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The Emergent matrix: a new kind of church?
Christian Century, Nov 30, 2004 by Scott Bader-Saye
Though no two gatherings arm exactly the same, a typical evening might begin with corporate worship and then break up for participants to work their way through a series of interactive stations flanking the worship space. At each station the participant would encounter a passage of scripture to be read, a prayer to be said, a question for reflection, an image to be viewed, an activity to be engaged in, or all of the above. The community would then join together to share the Eucharist, after which they would break into small groups for prayer.
If "contemporary worship" and "seeker services" looked like Christian versions of rock concerts, emerging worship looks more like a Christian version of Starbucks. Small spaces, comfortable seating (preferably couches) and interactivity, are prized. But here, alongside the accouterments of cafe culture, are the very." signs of Christian identity that had been purged by the iconoclasm of Willow Creek and its descendants. Candles and crosses, bread and wine, incense and altars create an eclectic, ancient future blend with the video projection screens, electric guitars, and televisions rolling looped images like postmodern icons. The ambiance evokes more the art gallery than the arena, and the technological elements are intentionally subdued, made subservient to personal connection and spiritual reflection.
Emerging worship tends to be multisensual, multilayered, and multimedia. Its embrace of art and image link it more strongly to an iconic history than to traditional Protestant worship. The integration of media clips from popular culture seeks to bridge the gap between Sunday and Monday, sacred and secular, recognizing that God is often found in unlikely places.
This heavily lay-led movement tends to gravitate toward nondenominational, house church models disconnected from a larger body, both in terms of support and accountability. Such a view of the church suggests that modernity still has a foothold in this self-proclaimed "postmodern" conversation. In Emergent rhetoric one hears echoes of the Enlightenment-era suspicion of authority and the tendency toward privatizing and individualizing faith.
A LINGERING DISTRUST of the "institutional church" has made partnership with mainline denominations difficult. For their part, mainline churches have generally failed to create space for new expressions of church to thrive.
It seems clear, however, that emergents and mainliners need each other, The traditional denominations could benefit from the creative energy of the emerging churches, while the emerging communities could benefit from the rich resources and history of the larger body.
Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, recently issued a call to the Church of England that speaks to this challenge: "We have to ask whether we are capable of moving towards a more 'mixed economy'--recognizing church where it appears and having the willingness and the skill to work with it. Mission, it's been said, is finding out what God is doing and joining in. And at present ... more and more patterns of worship and shared life are appearing on the edge of our mainstream life that cry, out for our support, understanding and nurture if they are not to get isolated and unaccountable."
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