I am pleased to announce that the IWS Board of Trustees has appointed the Rev. Dr. Constance Cherry as the President of IWS. Dr. Cherry has served as the Acting President of IWS since March 2024. During her tenure she has led IWS with integrity and a pastor’s heart. She has managed the many facets...Read More
When the seminary taught you how to preach, did they also teach you how to think biblically and theologically about the entire worship service? It’s fair to say seminary’s primary purpose is to prepare pastors for their role as shepherds of the flock. Preparing to preach often consumes a great deal of that preparation time....Read More
Professor Dan Sharp Poised to publish Church Year Devotionals: For many years, Professor Dan Sharp has been providing daily devotionals via email during each season of the Church Year. Recently, Academic Dean Dinelle Frankland sat down with him to discuss this significant contribution to Christian formation all over the world. Dinelle Frankland: When did you...Read More
For 32 years, I served as a lay leader at a vibrant, medium-sized church in a college town. Then I retired and moved home to the family farm. One of our first questions was, “Where will we worship now?” I remembered that years ago, I heard the great American preacher and homiletics teacher, Fred Craddock,...Read More
The solstice has passed, and it is officially Autumn, not my favorite season. How do I welcome a change of seasons I don’t like and what does that have to do with worship? Personally, I really like heat and light, the more the better. Warm sun on my skin, light clothing, bright colors, watersports, travel....Read More
Our bodies are not passive in rituals; they are active, and that increases the transforming power of rituals. In my sabbatical-ending ritual, I used physical things in a smaller, manageable system (candles on a table) to act out what was occurring in my larger, less manageable life: a transition from sabbatical to teaching. Scientists have...Read More
I lost my job last month. I knew I would lose it two months prior. In fact, it was years of a slow fade and a slow demise that led to the closing of the University where I worked for 21 years. I prepared myself for this possibility. But when it came, when it was...Read More
What is the essence of Christian worship and why does it matter? I would like to start with two questions: 1. Are you a chicken, or are you a pig? 2. What does that question have to do with the study of worship? I’ll come back to that a little later. Stay tuned. The famous...Read More
In recent years there has been a proliferation of higher education degrees in worship studies. But why should we study worship at all? Let me begin with an explanation of what IWS is: IWS is a school of theology, specifically emphasizing the theology of worship. But what is theology? The etymology of the word would...Read More
“I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, And laid my head in the dust.” (Job 16:15 NKJV) Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the season of Lent. God calls us to observe a holy Lent through assessment, penitence, discipline and renewal, using the classical church practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Historically, the Church...Read More
The August 2022 Edition of the IWS Community Newsletter: Student, alumni, and faculty news, photos from graduation, articles from staff and faculty, and more!Read More
IWS Professor Dr. Constance Cherry’s award-winning The Worship Architect: A Blueprint for Designing Culturally Relevant and Biblically Faithful Services (Baker Academic) has been updated and expanded. The enhancements in this second edition include new content on global worship and worshiping during a pandemic, major updates related to worship styles and worship music, and more. As...Read More
