Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

Worship

  • I remember a specific moment of great happiness from my childhood. It was the day I learned I no longer had to sing at school. I didn’t dread singing until fourth grade. The year I had my first crush, my first acknowledgement that boys and girls really were different, the first realization that what I did…

  • God is perfect, but our worship isn’t, despite what we might think. The seemingly fixed nature of our worship belies the truth: worship throughout history has been spontaneous and full of joy. We have gone through eras, particularly the medieval period, in which liturgy (the work of the people) was done in a language unknown to its…

  • Awhile back I wrote about how much I hate announcement time.  Go back and take a look at it, because I feel justified in saying that.  Announcement time, as I’ve experienced it in the several congregations I’ve served has, for the most part, been a horrible train wreck.  This is mostly the case because it is…

  • I wrote a while ago about engaging children in church.  Now I’m tackling that in-between age: the pre-teen. First off, I don’t intend to give a firm age range for this group.  I think you know it when you see it.  Your 9 year-old might be more teen-like than your 11 year-old. Parents of pre-teens struggle with…