Review: Singing the Congregation

Regrettably, as a result of the so-called "worship wars," music and worship have become conflated within evangelical circles. A performance mentality has led to participation in worship as a distinct social activity. In Singing the Congregation (Oxford, 2018), ethnomusicologist Monique Ingalls explores how singing contemporary worship music forms evangelical worshiping communities. Ingalls targets five distinct ways in which evangelical worshipers conceive themselves: concert, conference, church, public, and networked congregations.

Each chapter is devoted to a different model; Ingalls probes how concert congregations seek to lift Jesus' name, how conference congregations seek to form an eschatological community, how church congregations seek to create a distinct worship voice, how public congregations seek to take religion outside of the church, and how networked congregations seek to build community outside of the church walls. Her research is certainly thorough, based on new, empirical research and deep interaction with the scholarly corpus. Making music together, claims Ingalls, is a primary way of forming evangelical worshiping communities.

Ingalls stands out as one of the leading church music scholars who is able to speak of contemporary worship music in theological and sociological terms. Insights abound in this interesting read for worship scholars and leaders. With this book, Ingalls begins to fill a lacuna of literature surrounding the growing contemporary worship movement. Her five modes of congregating is an essential foundation for talking about evangelical worship with cogency. It is certain that this book will become one of the most important sources for understanding the sociology and spiritual formation of contemporary evangelical worship experiences.

(A complimentary review copy was given in exchange for an honest review.)

Comments

Product Review: LL Bean Extra-Large Rolling Adventure Duffle

Overview When adventure strikes, the right bag makes all the difference. Too often, however, luggage bags are either large, ponderous suitcases or small, flimsy duffle bags. I have traveled to Central and South America multiple times with terribly large suitcases. It added extra complication to my trip—especially lugging the bag up the steps! This is the problem which LL Bean seeks to rectify in the LL Bean Extra-Large Rolling Adventure Duffle. With a 137-liter capacity, this duffel is able to hold the items of the biggest pack-rat while being easy to transport. It features a telescoping handle, smooth-gliding wheels, and cinch straps. Specifications Capacity: Approx. 8,350 cu. in., 137 L. Weight: 9 lb. 3 oz. Dimensions: 17"H x 34"W x 15"D. Highlights This bag is sturdy. Not only is it capable of holding many items, but it is incredibly durable. It has a reinforced nylon bottom and a thick plastic frame so that the bag does not sag or become weak....

Review: NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible

A revised version of the previously published NIV Zondervan Study Bible, the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible (Zondervan, 2018) represents the best of biblical scholarship in a compact study Bible. It introduces Biblical Theology (BT), a discipline that is intended for readers to weave individual books and stories into a larger metanarrative that reveals God's redemptive plan through the entire Bible. To that end, this study Bible includes articles introducing BT and articles on theological matters. While the emphasis of this Bible may appeal to a more Reformed/covenantal audience, the contributors span a variety of theological traditions and are respected authorities within their discipline. The verse-by-verse notes—over 20,000—are insightful and suitable for determining the historical, literary, and cultural background of the text with a view to responsible interpretation of Scripture. There are in-text cross references, a concordance, maps, and useful charts. Each bo...

Review: Behind The Scenes Of The Old Testament

The biblical drama was situated among a highly complex sociological, political, and geographic backdrop. In particular, the world of the Old Testament was a critical time for human civilization—yet most readers of the Bible tend to imagine that Israel alone was the sole nation on the scene. While most OT surveys identify cultural issues within particular sections of the text, or provide a cursory introduction to the ancient Near East in an opening chapter, Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts (Baker Academic, 2018) provides a comprehensive entry point into the ancient world in the time of the OT. This authoritative tome brings together contributions from the world’s leading biblical and archaeological scholars to offer a variety of articles on OT background issues. It is divided into three parts. The first, “Elements of the Drama,” includes the stage (historical geography), the set and props (archaeology), the scripts (extra-biblical li...

Leitourgia

Search This Blog