Worship in today's mainline churches is changing faster than many ministry leaders would like, yet not fast enough to satisfy many laypeople who want to experience something fresh when they attend worship. While older members may resist losing valued traditions, younger people often want things done in new ways. Worship Innovations: Hanging The Greens For Christmas finds a middle ground with new approaches to valued traditions of holiday worship. Beginning with a step-by-step guide for initiating a "Hanging the Greens" celebration, Janet Burton offers nine creative, easy-to-produce programs in which all ages of the church family can participate in the process of decorating worship areas for the Advent and Christmas seasons. She also includes five plans for breathing new life into using the Advent wreath. Best of all, these practical ideas are very flexible and easily adapted to fit the worship style of almost any congregation. It's a perfect way to usher in the holiday season and prepare for the birth of the Savior! In this sage book, Janet Burton gives an exhaustive study and ideas for any church to make Hanging of the Greens a worshipful, meaningful experience. It is chock-full of biblical insights. Dr. W.E. (Bill) Thorn Nationally known pastor, evangelist, speaker, and humorist The reader will be immediately caught up in Janet Burton's enthusiasm for her subject. You'll find yourself -- as I did -- caught up in Hanging The Greens For Christmas as an excellent option for innovative worship. I am impressed with the variety of approaches... each program is fresh and innovative. And in this day when our families need much nurturing, it's good to see that Janet Burton has used the opportunity to make a strong family emphasis in her presentations. Rev. J. Kenneth Robinson Writer and minister of music and education Janet Burton has been a pastor's wife and Christian educator for 45 years. For 20 of those years she served as Minister of Education at Woodlawn Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, where her husband was pastor. She has been a regular faculty leader in the area of adult ministries at Glorieta Baptist Conference Center, and in churches throughout Texas, New Mexico, and other midwest and southern states. Author of three books and a contributor to five others, Mrs. Burton's specialty is Sunday School Bible study curriculum. She has 17 quarters of lessons and many articles to her credit. In addition, she has contributed weekly or monthly columns to three Christian newspapers. Burton studied Christian education at Wheaton College in Illinois, and at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Dedicated to providing fresh ideas for busy ministers and worship planners in a variety of settings, the Worship Innovations series offers practical resources that will bring the Bible to life and brighten your worship services. The easy-to-produce dramas and programs can be used in any size church, yet are flexible enough to fit almost any worship style. And each user-friendly resource comes with detailed instructions, including a complete list of everything you need to prepare for. In this Worship Innovations volume, the focus is on the Lent and Easter season. Like the first two books, this is a rich storehouse that will supply you with many seasons worth of compelling, scripturally authentic material. Included are: - The Paths to Calvary -- a series of six short dramatic monologues for the weeks leading up to Easter in which biblical characters tell of their encounters with Jesus - Our Place at the Table -- a dramatic re-enactment of the events preceding the Last Supper, culminating in a congregational communion service - A Passover to Remember -- a complete Maundy Thursday service with a modified Passover seder as the centerpiece - A Growing Darkness -- a Good Friday tenebrae service featuring seven readings about the day's events, brought to life with several costumed monologues - Seven Words to Die By -- based on Christ's seven last words, this tenebrae service finds meaningful truths in the somber events of the crucifixion through monologues, scripture readings, music, and prayers - Surprise at Sunrise -- an Easter sunrise service depicting the resurrection discovery in four vignettes using child actors - The Week of Weeks -- a set of interactive scripture readings for each of the Sundays between Easter and Pentecost Other titles in the Worship Innovations series: Hanging The Greens For Christmas Easy Bible Drama Janet Burton is a pastor's wife, minister of education, and writer of Christian worship and education resources. The Burtons, who have served churches in Texas and New Mexico for almost fifty years, reside in Austin, Texas, where her husband Jack serves as an interim pastor for churches in transition. Author of four books and a contributor to five others, Mrs. Burton's specialty is Sunday school Bible study curriculum. In addition, she has contributed weekly or monthly columns to three Christian newspapers. Burton attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

In Worship Innovations: Easy Bible Drama, you will meet Bible persons just outside their recorded stories. Listen to Sarah and Isaac on the evening he returns from Mount Moriah; watch Joseph (in Potiphar's jail) confront Satan about whether integrity pays. Agonize with Anne (the mother of Mary) as she sends her daughter off to register for taxes in Bethlehem; hear the private conversation of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea following Nicodemus' secret meeting with Jesus. Each of these fifteen sketches raises issues and questions designed to take readers deeper into a study of the Bible story itself. They can form the heart of a dynamic worship service, inspire a sermon, brighten a Bible study, or energize a personal walk in the word of God. Also included is "Everything You Need To Know About Easy Bible Drama," a chapter of "how-to's" for any church that wants to initiate the use of drama in worship. Any worship leader who has ever looked for thoughtful and inspiring Bible drama will profit from Worship Innovations: Easy Bible Drama by Janet Burton. Yes, the drama is easy, but it is also wonderfully creative. The stories are short and the settings simple, but still thought-provoking for both actors and audience.... Burton tells you how to recruit actors, schedule rehearsals, make costumes, and build settings.... These simple dramas will make your worship and praise deep for the heart, and inspiring for the mind. Michael Schooler Educator, Musician, and Worship Leader Giddings, Texas Janet Burton has been a pastor's wife and Christian educator for 45 years. For 20 of those years she served as Minister of Education at Woodlawn Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, where her husband was pastor. She has been a regular faculty leader in the area of adult ministries at Glorieta Baptist Conference Center, and in churches throughout Texas, New Mexico, and other midwest and southern states. Author of three books and a contributor to five others, Mrs. Burton's specialty is Sunday School Bible study curriculum. In addition, she has contributed weekly or monthly columns to three Christian newspapers. Burton studied Christian education at Wheaton College in Illinois, and at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. She is also the author of Worship Innovations: Hanging The Greens For Christmas (CSS).

A historical and philosophical study of how evangelical worship styles have changed with each great spiritual awakening from the Early Church era to the modern Praise and Worship movement.

Our vision for the lost never changes, but the means we use to reach out are always advancing. James Reapsome and Jon Hirst have packed this handbook with practical innovations for those already at work in the field.

"In this book Kim Miller and the worship team of Ginghamsburg Church share what they've learned about how worship can touch and transform all of God's people, drawing them into a deepening experience of God's love, and setting them on the path of Christian service and discipleship. While many books have discussed why new worship styles are necessary if churches are to reach the pre-Christian population of North America, too few have provided solid, practical aids to planning and executing such worship. Here the reader will find inspiring calls to worship, amusing and illuminating dramas, meaningful corporate prayers, suggestions for uplifting music, and many other solid, practical ideas on preparing for and executing worship in a contemporary key." "The CD-ROM included with this book showcases a catalog of images that have been used as a part of the multi-sensory worship experience at Ginghamsburg, and includes a short introduction about how to incorporate visual images into a worship service."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This book samples the rich variety of worship practices in American history to show how worship can be a fruitful subject for historians to study and how past cases can enrich our understanding of worship today. By the Vision of Another World gathers highly regarded historians who usually are not read together because of the widely different subjects on which they typically work. Yet their essays all fit together here as they address how worship, work, and worldview converge and reinforce each other no matter what particular place, era, denomination, or ethnic/racial group is under consideration. The variety of methodologies and voices will appeal to a breadth of critical interests, while the consistently high quality of historical narrative will keep readers engaged.