Worship Theology

Join Dr. Jeremy Perigo as he hosts Dr. Ron Man as they discuss the biblical foundations of worship. Ron is a worship educator and serves on the steering committee of the Biblical Worship Section of the Evangelical Theological Society. He is also the director of Worship Resources International. His most recent book, Let Us Draw Near, is an expansive examination of the theme of worship in Scripture. Together, they unpack key themes, ...

Join Dr. Jeremy Perigo as he hosts scholar, pastor, and musician Zac Hicks. Hicks is currently pastor of Church of the Cross in Birmingham, Alabama, and is the author of several books, including, most recently, Before We Gather. 

Drawing from Hicks' The Worship Pastor and Worship By Faith Alone, they discuss practical and theological issues around justification, the priesthood of all believers, and confession. Additionally, they en...

Join Dr. Jeremy Perigo as he hosts Dr. Melanie Ross, Associate Professor of Liturgical Studies at Yale Divinity School. They explore themes surrounding Evangelical practices and theologies of worship, particularly from Ross' books Evangelical Worship: An American Mosaic (2021) and Evangelical vs. Liturgical? Defying a Dichotomy (2014). 

Beyond monolithic political assessments of Evangelicals, Ross presents a nuanced and diverse vie...

Two Dordt University Professors, Dr. Justin Bailey and Prof. David Platter, are joining Dr. Jeremy Perigo on this episode. Drawing from Bailey's academic work in beauty and culture and Platter's experience as a working studio artist and educator, they reflect on the challenges and opportunities of visual art in corporate worship. They grapple with questions such as why Catholics have all the good art, why did some Reformers reject ...

In this episode, Dr. Jeremy Perigo hosts Revd. Associate Professor Dr. Daniel Thornton of Alphacrucis University College in Australia. Dr. Thornton is an ordained minister, worship leader, musician, educator, and theologian with significant experience in production, theater, and composition.  

Together, they discuss Thornton’s scholarly research into modern Christian worship songs, which utilizes music semiology focused on texts, w...

How has worship music shifted in the last ten years in the USA?

Join Dr. Jeremy Perigo as he hosts Dr. Shannan Baker, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Music and Digital Humanities at Baylor University. Their discussion focuses on the musical, theological, and market shifts of CCLI's Top 25 songs from 2010-2020.

Topics include lyrical theology, Trinitaria...

On this second episode of season two, Dr. Jeremy Perigo hosts worship historian Dr. Adam Perez of Belmont University.

Together they discuss how the history of contemporary worship song impacts local churches today. With a specific focus on worship in the 1980s and 1990s, Perez shares how studying the history of Christian worship gives us important tools and skills to shape how we lead today. Discussions include tracing the networks...

In the first episode of season two, Dr. Jeremy Perigo sits down with Dr. Matthew Kaemingk, a public theologian based at Fuller Seminary. Together, they discuss Reformed worship, public theology, the need to become vocationally conversant as ministry leaders, and how to bridge the vast chasm between our worship and worship. Those who listen to the end will also hear theological ties between workplace theology, 30 Rock, and a Neocalv...

In the final episode of the first season, join Dr. Jeremy Perigo as he welcomes back Geraldine Latty and Carey Luce as they discuss the practice of creativity and emotional breadth in worship. Hear topics such as the use of gospel choirs, planning time for creativity, utilizing musical tensions, emotional and musical manipulation, the theology of the Spirituals, building community through singing, and learning from other cultural e...

In this episode, Dr. Jeremy Perigo sits down with Rich and Lydia di Castiglione, UK-based worship leaders and songwriters, to discuss writing worship songs that simultaneously acknowledge pain, suffering, grief, and hope. They explore how worship songs can express empathy and the entire emotive bandwidth of the Christian life. Hear the stories and theology behind their worship songwriting, which embodies the “already and not yet” o...

Join Dr. Jeremy Perigo as he sits down with London-based musician and educator Carey Luce as they explore creativity in church music.  Carey is a lecturer at London School of Theology and recently served as visiting worship artist in residence at Dordt University.

Their discussion topics include curating musical creativity, education models for improvisation, Stevie Wonder & Bela Fleck, church music pedagogy, playing in different c...

Join Dr. Jeremy Perigo as he hosts New Testament scholar Dr. Conrad Gempf as they discuss worship in the New Testament. Dr. Gempf has taught at London School of Theology for years and is a creative voice bridging the academy and the Church. Discussion topics include the Lord’s Supper, biblical interpretation, worshipping Jesus, the cultural backgrounds of the first Christians, worship in Corinth, worship in Galatia, and much more.

Join Dr. Jeremy Perigo, along with Sara and Sam Hargreaves, as they discuss the crucial intersection between gathered worship and scattered worship. Sam and Sara help give theological insight and creative worship practices that connect our Sunday worship with Monday work. The Hargreaves are scholarly practitioners serving both as theological educators and worship leaders in numerous church contexts. Hear some innovative ideas relat...

Join us for this unique discussion hosted by Dr. Jeremy Perigo on multicultural churches and multicultural worship with Dr. Dan Backens and Pastor Kevin Turpin of New Life Church in Hampton Roads, Virginia.

Drawing from over twenty years in ministry leading a multicultural church together, these two leaders discuss challenges around race, church planting, and staying in relationships in ministry. Hear how the place of corporate pra...

Dr. Tanya Riches, a researcher and Senior Lecturer at Hillsong College, joins us in unpacking the intersections of her ministry and scholarly work in mega churches, Pentecostal liturgical theology, and Aboriginal-led Australian congregation. 

Don’t miss this stimulating discussion around branding worship, Pentecostal worship, Hillsong, navigating ethnography and theology, experiencing the Holy Spirit, cultural identity, vocation, a...

Join Dr. Jeremy Perigo and Dr. Eric Sarwar, a missiologist, minister, and musical peacemaker, as they unpack Eric’s musical peacemaking ministry and his recent Ph.D. dissertation, “Psalms, Islam, and Salam: The Punjabi Psalter as Public Witness in Pakistan.”

Interfaith dialogue, worship, mission, musical genres in Pakistan, liturgical identities, the role of the Psalms, ethnomusicology, and peacemaking are just a few topics examine...

Dr. Jeremy Perigo sits down with Dr. Lester Ruth to discuss the theological roots of the contemporary worship movement. Drawing from Ruth’s recent collaborative work with Dr. Swee Hong Lim titled A History of Contemporary Praise & Worship, this podcast unpacks two streams of theological and liturgical development in contemporary praise and worship.

Hear how theological and liturgical shifts over the last fifty years changed the fac...

Dr. Jeremy Perigo and Dr. Simon Chan sit down to discuss Chan's book Liturgical Theology. Chan spans a unique space in his academic and pastoral work serving as an Assemblies of God minister and systematic theologian focusing on liturgical theology and spirituality. 

Join this discussion as they delve into weaknesses of Evangelical and Charismatic theologies and practices of worship, drawing in insights from Reformed and liturgical...