Carl L. Stam

Choosing the right choral music has got to be the single most challenging task I have faced in the 35 years I have directed church choirs. I dread the idea of buying sixty copies of something that will not work well in the service; and I don’t want to spend even twenty minutes rehearsing an anthem that will not be edifying for the body of believers.

Songs That Jesus Said: Scripture into Music by Keith and Kristyn Getty. gettymusic.com; CD and songbook available.

A Correction in “The Chief Cornerstone”

Thank you so much for sending me a copy of Reformed Worship (78, December 2005). I really enjoyed it all, especially, of course, the fine article by Gracia Grindal.

Reggie M. Kidd. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2005. 224 pp. $14.99. ISBN 0-8010-6591-7.

Timothy Dudley-Smith. Carol Stream, Ill.: Hope Publishing Co., 2003. 562 pp. $24.95. ISBN 0-916642-74-7.

Sara Singleton. Carol Stream, Ill.: Oasis Audio, 2002. 14-page booklet and 4 CDs. $29.99.

Producer Sara Singleton has assembled an “audio sanctuary” that clearly reverences the Scriptures, warmly embraces the prayers and spiritual disciplines of past generations of believers, and, through vocal and instrumental selections, encourages the listener to savor the truth of the gospel and sweetness of close communion with the Savior.

Deborah Moore Clark. Macon: Smyth & Helwys, 2003. 252 pp. $18.00. ISBN 1-57312-364-1.

Author Deborah Moore Clark has written a focused and thorough book on the theology and practice of Christian worship. The book lends itself to group study by a worship committee or church staff in that each chapter ends with probing questions that get to the heart of worship priorities.

RW Online Index to Replace Print Version

Ever since RW began, we’ve published a cumulative index updated each year. For the past two years, we’ve kept the print index going alongside the online index. But sales of the print index have declined, and we’ve decided to discontinue the print version. Explore the online index and find lots of help!

Conference on Liturgy and Music (COLAM) 2004
The Church Together: Exploring Intergenerational Worship

Denver, Colorado, July 7-10
Ever wonder how best to minister to the multiple generations in your congregation? Or been frustrated when the needs of one group seem to conflict with another group within your church? How do you go about leading and planning worship for a diverse congregation? Is it possible?

This festival of song based on Romans 8 was the concluding service of the Calvin Symposium on Worship and the Arts, January 2003. It would be especially appropriate for use anytime between Ascension and Pentecost, or as background material for any service based on a portion of Romans 8. The entire chapter of Romans 8 was proclaimed from memory by different people who had been coached by Dennis Dewey (see RW 65). For this service, we celebrated in song the gifts from the body of Christ from many times and places, united by the power of the Spirit.

—ERB

What’s the best way to present the doctrine of the atonement at a conference for worship planners and leaders? One way would be to suggest Scripture texts and songs that focus on this teaching of Scripture. But Donald Hustad, Carl Stam, and Paul Detterman—all from Louisville, Kentucky—collaborated in a more challenging approach: preparing and walking participants through a worship service celebrating Christ’s atoning work for the sins of the world.

Daniel A. Frankforter. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001. 195 pp. $19.95.

Daniel Frankforter is a professor of medieval history and an incredibly articulate critic of the prevalent worship practices in today’s church. As much as this new volume troubles me, I must say that it has been extremely valuable to me as a worship planner, leader, and educator.

Gary A. Furr and Milburn Price. Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc., 1998. 96 pp. $13.00. (1-800-747-3016)

I can still se them walking across the Calvin College campus during COLAM '95-Mark Filbert and his entire children's choir. Like a Pied Piper, he led the children to mealsm recreation, bells, and all the other activities of the first COLAM that included children. Mark, music director of a Lutheran church in Chicago, wanted his children to catch a vision larger than they experienced at home, a vision that would stay with them and help to shape their growth in their own congregation. They had a great time.

Jesus, Joy of All Desiring" may be the single most recognizable piece of music written by johann Sebastian Bach. But although this movement from one Bach's cantatas is familiar, the complete cantata is seldom used in worship today. One reason worship planners avoid this and other Bach worship cantatas is that they seem too daunting.