The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship - for the study and renewal of worship - Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

Symposium Program now available

admin — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:35:32 +0000

View descriptions of all seminars and workshops.

Dwelling with Philippians

admin — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:27:00 +0000

Join a broad and vibrant conversation among worshiping communities on themes and images from the book of Philippians.

New Column: Reflections on the Christian Walk

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:17:53 +0000

Introducing a new column on Christian spirituality

Post or find a worship-related job opening

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:05:06 +0000

Post or find a worship-related job opening.

Enter the Drama of God’s Story

admin — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:20:33 +0000

Entering the biblical narrative requires looking at the story you actually live by and pondering why God gave the Bible as a sprawling story.

Watch Video of Worship at Grants Colloquium

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:17:04 +0000

Video of Wednesday evening worship at Grants Colloquium is now available.

Enter the Drama of God’s Story

calvinjb34 — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:11:50 +0000

It seemed like an opening from God. A youth minister was starting a Bible study with girls in her junior high youth group. Several were cheerleaders and one asked unchurched cheerleading friends to join the Bible study. “I was excited to have them join,” recalls Laura DeHaan, now a Calvin College psychology professor who researches faith and adolescence.

Then she got a call from a mom. “Her daughter, Alyssa, was upset that Sara had joined the Bible study because Sara was quite cruel during cheerleading and at school. Till then youth group had been Alyssa’s safe haven away from Sara. I understood. Yet it would be impossible for me to tell someone who’d never had the chance to study the Bible that I didn’t want her there,” DeHaan says.

So she began the Bible study by asking everyone to sit in a circle, eyes closed, imagining themselves sitting on a hill, straining to hear Jesus speak. She read Matthew 5:23-24 about being reconciled to others before coming to God in worship…requested everyone to stay quiet for awhile, with eyes still closed…and asked whether anyone had something to say to another. Sara was the first to share. She and Alyssa confessed a lot to each other, as did other girls. It became as emotional as you’d expect from early adolescents.

Yet DeHaan looks back on it as her “most gratifying time” in youth ministry. Parents saw the change in their daughters and began attending church with them. And it all came about because people imaginatively entered the Spirit-inspired Story of Jesus.

The story that makes sense

Entering the biblical narrative requires looking at the story you actually live by and pondering why God gave the Bible as a sprawling story.

The question isn’t whether we live out of a story that makes sense of human history but which grand story will shape us, Michael Goheen said in a lecture based on The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story.

Live your best life now….Free market capitalism is the global system most compatible with Scripture….The gospel is personal but never private….Humans have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives….The gospel is about individual salvation only; each individual gets his due….Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind; love your neighbor as yourself.

Upcoming Presentation on Reformed Worship in the 21st Century

admin — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:11:26 +0000

When Memory and Hope Embrace: Envisioning Reformed Worship in the 21st Century
John D. Witvliet
Director, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Professor of Music and Worship, Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary.
Prince Conference Center
Calvin College
Grand Rapids, Michgian
July 26, 2010
7:30 p.m.

This presentation is free and open to the public. A time of questions and refreshments will follow the presentation.

More Upcoming Events »

Live Video of Colloquium Worship Service

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:06:03 +0000

Live video will be available from tonight’s Grants Colloquium worship service at 7:30 p.m.(EST).

Register for Worship Renewal: A Day of Learning

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:18:26 +0000

You are invited to join Worship Renewal Grant recipients from many denominations around the continent who will be gathering to share what they have learned over the past year with each other and with new grant recipients.