Book Details
Small congregations can have beautiful worship! In From a Mustard Seed, an experienced pastor-professor and an experienced church musician provide a model for faithful and excellent worship in congregations that average 75 or fewer people in weekly worship. While the limitations of small congregations are obvious to their members and leaders, the possibilities for creative music and worship are often greater than we can imagine.
Epperly and Hollinger integrate theology, spiritual formation, and practical guidance for nurturing diverse, inspirational, and transforming worship in small congregations. Grounded in a solid theology of worship, they provide tried-and-true approaches to congregational music and singing, worship planning, liturgies that transform, and healthy partnerships between pastors and church musicians.
God is present in small congregations, and the authors help pastors, church musicians, and active laypersons awaken to God's activity in every aspect of worship and music. They illuminate possibilities for opening to God in worship and music through their own stories, the stories of congregations and their pastors, practical counsel, spiritual practices, and theological reflection.
Recent Publications
Servanthood of Song: Music, Ministry, and the Church in the United States
'Servanthood of Song' is a history of American church music from the colonial era to the present. Its focus is on the institutional and societal pressures that have shaped church song and have led us directly to where we are today.
Sound Theology
This book surveys the liturgical soundscape during and after the Reformation with regard to the use of instruments in worship in general, and the (dis)use of the pipe organ specifically.
Gratitude: Why Giving Thanks Is the Key to Our Well-Being
What is gratitude? Where does it come from? Why do we need it? How does it change us?
In Gratitude, award-winning author Cornelius Plantinga explores these questions and more. Celebrating the role of gratitude in our lives, Plantinga makes the case that it is the very key to understanding our relationships with one another, the world around us, and God.
Servanthood of Song: Music, Ministry, and the Church in the United States
'Servanthood of Song' is a history of American church music from the colonial era to the present. Its focus is on the institutional and societal pressures that have shaped church song and have led us directly to where we are today.
Sound Theology
This book surveys the liturgical soundscape during and after the Reformation with regard to the use of instruments in worship in general, and the (dis)use of the pipe organ specifically.
Gratitude: Why Giving Thanks Is the Key to Our Well-Being
What is gratitude? Where does it come from? Why do we need it? How does it change us?
In Gratitude, award-winning author Cornelius Plantinga explores these questions and more. Celebrating the role of gratitude in our lives, Plantinga makes the case that it is the very key to understanding our relationships with one another, the world around us, and God.
Living the Questions of the Bible
Living the Questions of the Bible presents questioning as a viable and faithful Christian practice.