Dr. John D. Witvliet serves as senior scholar and program advisor for missional initiatives and professor of theology, worship and the arts at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to joining the Belmont faculty in June 2025, he served for 28 years as the founding director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and professor at Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary.
Last Updated: June 11, 2025
I recently taught a class on worship and theology to an insightful group of 30 undergraduate students. They came from churches all over the stylistic spectrum, from eight denominations, twelve states and provinces, and three countries.
As part of the course, I asked them to submit brief written reflections to these open ended questions:
Q
Looking ahead to summer, I am already frustrated by how many of our church members will be gone. Whatever happened to loyalty to a congregation? Do people realize what a burden this creates for those of us who remain at home?
Q
When an international student moves to the United States, and starts watching American football or baseball, they are often perplexed. When a North American student explains the game, they start to appreciate it. But when they hear a true fan of the game respond to a brilliant play by exclaiming “now that was amazing,” then their attention is focused in a new way. That exclamation—a testimonial, really—becomes an invitation not just to understand the game, but to fall in love with it.
Q
It has been years since I've heard a sermon or sung a song about Jesus' second coming. Why? How do we recover that?
A
Every good soccer or basketball team does drills to practice basic skills. Every good pianist or saxophonist practices scales. Drills and scales are the building blocks of success any time our bodies and minds are involved in an activity we love.
Scales and drills shape how human nerves and muscles work together seamlessly in real time. They get us ready to respond to whatever a game or musical performance brings our way. They make doing the right thing instinctive, like second nature.
Desiring to further express the diversity of the body of Christ and support a broader base of Reformed churches, RW is committed to taking a very small first step by making one article in each issue available in Korean, Spanish, and English. —JB
Every year, I ask my college and seminary students to tell me how they think 8 and 9 year olds in their congregation would summarize the point of the Lords’ Supper in a sentence. Invariably, the vast, vast majority say “the Supper is about remembering Jesus’ death.”
Q Why does Ascension Day matter? We don’t celebrate it anymore, and I need to give my congregation a better rationale for why we should. By the way, they don’t have patience for a treatise on the matter. I need short, pithy explanations.
A
Q
The term “praise team” seems so limiting.
Isn’t there a better alternative?
A
Q
So often, church year seasons drive our worship planning process. But terms like “Advent” and “Epiphany” don’t communicate well. They end up being barriers to our audience—especially our audience of the unchurched. What can we do about that?
A
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