current article on The Gospel Coalition blog that serves as a good reminder of the value of singing theologically rich hymns - Why New Churches Should Sing Old Songs.  Here's an excerpt:

Pastoral and theological giants of the past went to pain-staking lengths to pen doctrinally rich, gospel-centered songs with the intention of shaping the people under their care. They poetically developed their thoughts to tell stories that would most memorably engage the intellects and emotions of the people who would be singing them. As a result, many of these songs became gems that have withstood the crucible of time.

Read the entire article by Stephen Miller here.    

Timothy George on Lessons from the Mainline Decline

Timothy George offers helpful and insightful analysis in his recent article, 3 Lessons from Crisis and Decline in the Mainline.  His three main lessons are:

1. There is an intrinsic connection between spiritual vitality and theological integrity.
2. The continuing saga and approaching collapse of mainline denominations should prompt us to pray.
3. Evangelicals have no room to boast or gloat over the "sickness unto death" in the mainlines.

Here is an excerpt:

The debate over homosexual practices within the mainline denominations is not the root cause but only the presenting issue....At the heart of this issue is a broken doctrine of biblical authority, a loss of confidence in the primary documents of the Christian faith....The church and the Bible are coinherent realities in the economy of grace. One will not long survive intact without the other.

Read the entire article here.

More Frequent Communion

The Gospel Coalition recently ran three different articles on the frequency of Communion:

• The Frequency of Communion Calmly Considered, Kenneth Stuart
• We Celebrate the Lord's Supper Frequently But Not Weekly, Eric Bancroft
• Three Arguments for Weekly Communion, Ray Van Neste

These three articles provide three different perspectives on an important issue in the life of our churches, many of whom probably celebrate the Supper far too infrequently. 

Baptism and Church Membership - 3 Perspectives

The Gospel Coalition just finished a three-day forum in which they asked three different individuals to weigh in on the connection between baptism and church membership. In particular, they were seeking to answer the following questions:

How do baptism and church membership relate? What are the biblical bounds? Baptists debate, "Must one be baptized as a believer in order to join a church?" Meanwhile, Presbyterians and other paedobaptists consider, "Should one who'd refuse to let his children be baptized be permitted to join?"

Our hope is that this three-day forum will, by God's grace, drive us all to consider Scripture's teaching anew and disagree charitably when necessary.

• Michael Horton's article, Membership Requires Affirmation of Infant Baptism

• Jim Hamilton's article, Sometimes Obedience Results in Painful Separations

• David Mathis' article, A Happy Baptist, Happy to Welcome Others

Top 10 Most Read "Gospel Coalition" Articles of 2011

Collin Hansen, from the Gospel Coalition, has compiled a list of their top 10 most read articles during these past twelve months. Click here to see the list and read (or re-read) the articles.

What Is the Bible Basically About?

Combining a portion of Tim Keller's talk at The Gospel Coalition's 2007 national conference and the art of Gustave Dore, Heath McPherson created this little video:

Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.

Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.

Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing wither he went to create a new people of God.

Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, “Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you love from me,” now we can look at God taking his son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, “Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love from us.”

Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.

Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.

Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.

Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God’s justice, now gives us water in the desert.

Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.

Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people’s victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn’t just risk leaving an earthly palace but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn’t just risk his life, but gave his life to save his people.

Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.

Jesus is the real Rock of Moses, the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us. He’s the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread.

The Bible’s really not about you—it’s about him.

HT: Collin Hansen and Justin Taylor

Ligon Duncan on the Non-Negotiables of the Gospel