Lookahead: And, in fact, the byline read, "Carine Bassili shares how God used her viral worship song to break barriers and release healing between Arabs and Jews."1 She believed that the LORD had instructed her to write a song about the God of Israel. The result was a beautiful Hebrew/Arabic song that came from Psalm … Continue reading Worship #9 – Worshipping in Arabic When You Don’t Speak It

Lookahead:  But the song wasn't totally the focus of the controversy.  It was the rendition of the song that seemed to be the issue. One podcaster put a comic spin on some of the remarks which I'll use because it takes the judgmental sting off.  "The church is trying to be too much like the world...he's there … Continue reading Worship #8 – Positioned for Worship in the Old Testament

Lookahead: I’ll never forget our formally trained pastor, who had “come up” in the choir, going back to his roots and assembling his very own 120-member choir for Pentecost Sunday. For a few weeks, he rehearsed us impeccably, and directed us with amazing, even airborne, vigor (one member credited him with jumping like a frog!). … Continue reading Worship #4 – DNA-Coded to Worship?