2007 San Diego
Michael A. Farley, “What Is ‘Biblical’ Worship? Biblical Hermeneutics and Evangelical Theologies of Worship”
David P. Nelson, “Doctrine and Doxology: Some Reflections on the State of Evangelical Worship in the Twenty-First Century”
2008 Providence
Dan Aleshire, “The State of the Preparation for Worship Leadership in ATS Schools”
John Piper, “Why God Is Not a Megalomaniac in Demanding to Be Worshiped”
John D. Witvliet, “Grounding Corporate Worship in Scriptural Wisdom: Prospects of Recent Evangelical Scholarship”
2009 New Orleans (Theme: Corporate Prayer)
Allen Ross, “Communal Prayer in the Old Testament”
Grant Osborne, “Prayer in Corporate Worship in the New Testament”
Bryan Spinks, “Corporate Prayer in Church History”
2010 Atlanta (Theme: Worship Hermeneutics)
Daniel I. Block, “In Spirit and in Truth: The Mosaic Vision of Worship”
Peter J. Leithart, “Sacrifice and Worship after the Stoicheia”
Reggie M. Kidd, “Scripture’s Governance of Worship in Ancient-Future Perspective”
2011 San Francisco
Jonathan Blackmon, “A Song Made New: Biblical Norms for Music in Corporate Worship”
Robbie Castleman, “Contemporary Liturgical Docetism and the Re-Incarnation of Christian Worship Through Story-Shaped Liturgy” (available as part of her book Story-Shaped Worship: Following Patterns from the Bible and History)
Barry Joslin, “Raising the Worship Standard: The Translation and Meaning of Colossians 3 and Implications for Our Corporate Worship”
Ron Man, “Lessons from Global Worship”
2012 Milwaukee
Session 1 Theme: Worship and the Trinity
John D. Witvliet (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship), “The Doctrine of the Trinity and Contemporary Celebrations of Christ’s Birth, Death, and Resurrection”
Lester Ruth (Duke Divinity School), “Trinitarian Similarities and Differences in Evangelical Song: Old and New”
Andrew A. Braine (Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies), “Five Dimensions of the Christian Eucharist: Biblical Foundations”
Session 2
Paul Jacobs (Liberty University), “Sing Unto The Lord A New Song: A Theological Evaluation and Analysis Of The Top 20 Contemporary
Christian Songs for 2011″
Amy F. Davis (Nyack College), “Communion: Confession and Contrition or a Redemption Celebration?”
James B. Jordan (Biblical Theological Seminary of St. Petersburg, Russia), “From Bread to Wine: Why the Ritual Sequence is Important”
John Shouse (Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary), “Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as Enacted Parables: A Narratological Study”
2013 Baltimore
Session 1 Theme: John 4 and Worship Space
H. Wayne Johnson (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School),
“John 4:19-24: Exegetical Implications for Worship and Place”
G. K. Beale (Westminster Theological Seminary),
“The Idea of the Temple in John’s Gospel, with a Focus on Temple Worship in John 4″
Edward Yang (Fuller Theological Seminary), “Sanctifying Space: The Role of Places for Corporate Worship in Light of ‘Spirit and Truth’ and ‘Body and Blood’”
Session 2 (Open Session)
Mark S. Giacobbe (Westminster Theological Seminary),
“The Sacrifice of Praise: Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical-Theological Insights on the Praise of God”
Frank Lyons (Anglican Church of North America), “‘Praise’ in the Ordo: A Third Sacrament?”
Scott Aniol (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary), “The Mission of Worship: An Assessment of the Missional Church Movement’s Impact Upon Evangelical Worship Philosophy and Practice”
Vanessa Platek (University of Aberdeen), “Christian Worship and the Trinity: Thomas F. Torrance’s Theology of Worship in Light of His Trinitarian Theology”
2014 San Diego
Session 1 Daniel Block’s For the Glory of God: Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship
Daniel I. Block (Wheaton College): “The Author’s Overview”
Reggie Kidd (Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando): “A Response from Biblical Studies”
Michael Farley (Covenant Theological Seminary): “A Response from Liturgical Studies”
Session 2 (Open Session)
Max Rogland (Erskine Theological Seminary): “The Shema as Christian Prayer”
Amy F. Davis Abdallah (Nyack College): “Invented Liturgies for Life Passages”
Frank Lyons (Anglican Church in North America): “Critiquing Cranmer: Ordo and Ecclesial Identity”
Rustin J. Umstattd (Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary): “The Lord’s Supper: A Case for Reclaiming the Symbolic Meal from a Symbol of a Meal”
2015 Atlanta
Session 1 Worship and the Word: Scripture Reading in Corporate Worship
Ron Man (Worship Resources International) “Revelation and Response: The Paradigm of True Worship” (PowerPoint)
Paige Patterson (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) A Preacher’s Perspective: “Ultimate Mystery: The Disappearance of Holy Scripture from Evangelical Worship”
Nancy Nethercott (Global Renewal of Worship Center, Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies ) A Worship Leader’s Perspective: “The Woven Word: Scripture as the ‘Golden Cord’ from the Call to Worship to the Sending”
Session 2 (Open Session)
Mary Patton Baker (North Park University): “The Ritual Progression of Levitical Sacrificial Offerings and Eucharistic Worship”
Scott Connell (Boyce College/Southern Baptist Theological Seminary): “Implications for Worship from the Mount of Transfiguration”
Amy F. Davis Abdallah (Nyack College): “Bible, Blessing, and Beyond in the Antiochian Orthodox Marriage Liturgy”
Gregory J. Stiekes (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary): “Agreeing to Agree: Unity in Corporate Worship and Its Application to Families Worshiping Together in the Public Assembly”
2016 San Antonio
Session 1 Form and Freedom in Evangelical Worship
David Toledo (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary): “Freedom and Order in Worship: Paul’s Instructions in 1 Corinthians 14″
John Witvliet (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship): “Contested Themes in the History of Evangelical Suspicion of Liturgical Form”
Melanie Ross (Yale Institute of Sacred Music): “Roots and Rhizomes: Freedom in Evangelical Worship
Session 2 (Open Session)
David J. Calvert (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary): “The Model of Revelation and Response in Luke 24:13-35”
Derek McNamara (Faulkner University): “A Call to Mature/Maturing Worship”
Robert Pendergraft (University of Mary Hardin Baylor): “Erik Erikson and the Church: How Corporate Worship Sustains Through Crises”
Jonathan Welch (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary): “Why We Must Sing Along: The Theological Case For Congregational Singing”
2017 Providence
Session 1 (Open Session)
John W. Taylor (Gateway Seminary): “The Lord’s Supper in Romans: Meal and Worship in Romans 14–15 as Demonstration of the Gospel”
Matthew Westerholm (Bethlehem College & Seminary): “When Are We? Inaugurated Eschatology and Evangelical Worship Services”
Charles T. Lewis, Jr. (The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary): “Far and Near: Christian Worship of the Transcendent and Immanent God of Wonder”
David W. Hall (Midway Presbyterian Church): “Calvin: Pioneer or Pinnacle of the Reformation’s Expounding the Word by the Spirit?”
Session 2 The Reformation of Worship
Michael Farley (Covenant Theological Seminary): “Reforming Reformed Worship: Evaluating the Ideas and Outcomes of Liturgical Reformation in Reformed Churches”
Leopoldo Sanchez (Concordia Seminary): “Theology and Culture through a Hispanic Lutheran Musical Lens”
Malcolm Yarnell (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary): “The Integrity of Worship in the Theology of Balthasar Hubmaier”
2018 Denver
Open Session
W. David O. Taylor
(Fuller Theological Seminary)
The “New Song” of the Psalter as a Model for “Traditioned Innovation” in Worship
G. K. Beale
(Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia))
Col. 3:16: The Psalms as the Word of Christ and Inspired by the Spirit
David J. Calvert
(Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Liturgical Speech Acts in the Lord’s Supper
Zachary Jones
(Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Recognizing Revelation: The Missing Biblical and Cultural Component of the Worship Paradigm
Invited Session — The Holy Spirit in Worship
Timothy Ralston
(Dallas Theological Seminary)
The Ambiguity of “in spirit”: Addressing Disparate Approaches
James M. Hamilton Jr.
(Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
The Holy Spirit in Christian Worship: The Life-giving Legacy of the Apostolic Band
Scott Aniol
(Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
The Holy Spirit’s Work in Worship
2019 San Diego
Invited Session — Worship in Hebrews
David Allen
(Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
“Drawing Near”: Worship in Hebrews
Ron Man
(Worship Resources International)
Proclamation and Praise: Hebrews 2:12 and the Christology of Worship
Barry Joslin
(The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Theology Unto Doxology: New Covenant Worship in Hebrews
Open Session
Matthew Westerholm
(Southern Baptist Seminary)
“Lent It Go”: The Liturgical Calendar and Low-Church Tradition
Matthew Sikes
(Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Does God Inhabit the Praises of His People? An Examination of Psalm 22:3
Ryan J. Martin
(First Baptist Church of Granite Falls, Minn.)
Love for Christ and Scripture Regulated Worship
Jeremy Perigo
(London School of Theology)
Contextual Yet Distinct Songs: Resonance and Uniqueness in the Hymns of the Early Church.
2020 Virtual
Invited Session – Whither Contemporary Worship?
Joshua Waggener
(Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Mapping the Territory of Contemporary Worship Research: A Survey of Emerging Methodologies
(Research Table)
Lester Ruth
(Duke Divinity School)
Only One Way: Why We Would Still Have Had Contemporary Praise and Worship Even If There Had Never Been Any Jesus People
Nathan Burggraff
(Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
How Has Our Song Changed? A Corpus Analysis of the Music and Lyrics in Our Congregational Songs
(Powerpoint)
John Witvliet
(Calvin Institute of Christian Worship)
Historicizing Contemporary Worship: Continuities in a Sea of Change
Open Session
Glenn Packiam
(Rockharbor Church, Costa Mesa CA)
Singing Toward Virtue: The Christ Hymn and Moral Formation in Colossians
Christine E. Thornton
(The Summit Church. Durham NC)
The One, True Sacrament: The Epistemic Significance of the Sacraments for T. F. Torrance
Dave Shive
(Frontier Missions)
C. S. Lewis on Worship: The Lord’s Beauty, the Worth of His Praise, and Motivation for Worship
Jonathan S. Welch
(Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Is This My Story? Is This My Song?: An Analysis of Contemporary Worship through Song Stories
2021 Fort Worth
Invited Section – Age-Integrated Worship
Robert Pendergraft
(University of Mary Hardin – Baylor)
Intentionally Intergenerational Worship Practice in the Old Testament Festivals
Robbie F. Castleman
(John Brown University)
Intergenerational Reenactment of the Salvation Story: How Story-Shaped Worship Shapes Discipleship from One Generation to the Next
David Tatum
(Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
From Multigenerational to Intergenerational: Employing Intentional Mutuality to Reconnect the Generations
Terry L. Johnson
(Independent Presbyterian Church, Savannah GA)
Catholicity and Intergenerational Worship
Open Session
Joseph R. Crider
(Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Weekly Production or Weekly Worship? Three Questions for Evangelical Worship Leaders
Tom Wadsworth
(Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
From House Meetings to Temple Worship
Jordan Covarelli
(Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
The Aesthetics of the Lukan Canticles: What is Luke Doing with What He Depicts Singing?
Braden McKinley
(Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Confession in Contemporary Worship Music
2022 Denver
Invited Session – Worship in the Beauty of Holiness
Don Whitney
(The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Biblical Worship in the Church, in the Family, and in Solitude
Joel R. Beeke
(Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary)
The Beauty of Holiness in Puritan Worship
Greg Stiekes
(Bob Jones University Seminary)
The Continuity of God’s Interest in Proper Worship Forms Between the Testaments
Bryan Chapell
(Presbyterian Church in America)
Historic Liturgy for Contemporary Mission
(Powerpoint)
Open Session
Matthew D. Westerholm
(The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
“Two Wonders I Confess”: Evaluating Liturgical Confession in J. B. Torrance
Jason Arrowood
(Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Kicking It Old School: How “Singing a New Song” Is Actually an Old Idea
Paul Heintzman
(University of Ottawa)
A Theological Perspective on Worship and Leisure
Braden McKinley
(Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
The Trinitarian Dynamics of Confession
2023 San Antonio
Invited Session – The Psalms: Anatomy of the Soul
James M. Hamilton Jr.
(Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
From Cast Down Soul to the City of the Great King: Worship and the Flow of Thought in Psalms 42–49
Scott Aniol
(Grace Bible Theological Seminary, Conway, AR)
Ascending the Hill to Praise: The Formative Function of the Psalter’s Structure and Poetry
Kyle Dunham
(Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary)
I Am Poor and Needy: The Worshipper’s Posture in the Psalter’s Structure
Open Session
Zach Jones
(Liberty University)
Displacing Deontology: Is Obedience Why We Should Worship?
Daniel Aaron Webster
(Welch College)
The Father, Son, and Spirit Taught in Ante-Nicene Hymns
Jason Lee Arrowood
(Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Becoming What We Sing: How Song Lyrics Serve as Liturgical Texts in the Free Church Tradition
Chessa Williams
(California Baptist University)
Worship as Witness: The Subject and the Glory of God
Practical Theology Section
Braden McKinley
(Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Confession of Sin for Post-Christian Culture
2024 San Diego
Invited Session – Unpacking the Nairobi Statement on Worship and Culture
(presented by members of the Global Ethnodoxology Network)
Ron Man
(Worship Resources International)
TRANSCULTURAL
(Powerpoint)
Robin Harris
(Dallas International University)
CONTEXTUAL
(PowerPoint)
Roberta King
(Fuller Theological Seminary)
COUNTERCULTURAL
Elsen Portugal
(Champion Christian College)
CROSSCULTURAL
(PowerPoint)
Open Session
Chessa Williams
(California Baptist University)
“Come Rest on Us”: The Epicletic Impulse of Contemporary Worship Music
[stay tuned for link to published version]
Matthew Westerholm
(Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
How Does the Lord’s Supper . . . Work? Reclaiming the Beauty of the “Ordinance”
[stay tuned for link to published version]
Melak Tsegaw
(Adventist University of Africa)
Integrating Reverence and Celebration: Lessons from Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Worship
Leonardo G. Nunes
(AIIAS Theological Seminary)
Malalasoa Daniel Andrianjafimbeloarijaona
(AIIAS Theological Seminary)
Covenant, Mission, and Worship: A Reuse of Exodus 19 and Isaiah 43 in 1 Peter 2:9
from Practical Theology section
Hugo Encorrada
(Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Exploring Theological Depth and Congregational Faith Expression in Hymn Lyrics
2025 Boston
Invited Session – The Nicene Creed’s Impact on Christian Worship: Three Perspectives
Joshua Waggener
(Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
What Is God-glorifying, Christ-centered, and Spirit-empowered Worship?
[forthcoming in 2027 from Kregel: 40 Questions about Worship]
Daniel Silliman
(Christianity Today)
The Resurgence of the Nicene Creed in Evangelical Worship
Robert Pendergraft
(University of Mary Hardin-Baylor)
Creedal Hospitality: Welcoming Worshipers with the Nicene Creed
Open Session
Melak Tsegaw
(Adventist University of Africa)
The Interplay of God’s Transcendence and Immanence in Worship Expressions in the Book of Psalms
Matisha Dentu
(Regent University, School of Divinity)
Singing the Creed: Nicene Christology in African-American Spirituals
Daniel Aaron Webster
(Welch College)
“Let Us Psalm Together”: Clement of Alexandria as Church Musician
Jordan Covarell
(Independent Scholar)
“Fill the Room” or “Cover the Earth”?: The Proprietarization of the Glory of God
BIBLICAL WORSHIP section 