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Three Ways Musical Roots Teach Us About Love
I am always amazed by how music—even music theory—images certain theological concepts. Enjoy! 1. The Root Provides Identity In music theory, the “root” is the note by which a scale or chord is named (C is the root of a C major scale, and so on). It is the foundational pitch that gives the scale…
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Marriage and Music: Reflecting on Our Wedding Music Two Years Later
Yesterday was my second wedding anniversary, and I’ve been planning this post since July 9th, 2021. As a musician, I was naturally passionate about selecting just the right music for my wedding ceremony. To my dismay, wedding music seems to be something of an afterthought for non-musicians, but it matters so deeply! A wedding is,…
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Conclusion and Questions to Consider: Reframing the Bethel-Hillsong Controversy According to the Fruit of the Spirit
Welcome to the final article in my Bethel-Hillsong series! To organize this content, I’ll link each article in order below: As we wrap up this lengthy series, here are nine fruitful questions to consider before you program music by any artist—including Bethel and Hillsong—for worship: I hope this series helped you think about this issue…
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Surprised by Self-Control: Bethel, Hillsong, and the Overlooked Purpose of Congregational Song
When asked which fruit of the Spirit is most directly related to worship music, most people will answer, “Joy, of course!” If pressed, they might also mention love, peace, goodness, and faithfulness. Patience and kindness may make the list too, but what about self-control? We don’t often discuss self-control in relation to worship music except…
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Coming Back to the Heart of Worship: 5 Facts About Gentleness that Shape How We Discuss and Do Worship Music
Gentleness is a much-abused fruit in our day and age. For the sake of “gentleness,” people are told to abandon doctrinal convictions. For the sake of “gentleness,” people are coerced into disobeying scripture’s command to teach, exhort, and admonish. To use gentleness in such ways is to misapply this powerful fruit. Gentleness, which is perhaps…
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The Good, The Bad, or the Simply Not Good: Can we Pronounce the Music of Bethel and Hillsong as “Very Good”?
“Kinda weird, but not a sin” has become a common saying in my household. My husband and I say this jokingly about hilarious fail videos or the quirky things we catch each other doing. But when it comes to worship music, this saying hits on an important point: there are more than two black-and-white categories.…
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Publication Update
ClayJar Review, a Christian literary journal, selected my sonnet, “Ash Wednesday 2023,” and my flash fiction story, “Protocol,” for publication. It is rare to find a Christian journal that values both authenticity and hopefulness, so I am honored to be included. My pieces, along with those by other Christian creatives, can be read here: https://clayjar.review/issues/sorrow-and-joy
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Ten Cheap and Instant Ways to Make Your Old-New House Feel Like Home
A lot of my friends are moving into their first homes, and I’m reminiscing about the absolutely chaotic time when Billy and I got engaged, left our jobs, bought a house without seeing it (or each other, as he was quarantined), got married, and moved across the country in three months. It was so stressful…
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Stop and Check Yourself. Are You Being Kind to People with Different Worship Tastes? Reestablishing the Terms of the Bethel-Hillsong Debate.
Let me open this sixth article in our Bethel-Hillsong series with a confession: I have not always been kind when it comes to worship music. I have vivid memories of sitting through sets that I didn’t like with clenched jaws and crossed arms. That is not kind. Let me follow that up with another confession.…
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Should we be Concerned that Using Music by Bethel and Hillsong is Contributing to our Culture of Immediate Gratification? On Patience and Using CCM Music in Worship
One of my favorite hobbies is discovering lesser-known Christian artists and listening to their entire output on repeat. I’ve come across some wonderful artists who have established careers and impressive catalogs of songs…so why aren’t we using their work in worship? Aside from overt issues of heresy and immorality, perhaps my biggest concern when it…
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“Lord, Lord” – A Poetic Reflection on Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will…
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Is Singing Music by Bethel and Hillsong Promoting Peace in the Body of Christ? The Answer is More Nuanced Than You Think.
Peace is a sorely abused fruit of the Spirit. Too often we are told to “keep the peace,” meaning to keep quiet and refrain from speaking hard truths. But the beatitude is “blessed are the peacemakers.” Makers. There is more to peace than comfortability and tolerance. Instead, it is about Christ making peace for us…
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Ryanne Molinari 