Celebration in the evangelical church — Evangelicals shied from the Holy Spirit due to the charismatic movement sparked by the Azuza Street Revival in the early Twentieth Century. Although church leaders held legitimate doctrinal concerns regarding Pentecostalism, such as the second blessing, I maintain ignoring the third Person of the Trinity is an overreaction and mistake…

A church member once asked my wife, “When does Ruth finish putting together the worship service?” Ruth was my worship ministry assistant. The member thought that Ruth designed the worship service, and my job was to rehearse the ensembles and lead those services. Many people believe worship pastors work only…

Although a tension historically exists between the Church and art, the Church produced many leading artists across the millennia. Consider contributions to incredible architecture, including the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, and E. Fay Jones’ great work, Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The…

When asked which is the greatest commandment, Jesus quoted part of the Shemah. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5 ESV). Next, he paraphrased Leviticus 19:18, saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”…

CALIFORNIA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY’S MASTER OF ARTS IN WORSHIP IS IMPACTFUL BECAUSE OF THE PEOPLE One of my concerns with continuing my education via a primarily online platform was the perceived lack of a personal touch. Would the professors be accessible? Would they care about me personally. Would I miss the…

2020 was one of the best years of my life. How did that get your attention? How could the year of the Covid-19 Pandemic have possibly been a good year, let alone one of the best?

“There is a difference between going to a service “for the worship” and going to a service “to worship the Lord.” The distinction appears to be a minor one, but it may imply the difference between the worship of God and the worship of music!” -Sinclair Ferguson (A Heart for God…

“Isn’t it amazing that we are all made in God’s image, and yet there is so much diversity among his people?” -Bishop Desmond Tutu Every man and woman of every ethnicity bears the imago Dei, the image of God. God created us in his image (Gen 1:27), and nobody can…

“O my soul, is not this enough? Dost thou need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity? Dost thou want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit?” …