Daniel J. Mount
Daniel J. Mount
Great hymns matter. This is true in several senses of the word. But great hymn lyrics demonstrate that they matter by defining stakes. Any good book on how to write a novel, or engaging nonfiction, will tell you that conflict is key. Every scene needs to resolve a conflict. In real life, plenty of conversations involve…
When should you ask your church to stop singing a song? Imagine three scenarios: The song is cheesy Okay, perhaps “Shout to the Lord” is dated now. Maybe you think it’s cheesy; maybe it is. But here’s the key question: Does everyone in your church think the song is cheesy? If so, retire it. But…
This book contains little about Donald Trump’s personal faith and worldview. The author, Stephen Strang, believes there’s not much to say on the topic: “My aim in taking on this project has not been to write Donald Trump’s spiritual biography—that would have been a very short book” (page 169). Whether or not intentional, this remark parallels…
Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby tells the story of the Green Family, their company (Hobby Lobby), and their Museum of the Bible. The authors set themselves an admirable goal: Though their perspectives are quite different than the Green family, they aimed to write a balanced narrative with empathy for positions other than…
When I’m talking to someone who wants to get into web design, the conversation often begins with the coding languages needed. Recently, a co-worker told me that her husband wanted to get into web design. We weren’t long into the conversation before I realized that he probably already knew the foundational languages (HTML, CSS, PHP,…
Back in the olden days when Apple made products people waited in line to buy, they worked backwards. They made their design teams start a project by writing the press release. First they would find a way to explain why the new features mattered to the end user. Then they would find a way to…
Some biographies have the energy and immediacy of a radio broadcaster’s play-by-play. America’s Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation has the measured, thoughtful analysis of an end-of-year magazine analysis. Dialogue and narrative tension never speed the place up. But Wacker also never gets so bogged down in details that the pace slows to…
What resources can you use to learn more about hymns and hymnwriters? Hymn Stories Books of hymn stories are typically targeted to a popular (non-academic) audience. Then Sings My Soul Vol. 1, Robert Morgan: Morgan’s books are the bestsellers for a reason; they’re not too detailed for a general audience, and they’re well-written and engaging….
Six years ago, I began to find and organize songs where the main idea of the song is also the main idea of a Bible passage. (I call this kind of song an “expository song.”) Last year, I started posting my research on expositorysongs.com, with one post for each chapter of the Bible. I posted the…
The Normative Principle of Worship is that we may worship God in any way He has not forbidden. In contrast, the Regulative Principle of Worship is that we may only worship God in the ways He has specifically commanded. Reformation-era theologian John Calvin used this doctrine to make the case for only singing Psalms and…