Singing in Church When You Think You Can’t
The qualification in Psalm 150 is breath. Why making a sound matters anyway, what actually helps, and what to do on the…
The Journal
Tag: Church Life
The gathered church and the week around it: why congregations sing, how songs get chosen, and what to do when you cannot get there.
What Does a Worship Leader Actually Do?
The singing is the smallest part. Choosing as teaching, keys people can reach, signposting, and the weeks you lead with nothing left.
Why Do Worship Songs Repeat So Much?
Psalm 136 repeats one line 26 times. What repetition actually does, when the complaint is fair, and the flat-voice test that settles…
Choosing Songs for a Funeral
Pick what people already know, watch the promises, and leave room for grief. A shape that works, from a songwriter’s side of…
What Is a Benediction?
A prayer is addressed to God about people. A benediction is addressed to people about God. Numbers 6:24-26, and why the last…
What Is a Doxology?
A word of glory: to God, be glory, forever, amen. Where the New Testament breaks into one, and why the form is…
Worshipping at Home When You Can’t Get to Church
Jesus removed the venue question at a well in Samaria. What worship actually requires, shapes that work, and the days you cannot…
How to Choose Songs for a Worship Set
Read the set as a paragraph before you read it as a key change. Moods, promises, ranges, pronouns — and the one…
Hymns and Modern Worship Aren’t Rivals
The difference is structural, not spiritual: hymns develop an argument, modern worship drives one truth deep. The Psalms do both, in one…
Praise and Worship Songs of the 80s and 90s That Lasted
A handful of songs from 1980-1999 are still sung weekly, in spite of their production. What they have in common, and what…