Jesus People: Worship and Music — Lester Ruth [Ablaze Conference 2021]

Lester Ruth speaks at the Ablaze Conference 2021, held at Biola University. Explore how the Holy Spirit sparked revival 50 years ago in the Jesus People Movement — and how he can set us ablaze again today. Hosted at Biola University on October 7–9, the Ablaze Conference featured plenary speakers, workshops, worship and a special reunion concert with musical artists from the Jesus People Movement. Lester Ruth is a research professor of Christian Worship at Duke Divinity School in Durham, NC. He came to this position after teaching at Asbury Theological Seminary and Yale Divinity School. Prior to teaching, he served several pastoral appointments in the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. His doctorate in worship history is from the University of Notre Dame. His recent publications have focused on Contemporary Praise and Worship and include Flow: The Ancient Way to Do Contemporary Worship, essays on the history of contemporary praise and worship (with Lim Swee Hong), Lovin’ On Jesus: A Concise History of Contemporary Worship, and (with Lim Swee Hong) the forthcoming A History of Contemporary Praise and Worship: Understanding the Ideas that Reshaped the Protestant Church. Most of his publications have dealt either with worship in the patristic period or worship in American Evangelicalism. He remains dedicated to exploring how classic worship can renew the church today.