Category Archives: Contemporary Worship

Antioch Community Church, the Parable of the Sower, and Pentecostalism

Posted on October 4, 2021 by Rev. Paul R. Harris

               I now know who is forking over 70 bucks to buy a shirt that looks good untucked. It’s the pastors of Antioch Community Churches. I virtually attended Antioch, Waco on 10-11-20 and Antioch, Bryan in person on 10-18-20. And … Continue reading →

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Oz, not the Doctor, and Bacon, not the Food

Posted on September 20, 2021 by Rev. Paul R. Harris

When teaching on the three ways Man tries to know the True God and fails, philosophy, mysticism, and moralism, I appeal to Oz and Zhivago. Perhaps I should substitute or at least add bacon to the latter.

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A Lion, an Ox, and a Warning, O My!

Posted on June 1, 2021 by Rev. Paul R. Harris

Dr. Horace Hummel has this story in his wonderful commentary on Ezekiel. He tells of the church in Nebraska where he spent his childhood. He describes the reredos having a statue of Christ flanked by Peter and Paul and accompanied … Continue reading →

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Something Better – visit to an Evangelical Lutheran Synod church

Posted on May 10, 2021 by Rev. Paul R. Harris

I’m conflicted. I reported on a virtual visit to an LCMS contemporary service. Today I report on a confessional Lutheran service. It was virtual too; virtually mind blowing.

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Sunscreen and Hunting

Posted on April 5, 2021 by Rev. Paul R. Harris

A dermatologist told me I should start wearing sunscreen when hunting. I tried it on several hunts and hated it. Why? It’s a mixed message. The distinct odor of sunscreen is evocative of beaches and salt spray, not vegetation and … Continue reading →

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Three Little Words

Posted on February 22, 2021 by Rev. Paul R. Harris

I’m convinced. The criteria people use to evaluate candidates for the pastoral office are just moribund. They are not even so last century or the century before that. They aren’t even so last millennia; they are the one before it. … Continue reading →

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Flame Rapper (Lutheran Rapper)

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Rev. Paul R. Harris

This was the title of the email I got. The email from a 20-something, confessional Lutheran went on to say: “He graduated with a Master’s in Systematic Theology from St. Louis. The second song references a Dr. Joel Biermann [a … Continue reading →

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As Goes The Agenda So Goes the Church

Posted on January 11, 2021 by Rev. Paul R. Harris

               At one time, the Missouri Synod understood this. It was the issue of the Prussian Agenda that led ultimately to her forefathers being dissatisfied with the German state church. The Prussian Agenda, seeking to unite the Reformed and Lutheran, … Continue reading →

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Border Blaster’s and Worship’s Use of Video

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Rev. Paul R. Harris

Radio station XER went on the air across the border from Del Rio, Texas in 1931. It broadcast at 500,000 watts. Clear Channel radio stations in the U.S. were and are only allowed to transmit at 50,000 watts. Those of … Continue reading →

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The Visit I Didn’t Want to Make – Cowboy Church

Posted on July 28, 2020 by Rev. Paul R. Harris

I didn’t even want to write up this account of my 2019 visit to a Cowboy Church in Bryan, Texas.

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