We usually call the incident “Peter Walked on the Water.”  The real story gives the report with a different subject: Jesus rescued Peter, a fellow too dumb to recognize the limits of his own abilities, too enthusiastic about pursuing his own plans to properly estimate the perimeters of his own potential.  彼得和我们大家一样.  Peter thought he was heading toward the Lord, but on his own he could not reach Jesus. 

The song “Take Me With You” begins with the bridge, which sets a proper tone for approaching the Spirit in prayer. Talking on the psalmist’s posture of wonder before God, the song begins and ends with an address to the Holy Spirit in the form of two questions: “Where are You going? /你要去哪里?” Rather than seeking to discern the Spirit’s movement and direction on his own, the supplicant humbly asks the Holy Spirit to take control and guide him on a journey to grasp more deeply His works in creation and in his own life: “Take me with You / Can I come with You?”

In his book In Defense of Christian Ritual: The Case for a Biblical Pattern of Worship, David Andersen made two significant arguments. 第一个, he argued that worship practices deeply and stubbornly form the beliefs and culture of the church — both institutionally and individually. As a specialist in Christian apologetics, Andersen made this argument with the same methods he used to defend the historical resurrection of Jesus, 即, the collective insights of anthropology, 心理学, 神经学, 认识论和社会科学.

文化很重要. 环境很重要. Through certain practices, we can learn to value culture. We can learn to value the uniqueness of culture that guards us from cultural elitism. We can learn to value the inherent meanings of cultural symbols that keeps us from misappropriating culture. 这, as the 新闻boys so eloquently taught us years ago, is truly how we learn to sing the “song of the redeemed.”

Worship is never theologically neutral. Every worship form can be analyzed in terms of its pragmatics—that is, what it seeks to accomplish. Analyzing the pragmatics of the service will uncover the theological presuppositions lurking beneath the surface of the worship form. Does the service seek to elicit a response from worshipers? 这 suggests one understanding of worship. Does the service aim to proclaim forgiveness? 这 suggests a different understanding of worship. Those who plan worship can analyze the worship forms they use to see whether the pragmatics stand up to theological scrutiny.

Leaders of congregational singing take on a meaningful but difficult role in the church. 例如, they must plan services for the whole congregation while the people often disagree about which songs are meaningful/appropriate in church. While many of these disagreements are unavoidable and reflect clashing theological traditions, there is another force at work in the way songs are appropriated in the church. 即, even though individuals come together to express their common faith in worship, worship remains the expression of distinct individuals. 这 phenomenon is explored through the popular worship song: "Reckless Love."