Worship

The ongoing saga of New York City churches continued this past weekend with Heavenly Vision Christian Center opting to hold worship services on the street.

The church's pastor, Salvador Sabino, held an outdoor service Sunday with about 350 people gathering in 40 degree weather, because his congregation was denied a permit to meet in the public school they usually meet in.

He told The Christian Post that he is thinking about changing the name of his church to "Heavenly Vision Street Church" and that they are going to continue meeting on the street wherever they can regardless of the weather. more >>

Churches across New York City were preparing to hold worship services in spaces rented from public schools Sunday before discovering that a court order this week did not apply to them.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York had issued a 10-day restraining order Thursday as it waited to decide an appeal in a case that banned churches from renting space in public schools for worship services.

About 50 churches applied for permits after the decision. Even Mayor Michael Bloomberg believed the decision applied to all churches, and the city approved the permits. more >>

Good news may be near for dozens of New York City churches currently out of a building to meet and worship in on Sundays following an "optimistic" hearing on Tuesday.

Through the continued efforts of the Alliance Defense Fund, a new injunction may be granted by U.S. District Court Chief Justice Loretta A. Preska delaying the eviction of churches from city schools. A ban on churches using public school buildings for worship service in the weekends went into effect last Sunday.

ADF attorneys were back in court on Tuesday on behalf of the Bronx Household of Faith, hoping to seek a preliminary and/or permanent injunction against the New York City Department of Education's regulations banning "religious worship services" in school facilities. more >>

A New Jersey megachurch's latest effort to better engage with culture by embracing some of pop culture's most popular songs reignites the debate over whether churches should utilize secular music to be relevant.

While Liquid Church is using songs like Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and Bruno Mars' "Grenade" as part of its "Pop God" sermon series this month, some point to the danger that lies in "using cultural mediums to transfer sacred messages."

Dr. John Hardin, a writer for 9Marks, a Washington, D.C. organization that helps "church leaders define success as faithfulness to God," cautioned in an email to The Christian Post that "the methods and the messages carry with them the DNA of the culture from which they were taken." more >>

On the same day British singer Adele picked up six Grammys, a church in New Jersey started a "Pop God" sermon series by singing one of her songs during Sunday morning worship.

Lead Pastor Tim Lucas of Liquid Church said it was fun to kick things off with Adele because her song "Rolling in the Deep" ended up winning a Grammy. "The church is talking about the same things the culture is talking about," he told The Christian Post.

Liquid Church, one of the fastest growing megachurches in the state, is using the new series to highlight themes from the biblical book of Hosea. more >>

I have the worship music tastes of a seventy-five year-old woman.

There I admitted it. That's because a seventy-five year-old woman was picking out the hymns and gospel songs in the church where I grew up. My iPod playlist is really eclectic-ranging from George Jones to Andrew Peterson to Taio Cruz. But, when it comes to worship, nothing gets to me like Fanny Crosby. And, if "Just As I Am" is played, I'm going to want to cry, and probably walk the nearest aisle (even if it's on an airplane).

I'm left cold by what people call the "majestic old hymns." I tried to like them, to fit in with the theological tribe into which I was adopted, but I just can't do it. They sound like what watercress-sandwich-eating Episcopalians from Connecticut might sing (not that there's anything wrong with that). more >>