Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Face of Postmodern Worship

Andrew Jones has a feature article in Worship leader this month called The Emerging Face of Postmodern Worship.

A large room is filled with garbage, but will soon become the scene for communion. A multi-media labyrinth leads participants through a one-hour encounter with their creator. A senses lab includes a wind tunnel for meditating on God’s spirit. Another room is filled with incense and the soft light of candles. It is called the Luscious Room and passages from Song of Solomon are written on the walls. The dance space is completely saturated with video images and electronic worship mixed by DJs from Switzerland. There is a birthday party where people on all four levels of the atrium are eating cake and celebrating life, yet there is also a memorial space for a friend that died a few weeks earlier. There are over a dozen worship environments occurring simultaneously but none of them have a stage. There is an abundance of music but no bands. People weep as they meet with God, but no one leads the meeting. Is this the emerging face of postmodern worship, or just a moment in time when those on the journey towards holistic, authentic worship find themselves caught up in creating something that will never be repeated?

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