Worshipping communities everywhere are surrounded by more cultural diversity than ever before, and have access to more arts and styles from more times and places that was even dreamed of in the past. In addition, there has been a resurgence in the religious exploration of art, as well as the artistic exploration of religion and spirituality. Frank Burch Brown here explores how the Christian community can navigate this increasingly diverse world of worship and become more inclusive and yet more discerning.
Brown combines an abiding admiration of classical idioms with an appreciation of new possibilities within the arts employed worshipfully. He consults the ideas of a wide range of religious thinkers and leaders from Augustine and John Calvin, to Rick Warren, Marcus Borg, and the Pope. The resulting discussion, consistently passionate and thoughtful, is permeated by Browns wide-ranging knowledge and deep love of the arts church music in particular and his desire to articulate a theological aesthetic that, as he says, will have teeth but not fangs. A lively and thought-provoking book, Inclusive yet Discerning will find a natural place in seminaries, church study groups, and among thoughtful worship leaders and readers for whom music and the arts are vital.
