Thoughts on

Music and Worship

Worship

Worship is about God, not about us.
Worship is communal and meant to be a shared, participatory experience.
Worship has no time nor place nor bounds.
Worship should be accessible and edifying to all who seek engagement with the living God.
Worship is lifelong.

Music

Music is both individual and connectional.
Music is sacred - no matter the tune or text, to experience music is to encounter the divine.
Music is educational, inspirational, and emotional.
Music is everywhere.
Music is lifelong.

Worship is best experienced together. Those who lead worship bear the awesome privilege and responsibility of creating a common, shared language for those assembled. This should reflect the theology of the faith and the liturgy of the season. It should be accessible, yet transformative; grounded in history, yet modern; it should have variety, but also continuity; and it should be celebratory, yet provide space for penitence, sorrow, and restoration.

While hardly exhaustive, this is my genesis for planning worship and faith-based music events. Hymnology and worship-leading have been passions of mine since high school. I'm grateful for the experiences, education, and employment opportunities that continue to allow me to follow this calling, and I always enjoy conversations on this topic!