Any Body There?

by Craig Mueller (Author)

Any body there? we may wonder as we watch people engage with their smart phones while being oblivious to what is going on around them. Anybody there? is the question facing the church as it wrestles with declining religious affiliation. Craig Mueller considers this contemporary context, and offers a response based in an incarnational spirituality accentuating the body and finding expression in corporate, multisensory liturgy.

Mueller creatively weaves together topics from our digital lives with personal and congregational stories and theological, liturgical, and spiritual reflections. Concepts such as virtuality, the analog, 24/7 connectivity, access, design, and GPS are juxtaposed with themes of embodiment, mortality, sabbath, mystery, beauty, and vocation.

Drawing on his experience as a pastor to millennials, his studies in liturgical theology, and his work on the effects of technology on daily life, Mueller proposes that corporate worship is an antidote to the distraction, fragmentation, and spiritual hunger in society today. As humans continue to merge with machines, participation in the Sunday liturgy reminds us of what it means to be human: a deeper connection to our bodies and the earth and a clear sense of purpose and mission for our everyday lives.


"Pastor Mueller draws us anew into the mystery and materiality of Christian faith as it is embodied and enacted in Word and Sacrament worship. . . . Pastors, seminarians, and laypersons will find here not only a primer and refresher on the embodied patterns and practices of liturgy, but a compelling picture of its meaning in our increasingly disembodied, digital culture. Mueller's reflections on life and liturgy are witty and wise, personal and pastoral."
–Susan Briehl, editor and contributor, On Our Way

"This is one of the best inside accounts I've read of the wisdom and practices at the heart of a flourishing congregation. In this elegant and practical book Pastor Mueller interprets the promises and dilemmas of the virtual era as invitations into a profound spirituality of the body in worship and daily life. Study and savor this compelling vision of what it means to be alive on Earth today!"
–Benjamin M. Stewart, The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

Craig Mueller (DMin) has served as pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chicago since 1999. In addition, he is a liturgical writer and workshop presenter, and provides leadership for the spiritual formation program at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. His publications include Soli Deo Gloria: Choir Devotions for Year A (2010).