Laing Lecture 2022

The Laing Lecture showcases Evangelical scholarship for a public audience. We welcome this year’s speaker Monique Ingalls, Associate Professor at Baylor University, Texas. The lecture is titled, Local Praise, Global Worship: The Musical Creation of Context within Christian Communities Worldwide.

Since their beginnings, Christian beliefs and worship practices have taken root readily within a range of contexts, from the metropoles to the margins of world societies. Our era has seen a rapid increase of the speed at which people, ideas, and practices move through geographical and cultural space. The music of Christian worship has become one of these fast-moving forms, with new songs travelling rapidly from Sydney to Seoul, from Lagos to London. This fast-moving worship music, which brings along with it a range of theological and cultural associations, has had a strong impact on Christian identity. In our era of globalization, Christians today are met with a bewildering range of models for how to be a faithful worshipper and Christ-follower.

This presentation will examine the meaning and value of both the local and the global within musical worship. Drawing from case studies of worship music from four continents, we will explore together how Christian communities use music to include both local and global expressions, and how this variety of musical practices aids in the flourishing of individuals and churches. We will then examine what is lost and what is gained for Christians as we make globally circulating songs locally useful. Finally, we will critically reflect on the implications of “local praise and global worship” in order to discern how to respond faithfully as God’s representatives to our globalizing world.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Emmanuel Church, Northwood, High Street, London, United Kingdom