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The Emergence Of A Multicultural Society

Ethnic diversity and the aging of Western societies have dramatically changed the potential composition of the church. Religious organizations will become ineffective if leaders conduct their pastoral care and evangelistic outreach in ways not relevant to the twenty-first century. For some denominations, the rapid pace of change seems to preclude long-range planning; crisis intervention has become both a personal and a church management strategy. However, demographic statistics that portend the shifts in population growth, composition, and geographic distribution provide a foundation for flexible and intelligent planning.

Worship And Multicultural Diversity

Cultural diversity has characterized the Judeo-Christian tradition from its earliest history. While the Bible and the church's liturgies show those actions that are central to faith, cultural and social factors have shaped practice in profound ways in each worship setting. This article briefly outlines those actions and beliefs that are central to Christian worship and the corresponding practices shaped by culture and society.

Towards Global Worship: Beyond The Headlines

How much worship gets directed beyond local or even individual needs? Does worship declare the congregation's concern for the world that God so loved? This article offers suggestions on how to go beyond merely praying for the people in the newspaper headlines towards worship that is truly global in its outlook and practice.

Cartigny Statement On Worship And Culture: Biblical And Historical Foundations

The Cartigny Statement on Worship and Culture was prepared on October 1993 by the Lutheran World Federation's study team focused on this topic. In this first consultation, the team focused on the biblical and historical materials relating to the relationship between worship and culture in the church. The team's inquiry focused on what is cultural, countercultural, and transcultural in Christian worship.

Vox Populi: Developing Global Song In The Northern World

With the increase in the number of Christians in other parts of the world other than the Northern (or Western) world, the church of the Northern world should learn from the musical geniuses of these different peoples. In this article, the author suggests what African music, Asian music, and Central and Latin American music offers Northern people.

Caribbean Worship

Although Christians have worshiped on the Caribbean Islands for many decades, patterns of worship that reflect local culture have only arisen in recent years. This article describes this process and calls for further attention to cultural issues and provides both a brief introduction to worship in this cultural tradition and a helpful point of comparison for churches that are struggling with cultural issues in other settings.

Asian Worship

The following article briefly describes a variety of worship practices on the Asian continent that have grown out of a desire to be both faithful to the Christian tradition and reflective of local culture. Each of these examples provides a thought-provoking case study regarding the interplay of Christianity and culture, giving readers both a window into worship on the Asian continent and a perspective from which to evaluate their own worship practices. Readers should bear in mind that the Asian churches represent many cultural and denominational traditions and that specific examples should not be taken as representative of worship on the whole continent.

Worship In Evangelical Hispanic Churches

Hispanic worship can be divided into four main expressions: Catholic, evangelical Protestant, Pentecostal, and spiritist. This article briefly describes the primary emphases of worship in the evangelical and Pentecostal worship traditions.

Music In Evangelical And Pentecostal Hispanic Churches

As in every worshiping tradition, music in Hispanic churches today represents a blend of the old and the new and of indigenous and imported musical styles. This article describes this interplay in Hispanic churches, observing the main genres and accompaniment styles involved.

Independent African Worship

Worship on the continent of Africa has a rich history, dating back to the earliest period of the Christian church. In recent years, however, new and exciting developments have occurred in sub-Sahara Africa. This article describes these recent developments and the worship of independent African churches. These practices are particularly interesting, as examples of how the Christian faith interacts with local culture.

African-american Worship

Featuring vital and profound music and the energetic interchange of the spoken word, African-American worship is emotionally charged and integrated with all of life. All of the senses and many forms of expression are used to lament the trials of life and to celebrate the power of God in Christ.

Native American Worship

Christian Native Americans bring to worship the riches of the Christian tradition, as well as a worldview shaped by their own rich cultural history. This article describes how these two influences shape worship in some Native American Christian communities.