malcolm chamberlain

Labels: alternative worship, Dream, Greenbelt, worship

Labels: alternative worship, Dream, Greenbelt, worship

Jonny has posted some really helpful and challenging posts about worship, arising out of a symposium he was involved in at London School of Theology. He makes some pertinent points (and echoes those of others) about fully contextualised worship grown "in the soil of your local culture". Read his posts here, here and here.

Labels: alternative worship, church, musings, popular culture, worship

'This' is a fascinating post offering some reflections on Alternative Worship and Emerging Church from Kevin Corcoran, an 'outsider' (not my description) who spent time with various practitioners and communities. There's a lot in his description that rings true with my own experience and, on the whole, I think he paints a very fair and accurate portrait.

I've been thinking particularly about one of the features he identifies...

"emerging Christians tend to be theologically pluralistic and quite suspicious of tidy theological boxes. They believe that God is bigger than any theology and that God is first and foremost a story-teller, not a dispenser of theological doctrine and factoids. Theology for them, therefore, is conceived as an ongoing and provisional conversation. Emerging Christians are also allergic to thinking which fixates on who is going to heaven and who is going to hell, or on who’s on the inside and who’s on the outside. They stress the importance of right-living (orthopraxy) over right-believing (orthodoxy). What’s important, they often say, is whether you engage in God-love and neighbor-love. Or as one of our conversation partners put it, “We’re more interested in doing truth than believing ‘truths’.”"

As I read this I identified completely with it and yet on a second reading I'm left slightly uneasy! I, for one, don't want to be fixated on who's in and who's out or on neatly tying up following Jesus into a predefined theological and doctrinal package. For this reason, I am 100% behind the emerging church project (as some have described it). However, I guess my unease kicks in when I think about the parameters for Christ-led discipleship. Are there any? Is it really a journey without any givens? Is theology really provisional? If so, how do we prevent this journey of discipleship from being a completely subjective experience, once again playing into the hands of modern Western individualism - "who are you to tell me where my journey with Jesus should be going?"?!

I guess this is why the notion of community is so important to 'emerging Christians', such that "a premium is placed on togetherness, journeying with and alongside others" (Corcoran's words). But even in this community experience (and perhaps, especially in it) are there any givens or norms? Is it a case of anything goes or are there beliefs and values that define the community?

In the emerging churches I've experienced there are often very clear values and/or beliefs underpinning them. Indeed, to say that there are no theological givens is in itself a theological given! I'm convinced, given my reading of the gospels, that orthopraxy is, at least, as important as orthodoxy, but this doesn't render orthodoxy unimportant... does it?

Labels: alternative worship, emerging church, musings, theology

Last Thursday's Dream in Liverpool City is well worth blogging about! It was led by one of the community members, Danielle, and was given the title 'ssshhh' - I knew that it was about the place of silence but didn't really know what to expect.

When we entered the worship space there was a simple set up - the room was dark, lit only by a projector-lamp, that lit up one of the walls with a slowly changing bubble pattern, and a candle in one corner of the room. There were cushions on the floor of the main space to sit on, and three smaller spaces - one with sheets of paper and pens, one with play-dough, and the other with candles to light - were set out at one end of the room.

We were told at the start that the entire service would be in silence - no background music at all (a bit of a departure for Dream!) At 5 minute intervals there were some passages (many written by Nenri Nouwen) projected on to a wall for us to reflect on - each collection of passages began with a screen stating how many minutes remained (i.e. "30 minutes left"... "25 minutes left"...). We were invited to use the space and quiet however we wanted, and to make use of the three set-out spaces as we felt appropriate (if at all). The service was to be 45 minutes long... 45 minutes of complete silence!

Now, I don't really do silence very well, so the thought of 45 minutes in complete silence was not a wholly welcome one. At first I wondered how I would use the time - should I go and play with the play-dough or draw pictures on the paper, or should I just sit still and read the projected passages when they came up? I resisted the temptation to move for a while and began to relax allowing my thoughts to be led by what I was reading on the screen... and time began to speed up! Sure, I made use of one or two of the spaces during the 45 minutes, but definitely not to fill the time - it all seemed to flow together (for me at least) as I engaged with God in a way that I seldom do when rushing from one thing to another.

Having struggled in the past with silent retreats, extended prayer times and the like, I came away from Dream last week thinking that maybe Henri Nouwen and others like him were on to something. Maybe silence is not such a bad idea after all! Thanks Danielle for taking a risk and departing from our norm, if indeed we have one!

Labels: alternative worship, Dream, musings, spirituality, worship

"The trouble with image-based perceptions of God and worship is that you're only one step away from idolatry" - so spoke a friend of mine who is also a pastor of a free Reformed church.

His comment came as part of a conversation we were having on Sunday, in which I was describing how Dream tended to engage people who felt that their artistic and creative gifts had more often then not been sidelined in worship they had experienced at other churches. I tried to explain how songs and words were often seen as 'central' to the act of worship while artistic expressions (painting, sculpting, modelling, fabric work, etc) were seen as peripheral. People who expressed themselves better through art consequently often felt themselves sidelined in worship. Dream (and other so-called 'altworship' groups like it) was attempting to redress the balance and see art as equally central to the act of worship.

And then came the comment... the implication: art can lead to idolatry! My friend's point was that in art we attempt to 'picture' God and so violate the second Commandment. My response was that in words we equally attempt to 'picture' God and so are equally likely to break the second Commandment. Plenty of 'graven images' have been constructed linguistically and presented as THE correct description of God - surely that's just as idolatrous as an icon or a statue (if not more so because of the intent - very few people regard an icon as THE correct description of God)!

The real issue here is how we deal with the images of God that we construct - be they visually, through art, or linguistically, through words. In word or picture we attempt to encapsulate God, and as soon as we have done so what we have encapsulated is, by definition, less than God. God is so much greater than any of our images or descriptions of God, and so whatever we can come up with is, at best, only a partial depiction of God.

And so word and image are equally useful tools and equally 'dangerous' (if you want to follow my friend's line of argument) tools in trying to get a handle on the Divine. Maybe this is why Jesus taught so much about humility and used so many parables to disrupt people's perceptions and teach new things about God and the kingdom (incidentally, what are the parables if they are not attempts by Jesus to 'paint pictures' in people's minds?)

So I, for one, will continue the artistic and creative quest in worship event though I am naturally more disposed to words! After all, didn't Jesus say "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul..." as well as "with all your mind"?

the above image is from poosk

Labels: alternative worship, musings, theology, worship

Ikon have now put all the words from their Greenbelt service (which I mentioned in this post) online 'here'. As Steve Collins said, it's great to be able to go back and spend time with the material that was densely packed into the experience that was 'the service'! In particular I'm glad that they have generously made available the text for the excellent 'where does your faith lie?' by Jon Hatch. It's well worth spending some time with.

Thanks Ikon for a thought-provoking service and for making it all available to mull over again!

Labels: alternative worship, Greenbelt, spirituality

Holidays are wonderful things - change of scenery, plenty of rest, new food (I tried snails for the first time!) and quality family time... and then you come home! Actually, it's great to be home and getting back into the swing of things, it's just that I've found the mountain of emails (over 400 - and, yes, I know that's not many for some of you out there, but it's more than enough for me!) a bit draining to say the least. Some have been very welcome though, especially those from friends I've not heard from in a while. I'm also trying to catch up on over 300 blog posts that my Bloglines reader has stored up for me - I dare say I'll comment on one or two of them in the days to come.

So, with all those words of wisdom to catch up on, it's not easy to find time to post myself! But, I promised that I would today so for the one or two of you that might visit to see, here goes...

A few days before leaving for France, I had a meeting with my bishop and we had a great discussion about the place of the Eucharist in the emerging church (in fact, this seems to be a constantly recurring theme in a whole range of discussions over the last month or so, but that's for another post). This particular conversation with the bishop began with us talking about Dream and its development over the last few months.

He then asked if we'd had any baptisms or weddings connected to the Dream communities which led into a general discussion about sacraments (you can see how it could can't you?!) I spoke a bit about how the Eucharist was a key part of the worshipping life for several of the Dream communities, and then came the question... "what is your policy for admitting people to communion before they have publicly professed faith in baptism?" (or words to that effect).

Remember, the question came from my diocesan bishop and I must have looked slightly uncomfortable as I was desperately trying to formulate my response, because he quickly followed it up by saying... "don't worry, I'm not trying to catch you out, I'm just interested in how a community reaching unchurched people offers sacramental worship." He went on (and this is all paraphrased from memory but I'm confident I've got the gist right)... "I've been reading this book recently in which the author argues for a generous open policy on communion as a way into Christian community." He's lent me the book and I've just started reading it; it's called The Sign of Love by Timothy Gorringe. I'll post about it when I've finished it!

It was a great conversation because it carried a definite air of permission on the part of my bishop, which is always a welcome thing! His question is, of course, a very important one if we're serious about building open and inclusive community. My own church background and theological training led me to be quite protective of baptism and Eucharist, wanting to make sure that recipients had jumped through the various hoops of doctrine and belief before allowing them to receive, but in recent years I've become much more open and generous (some would say 'liberal') in my attitude. If, as I now think, the sacraments are gifts of God's grace and signs of heaven present in the ordinary and 'earthly', seen in the use of very 'earthly' things (water, wine, bread) conveying deeply spiritual mysteries, then who are we to withhold such grace? Who made us the gatekeepers of God's extravagant love, such that we deem some people able to receive and some not. Surely, the decision as to whether or not someone should be in receipt of God's grace is God's and God's alone, and as God's already so abundantly and openly offered it to us, that leaves the decision as to whether I partake of it mine and mine alone - no-one can withhold God from me, nor can I withhold God from anyone else.

So, in answer to the bishop's question, we never enquire of a person's faith or ask to see their baptismal certificate before 'allowing' them communion at Dream - we simply make the invitation to all and allow individuals to decide for themselves as to whether they want to join in at that time or not - some do and some don't.

Labels: alternative worship, Dream, emerging church, musings, theology, worship

this picture tells many stories...

it is a picture of one of the stations from the network service celebrating 5 years of Dream, that was held in Liverpool Cathedral at the end of April. The station began as a single-bed white sheet with a spray-painted line down the centre divided into the years from 2002 to the present. The idea was to construct a time-line of the Dream community over that 5 year period, consisting of the key events in the lives of community members. The notes that accompanied the station read as follows...

Labels: alternative worship, community, Dream

Last night was the Dream network's 5th birthday celebration service in Liverpool cathedral. The high points for me were the prayer stations, which were brought by members of the different Dream groups including two new groups that are soon to launch, and the celebration of Communion with champagne!

There were 60+ people there and there was a great atmosphere. We had a photographer present taking pics, so watch this space and I'll post some as soon as I get them! The new-look Dream website is also live now, so take a look if you haven't already done so and let us know what you think!

Labels: alternative worship, Dream, emerging church

a special network service (open to anyone) to celebrate the fifth birthday of Dream...
Sunday 29th April, 8pm, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral

P.S. check out the new-look (under construction) Dream website!!

Labels: alternative worship, Dream, emerging church, worship

This month Dream celebrates its fifth birthday - five years since that first service in the Camel Club in Liverpool City Centre!! So much has happened and so much has changed since then, and we'll be celebrating some of that as a community over the course of the month - watch this space and the Dream website for upcoming details...

Labels: alternative worship, Dream, emerging church

Labels: alternative worship, Dream

Jonny Baker has written an excellent review of the Ikon 'Fundamentalism' service at Greenbelt this year for the latest issue of Church Times (read it 'here' - update... this article is no longer online, sorry!), where he comments that "worship as drama, retaining mystery and ambiguity, is a refreshing change from predictable, routine worship that leaves very little room for mystery."

I went to the Ikon service and was deeply moved by it without being able to put my finger on why! I wasn't even sure that I'd been in a 'worship' service, but I knew that I had been deeply challenged and had engaged with God at some real (as opposed to superficial) level. I think the Paisley sermon was the thing that got me most!

Anyway, when I read Jonny's piece in the Church Times, I felt he summarised almost perfectly my own experience of the 'Fundamentalism' service, and writes in a much more eloquent way than I ever could! So, thanks Jonny for putting into words some of my own reflections (without even knowing it!!)

For Pete Rollins' own take on the service, see 'here'.

Labels: alternative worship, worship

This month sees the five year anniversary of Side Door, an arts based worshipping community in Christchurch, New Zealand. In March 2004 I had the great fortune of spending several weeks with Peter and Joyce Majendie who coordinate Side Door and are responsible for many of the art installations used in their worship. The web site describes Side Door as...

"... an expression of where we are on our faith journey, originating from a desire to share the liberating experience of being real, open and honest within a small Christian community.

Depression, and living with it, doesn't seem to fit with the "victorious Christian living" doctrine found in much of the institutional church. We have a desire to express worship through the weaknesses and strengths of who we are as individuals, and connect with God and others through artistic and creative avenues.

The healing experience of belonging in a small understanding and caring group of Christians helped begin the rebuilding of our faith in Christ to be relevant in everyday life.

Our artistic endeavours aim to touch people at a deeper level and facilitate an opportunity to respond to Jesus."

My time spent with Peter and Joyce opened my eyes to the amazing way that God works through art when the interpretation is left open to the viewer. I'd go so far as to say that Peter and Joyce set me on a journey in new worship opportunities which enriched my own life, spirituality and ministry, so I owe them a BIG thanks!

Peter & Joyce, along with members of Side Door, also throw themselves 101% into their art installations around the times of Christmas, Lent, Easter and Pentecost - I was with them during a Lent installation and was blown away by the creativity and level of commitment they showed (it's not every day you see a church hall transformed by tonnes of sand and a river running from the stage down the centre of the hall!). Many people with little or no church background visit the installations and are often moved to consider their own life in relation to God through the experience. Below is a slideshow of stations from the Easter 2006 installation, Easter Journey. You can visit the collection for a better look 'here', and see the station titles (as an aside, Peter makes a Cameo appearance in station 11!). Thanks to Peter and Joyce for the photos and permission to post them.

Happy Birthday Side Door - thanks (on behalf of so many) for the journey so far and may God continue to meet with you through your creativity and openness in the years to come...

Labels: alternative worship, art

One of the key insights of alternative worship for me has been in seeking to create space for both corporate and individual engagement with God (resourced by meditations, prayer stations and the like), rather than simply imparting a pre-determined 'message'.

I first came across this approach to planning worship several years back when I read 'The Prodigal Project' and was deeply persuaded by Mark Pierson's description of the worship 'leader' as 'curator'.

There Mark asked...

"What would happen to the worship I prepared if I looked at it differently? What if I saw the task not as a mechanical, logical, modernist one of putting stuff in the right order so that it 'progressed' through a form to give a predetermined message with an anticipated outcome, but instead saw myself more like a curator of an art gallery?"

He then explains what he means in using this term 'curator'...

"A curator who considers the space and environment as well as the content of worship and who takes these elements and puts them in a particular arrangement, considering juxtaposition, style, distance, light, shade and so on. A maker of context for worship rather than a presenter of content. A provider of a frame inside which the elements are arranged and rearranged to convey a particular message for a particular purpose. A message that may or may not be overtly obvious, may or may not be similar to the message perceived by another worshipper." (Riddell, Pierson & Kirkpatrick, The Prodigal Project, SPCK, 2000, p63)

In 'How (Not) to Speak of God' Pete Rollins describes this aspect of Ikon's worship in the following eloquent (I wish I could come up with words like this!) way...

"Each service also attempts to remain faithful to the Augustinian axiom that only God gives God. Because of this the services are designed in such a way as to minimize specific doctrinal statements in favour of employing the Christian narrative to create a space for reflection and encounter. In this way Ikon resembles more an optician's surgery, which helps the eye become more receptive and sensitive to light, rather than a painter's studio, which would offer images for the sight." (Rollins, How (Not) to Speak of God, SPCK, 2006, p75)

I love that image of worship seeking to tune the eye (and heart and mind) so that it can see, rather than telling the eye what to see. Granted, this approach is more risky in that it opens the worship experience up to whole range of (mis)interpretations, but the stories of many people who have had profound experiences of God in the midst of such 'open' worship keeps me walking in this direction and trusting the Spirit of God who 'leads us into all truth'.

Labels: alternative worship, worship