The Sound That Kills Worship

Darwin and Christine reached their limit. Their church’s worship leader recently raised the band’s sound levels to the point that Darwin suffered ear pain and headaches. The couple met with their pastors to request that volume levels be reduced to former levels. Instead of a lowering of decibels, the church offered the congregation free ear plugs […]

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Future Church: Tastes in Worship

The faithful gathered around candle-lit tables in the darkened room. They heard a reading of Psalm 34:8. “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” They then tasted–literally. They selected small cups of various flavors and condiments. Some people discovered a familiar taste and reached for a second helping. Others gasped and chuckled as they felt […]

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Confessions of a Worship Wars Mercenary

It’s been brutal on the blog-o-battlefield. Since last week’s Holy Soup article “Why They Don’t Sing on Sunday Anymore,” I’ve been dodging incoming fire from hundreds of commenters and hundreds of thousands of site visitors and social media shares. I’ve seen that people have very strong feelings about this subject. Music is a highly subjective thing. Everybody […]

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Why They Don’t Sing on Sunday Anymore

Looking around the church last Sunday I noticed that the majority weren’t singing. And most of those who were singing barely moved their lips. The only voices I actually heard were those on stage with microphones. That’s been the case for years now–in churches large and small. What used to be congregational singing has become […]

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