Many churches are battling through the issues of what sort of worship is most appropriate for today. Should churches continue to sing the traditional hymns that they grew up with or should they embrace the contemporary worship choruses? Should they play organs or electric guitars? York looks at issues such as the connection between a person's worship style and his or her philosophy, politics, and affluence; the phenomenon of mega churches and television churches; the influences that denominations and publishers of hymnals bring to the debate; and the pressures put on worship leaders by church shoppers. York also examines the issue of church growth, since selecting a worship style is, in many ways, choosing a target audience for future members. Whether a church realizes it or not, when it chooses a worship style it is also determining the affluence, age, size, and ethnicity of its future congregation. York provides a sympathetic and insightful guide to what has been happening in America's worship yesterday and today, and with it, provides the reader with the information necessary to create a vision for America's worship tomorrow. Book jacket.

Many grapple today with what the 'proper' style of music for church should be and sadly it becomes a worship war. Like the movie Star Wars, the battles rage from episode to episode, with Bible verses being used as the proverbial light sabres to attack and defend each other. This book answers the questions amongst Christians and churches today in regard to 'worship music' and appropriate styles and genres. It is a biblical guide to worship music spanning early church history to the present day; providing clear, concise guidelines, Biblical principles and practical suggestions to support the implementation of a balanced blend of traditional and contemporary worship music in churches.

Say the words "evangelical worship" to anyone in the United States -- even if they are not particularly religious -- and a picture will likely spring to mind unbidden: a mass of white, middle-class worshippers with eyes closed, faces tilted upward, and hands raised to the sky. Yet despite the centrality of this image, many scholars have underestimated evangelical worship as little more than a manipulative effort to arouse devotional exhilaration. It is frequently dismissed as a reiteration of nineteenth-century revivalism or a derivative imitation of secular entertainment -- three Christian rock songs and a spiritual TED talk. But by failing to engage this worship seriously, we miss vital insights into a form of Protestantism that exerts widespread influence in the United States and around the world. Evangelical Worship offers a new way forward in the study of American evangelical Christianity. Weaving together insights from American religious history and liturgical studies, and drawing on extensive fieldwork in seven congregations, Melanie C. Ross brings contemporary evangelical worship to life. She argues that corporate worship is not a peripheral "extra" tacked on to a fully-formed spiritual, political, and cultural movement, but rather the crucible through which congregations forge, argue over, and enact their unique contributions to the American mosaic known as evangelicalism.

From the celebrated author of "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning" comes a startling expos of the political ambitions of the Christian Right--a clarion call for everyone who cares about freedom.

“What is at stake is authenticity. . . . Sooner or later Christians tire of public meetings that are profoundly inauthentic, regardless of how well (or poorly) arranged, directed, performed. We long to meet, corporately, with the living and majestic God and to offer him the praise that is his due.”—D. A. CarsonWorship is a hot topic, but the ways that Christians from different traditions view it vary greatly. What is worship? More important, what does it look like in action, both in our corporate gatherings and in our daily lives? These concerns—the blending of principle and practice—are what Worship by the Book addresses.Cutting through cultural clichés, D. A. Carson, Mark Ashton, Kent Hughes, and Timothy Keller explore, respectively:· Worship Under the Word· Following in Cranmer’s Footsteps· Free Church Worship: The Challenge of Freedom· Reformed Worship in the Global City “This is not a comprehensive theology of worship,” writes Carson. “Still less is it a sociological analysis of current trends or a minister’s manual chockfull of ‘how to’ instructions.” Rather, this book offers pastors, other congregational leaders, and seminary students a thought-provoking biblical theology of worship, followed by a look at how three very different traditions of churchmanship might move from this theological base to a better understanding of corporate worship. Running the gamut from biblical theology to historical assessment all the way to sample service sheets, Worship by the Book shows how local churches in diverse traditions can foster corporate worship that is God-honoring, Word-revering, heartfelt, and historically and culturally informed.

This book exposes how a coalition of political, religious, and civic leaders are using the issue of sex to frighten, misinform, and bully Americans—paving the way for dramatic new public policies that are already restricting everyone's rights. Americans are more vulnerable today than ever to anxiety about sexual danger, to believing that their sexuality is not "normal" or moral, and to laws and public policies that restrict their rights, criminalize their consenting behavior, and confuse and miseducate their children. In the second edition of America's War on Sex: The Continuing Attack on Law, Lust, and Liberty, psychologist, sex therapist, and courtroom expert witness Marty Klein sets the record straight and uncovers how the "Sexual Disaster Industry" works—a powerful social and political propaganda machine that is supported by the very citizens it victimizes. This book analyzes eight "battlegrounds" in which America's War on Sex is being fought and examines how each one is the focus of an unrelenting struggle to regulate sexuality in direct contradiction to our Constitutional guarantees, scientific fact, and the needs of average Americans. Klein places these various attacks on our rights in historical context, explains how the money and political power are coordinated from the same sources, and shows how the Religious Right inflames Americans' anxiety about sexuality even as it proposes repressive schemes to reduce that anxiety. This book tackles a sensitive and volatile topic head-on, addressing how the political, social, historical, religious, and emotional issues surrounding public policy interfaces with sexuality as no other work has before.

A Religious History of the American GI in World War II breaks new ground by recounting the armed forces’ unprecedented efforts to meet the spiritual needs of the fifteen million men and women who served in World War II. For President Franklin D. Roosevelt and many GIs, religion remained a core American value that fortified their resolve in the fight against Axis tyranny. While combatants turned to fellow comrades for support, even more were sustained by prayer. GIs flocked to services, and when they mourned comrades lost in battle, chaplains offered solace and underscored the righteousness of their cause. This study is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the social history of the American GI during World War II. Drawing on an extensive range of letters, diaries, oral histories, and memoirs, G. Kurt Piehler challenges the conventional wisdom that portrays the American GI as a nonideological warrior. American GIs echoed the views of FDR, who saw a Nazi victory as a threat to religious freedom and recognized the antisemitic character of the regime. Official policies promoted a civil religion that stressed equality between Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, and Judaism. Many chaplains embraced this tri-faith vision and strived to meet the spiritual needs of all servicepeople regardless of their own denomination. While examples of bigotry, sectarianism, and intolerance remained, the armed forces fostered the free exercise of religion that promoted a respect for the plurality of American religious life among GIs.