Illustration by Jessamyn Rubio
Isaac Villegas: Seeing beyond God as male
What it looks like when one congregation spends seven weeks focused on a different vision of God.
Worship
Most Recently Published
Book cover detail from "On the Road With Saint Augustine."
James K.A. Smith: What do our institutions teach us to love?
The professor of philosophy describes his own journey with Augustine and the importance of leaders paying attention to the formation of desire.
Photo courtesy of Alisha Lola Jones
Alisha Lola Jones: Assumptions made about black worship leaders have history and do harm
The ethnomusicologist identifies how the stereotype of a flamboyant choir director changes someone’s gift into something to fear.
Photo by Jessamyn Rubio
Melissa Florer-Bixler: Worship can be boring, and that's OK
Making worship productive misses the point and submits to the logic of capitalism, says the pastor and author.
The author leads a worship workshop at the Duke Youth Academy. Photo courtesy of Duke Youth Academy / Casey Brewer
Angie Hong: Creating a diverse congregation requires more than diverse worship
Worship leaders of color are often brought in to encourage diversity in congregations, but real diversity requires shifts in the entire culture of a church, says the worship leader and writer.
Image courtesy of Ralph West
Ralph West: You can disagree and still come together
The world is made up of people with differing opinions, the pastor of The Church Without Walls said. Yet it’s possible to be friends in the presence of love.
David Grandmougin / Unsplash
Together on the borders: A worship experience
This service invites reflection on Isaiah 43:1-7 and border crossings, leading participants to wonder: What can Christians do in the face of restrictive and unjust boundaries? In what ways does Christian hope reside on the borders?
The Rev. Nathan Kirkpatrick preaches at Broad Street United Methodist Church in Statesville, North Carolina.
Nathan Kirkpatrick: When does breaking news compel a preacher to rewrite Sunday's sermon?
The answer depends on congregational and community context and begins with another question: What does the gospel have to say to a broken and brokenhearted world in this moment?
Photo illustration by Jessamyn Rubio
Kathryn Lester-Bacon: House blessings help bear witness to real life
An associate pastor discovers the joy of accompanying people across actual thresholds with liturgical loving care.
The Sunday Fellowship of West Concord Union Church celebrates St. Patrick's Day 2018 with a dance. Photo courtesy of Hannah C. Brown
Hannah C. Brown: We thought we'd done enough to welcome people with disabilities in our church. We were wrong.
West Concord Union Church had had a ministry for people with disabilities since the 1980s. But the congregation discovered that truly welcoming everyone would be complicated and costly -- and worth it.