Category Archives: Contemporary Worship

Keeping up With the Jones’

Posted on July 13, 2009 by Paul Harris

  Contemporary worship didn’t come out of thin air.  I think it genesis can be laid at the door of Vatican II which started from the principle of what is relevant to men not what is worshipful to God.  Of … Continue reading →

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Personal Relationship or Faith in Faith?

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Paul Harris

  You won’t have to troll through many LCMS websites to find a “mission statement” saying their mission is to “lead others to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”  You won’t talk very long to a member or a pastor … Continue reading →

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Plain Label Christianity and Hall Monitors

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Paul Harris

There are hundreds of shampoos on the market; far too many to make any logical, rational, certain choice, so I choose one called “Generic Shampoo.”  There are hundreds of beers too.  All have competing claims and counter claims so I … Continue reading →

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Don’t Even Bother to ask Your Doctor

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Paul Harris

Since the late 1990s prescription drug use has grown exponentially.  In large part this has been due to the “ask your doctor if _____ is right for you” ad campaign.  Doctors are hard pressed when you say, “I have these … Continue reading →

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Just in Time for Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Paul Harris

A member showed me an AT&T ad from Sunday’s paper.  At the top of the page in block letters in the question:  “How do I love thee?”  He has written to the side, “Even AT&T understands what editors of modern … Continue reading →

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“Drift Away”

Posted on August 25, 2008 by Paul Harris

Who can forget this 70s classic especially since it’s still being recorded as of 2007?  It begins plaintively like a good hymn in the “suffering” section of a hymnal should.

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Bonheoffer, Hitler, and Holocaust

Posted on July 21, 2008 by Paul Harris

The January Concordia Theological Quarterly has an article entitled “Themes of the Cruciform Life in Bonheoffer.”  Bonheoffer was executed for his participation in the plot to assassinate the one man every man thinks ought to have been: Hitler.

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Cowboy Service and The Lutheran Service Book

Posted on July 14, 2008 by Paul Harris

Isn’t this a hoot?  Holy Ghost Lutheran Church, Fredericksburg, Texas (ELCA) had their annual Cowboy Service on July 6, 2008.  It begins with the leader saying, “The Lord be with y’all,” and the congregation responding, “And also with y’all.”

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Only Stories

Posted on May 20, 2008 by Paul Harris

Spoiler alert:  If you haven’t seen the movie “Atonement” and want to, don’t read this.

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“Flies on Jesus”

Posted on April 28, 2008 by Paul Harris

Saul Bellow in his novel Herzog quotes what he says is an old song, “There are flies on me; there’s flies on you, but there ain’t no flies on Jesus.”  O yes, there were

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