Dangerous Spirituality
We have inherited a Western idea of spirituality that has trickled down into our worship. “The spirituality we inherited, for all the richness and holiness it bred, is essentially for the individual. This spirituality puts the full responsibility for the search for God and for holiness on the person, though he or she is expected to need direction, and probably the structure of a life specifically designed to support spiritual search....
Psalms for Lent | Our Warrior King
GOD WRITES SONGS OF DELIVERANCE Garden City released Psalms Vol. 1 in 2016 Download it Now! Psalms Vol. 2 to be released in April of 2017 Psalm 3 | Warrior King http://www.worshipministrycatalyst.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Psalm-3_Warrior-King.mp3 As Lent is the time for greater love, listen to Jesus’ thirst …’Repent and believe’ Jesus tells us. What are we to repent? Our indifference, our hardness...
A Theology for the Depressed Creative
One of the great things about a blog is that sometimes you can share your own personal deep, dark secrets with your readers. I don’t have any deep and dark secrets to share today, but I do have a struggle. Those who know me know that when I was 17 years old, I was filled with suicidal thoughts and experienced long drawn-out seasons of deep, dark depression and loneliness. At that point in my life, I wanted nothing to with...
Power Filled Worship
An obsession with power fills our world. Whether it’s through the dominance of a government system, the outrage of a murder in the streets, a catty fight in the school hallways, or gossiping words that malign a person behind their back, all of these pursuits tarnish people and the idea of one thing—power! In our thirst to comfort ourselves and to make ourselves feel safe, we endlessly search for powerful masters that we...
Review of Aaron Shusts new Album
Aaron Shust has graciously asked us at WMC and GCP to review his new album. His sound on the new album You Redeem is anthemic, and echoes that of Cold Play. The musical choices are similar in their sound to that which is so pervasive in music today. Let’s consider however, the lyrical strength that soars over the musical atmosphere created in his song “You Redeem,” for example. Shust’s latest single, warrants consideration lyrically....
Radical Hospitality and Worship
I had the privilege recently to read Radical Hospitality, and its implications toward artful living and worship are so very helpful. I’ve read hundreds of books on hospitality over the course of my track in ministry, and it is a pleasure to see the authors place the accent mark where they do. They state that real hospitality is not in what we do, but in who we are. They say that hospitality begins with a person’s identity,...
The Creative Spirit in All of Us
Henderik Roelof “Hans” Rookmaaker (February 27, 1922–March 13, 1977) was a Dutch Christian scholar, professor, and author who wrote and lectured on art theory, art history, music, philosophy, and religion. In 1948 he met Christian theologian Francis Schaeffer and became a member of L’Abri in Switzerland. Hans wrote a book about the creative spirit called Art Needs No Justification. In reading it, I’ve found that many...
The Art of Giving a Testimony
If telling stories is an art, then telling our life story is a trade worthy of being mastered. The only trouble when it comes to our life story, our “testimony,” is what should we tell? Should we focus in our passions, our expertise, our experiences, or even our most secret failures and unwanted mistakes? What is it that receives the accent mark? The Bible’s word for accent mark is glory! God tends to highlight and place...
The Art of Parenting with Beauty
Proverbs 22:6 implores the believing parent to “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Lying within the crags of this command is an imperative for those who love beauty and the finer things of life. The Hebrew word for “train” is chanak. One of the cultural and Hebraic inferences of this word is to make serenely clear to the parent that their role in their child’s life is to...
Storied Lives
We are captured by great stories. They are aesthetic in the sense that they call us into participation with the storyline, the characters, the plot, and the ultimate resolution and beauty of the tale. Stories are art! Leo Tolstoy’s words come to mind in helping us think through the impact of story: “Art is a human activity consisting in this, that one man consciously, by means of certain external signs, hands on to others feelings...
Raw Creativity
“In the beginning God created…” (Gen. 1:1) What exactly is God’s motivation for creating? His actions are driven by and ended in love—nothing more, nothing less! Our actions should follow likewise. So, what about the method of our creating? If we truly know and love God, and desire to serve him with all our heart, soul, and mind, how do we take our passion, idea, or desire and turn it into something that can actually be...
The Dance of Epiphany
(Note: All photography is contributed by our transposition photographer Nikki McKenzie. You can visit her profile HERE, see more photos HERE , and also SUBMIT YOUR WORK) Many around the world right now in the church are observing the season of Epiphany: a season recognizing the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1–12). This season is typified by symbol and artistic fullness. Though I...
‘Look Along’ a Baby to Celebrate Advent
Babies’ are innocent and cuddly, yet they can have the most unsettling cry. Maybe this is what causes the Psalmist in Psalm 8 to say: Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. Even in this verse it implies that there’s a mastery, both in purity and in gusto that makes babies so calm and composed, but yet warrior like in their threat...
The Creative Process
Every one of us is filled with imagination, creativity, and ingenious ability. We need to recognize this about ourselves because it is foundational to who we are as humans, and, the fact is, everything we do and think is connected to what we believe. Our theological belief about God and our ontological (big word meaning “being”) belief about who we are comes out in everything we do. Whatever comes out of or goes into our five...
The New Language of Spirituality
Robert Webber makes this statement concerning the idea of spirituality in his book The Divine Embrace: “because of the divorce between theology and spirituality, mysticism shifted from the ancient understanding of spirituality to a new approach. Spirituality, which was once a contemplation of God’s saving acts, now contemplates the self and the interior life.”[1] This statement provides a profound summation of the issue at...
Theology of Technology: iPhone and Apple Watch
It is no secret that the iPhone is a wild success, and with the launch of the iPhone 6 series, I’m sure Apple will not be slowing down in their influence any time soon. In this post, I will not be making an attempt to slander Apple—ha, I’m writing this post on my MacBook Air, Tweeting it with my iPhone, and it’s stored in my iCloud, so it’s no secret that I love Apple products—but I want to think theologically for a second....
About Our Network
At WMC, in partnership with GCP, we want to encourage, equip, and celebrate believers using their gifts creatively to support the worship and mission of the local church.Music | Bible | Worship Courses
50% OFF Conference on Worship & Culture
Trinity Worship (A NEW BOOK)
