Church music in a culture obsessed with self expression - with Alanna Glover

04/11/2025 30 min Temporada 7 Episodio 44
Church music in a culture obsessed with self expression - with Alanna Glover

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Episode Synopsis

What does healthy, joyful, word-shaped congregational singing look like in a culture obsessed with self-expression?We are shaped more than we realise by the culture around us. And today one of the most powerful cultural forces pressing on our churches is expressive individualism — the idea that the authentic self must be expressed and affirmed.But what happens when this cultural air we breathe seeps into our church music? When sincerity becomes more important than truth, when the band is excellent yet the congregation is silent, and when singing shifts from “we proclaim Christ together” to “I express what I feel”?If we do not address this, we risk disengaged congregations, weakened church identity and a missed opportunity for deep spiritual formation that comes as we sing God’s word to one another.Alanna Glover — longtime church music leader, former member of Garage Hymnal, ten years with Emu Music, songwriter, trainer and theologian — has just completed significant research on expressive individualism and congregational singing in evangelical churches. The Church Cohttp://www.thechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churches.  Advertise on The Pastor's HeartTo advertise on The Pastor's Heart go to thepastorsheart.net/sponsorSupport the show

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