History and distinctives about Alt.worship to help us consider the intersections of worship, theology and culture.

1. title: Worship Theology and
Culture
sessions: day 4 morning
Interactive presentation

2. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you
And also with you.
God, help us to listen;
and in our listening
to hear You.
God, be in our thinking:
and renew our minds.
God, we will speak together:
let our conversations be words in the Word.
2

3. What we're looking at
today ...
Alternative Worship as a
case study
✔
Learning from AltW about
enculturation, community
liturgy, leadership etc.
✔
3

4. How we're learning
...
Listening
•
discussing
•
video
•
Considering together
•
Working on exercises
together
•
4

5. Why we're learning
this stuff
Alt.Worship has been
influential in terms of
renewal of liturgy and
worship and in Christian
formation.
It can help us also into
consideration of community
and contextual liturgy –
creation.
5

6. Photomontage video
Note in watching:
What is ‘traditional’?
What is influenced by
secular culture?
What is re-worked
tradition?
Anything else?

7. Photomontage video
In pairs /3’s discuss:
What is ‘traditional’?
What is influenced by
secular culture?
What is re-worked
tradition?
Anything else?
Then be ready to share in plenary

8. Some notes towards a history of Alt.Worship
Nine O'clock Service,1986-95,
first deliberately postmodern
'club culture' church
groups inspired by NOS …
late 80s - early 90s –
“alternative” label references
‘alt.’ groups of early internet
facilitated by simultaneous rise
of the internet

9. Some notes towards a history of Alt.Worship
movement established in
Australia and New Zealand by
mid 90s
Other technologies relating to
visual display and sound
reproduction enabled creative
'rave' or 'chill-out' style
worship
collapse of NOS in 1995 due
to abusive leadership caused
period of suspicion and
difficulty for other groups in
Britain

10. Some notes towards a history of Alt.Worship
'emerging church' general use
from c.2000. Label used in
USA/Canada/Europe. Emergent
Village as focus for movement
in USA during 00s
CofE 'Mission Shaped Church'
report (2002) and then 'Fresh
Expressions' initiative.
emergence of denominationally
based groups and
mainstreaming of some ideas
for the conduct of worship.
(video, participatory rituals …)
…)

11. Some notes towards a history of Alt.Worship
'neo-monastic' groups emerge:
emphasis community built around a
rhythm of shared spiritual practices,
rather than creative worship events

12. Some notes towards a history of Alt.Worship
Questions, comments,
extrapolations, wild musings and
general bonhomie …

14. Something to watch for a bit
Questions:
from what Jonny says,
what are the cultural dimensions?
What effects would you expect the AltW
approach to have on the liturgical/ worship
experience?

15. Values, ethos and emphases
in Alt.Worship
Values, ethos and emphases in Alt.Worship
Partly reactive to the then-developing
consensus in Evangelical-Charismatic
worship and ecclesial practice.
So … participatory: involvement
encouraged, passive consumption planned
out.
Participatory and inclusive ethos as a
counter to hierarchy and the cult of the
leader and /or the worship band.
Participatory ethos pushes towards
consensus - not one person or team

16. Values, ethos and emphases
in Alt.Worship
Values, ethos and emphases in Alt.Worship
authenticity -honest and real expression
of the participants' (spiritual) journey
rather than 'plastic smiles' and 'church
(sub)culture'.
Faith seen through the metaphor of
journey, to be facilitated rather than
controlled so value given to space for
individual encounter with God

17. Values, ethos and emphases
in Alt.Worship
Values, ethos and emphases in Alt.Worship
Whole-life faith: not divided into
sacred and secular; any part of our
lives could be material for divine
encounter and corporate worship
So, the entire life of the faith
community singly and severally is
seen as 'church' not just worship and
meetings.

18. Values, ethos and emphases
in Alt.Worship
Values, ethos and emphases in Alt.Worship
Everybody is creative because we are
made in the image of God; worship
together should be creative and even
playful at times.
Increasing awareness of environment
and critique of consumerism (including
'worship as product').

19. Values, ethos and emphases
in Alt.Worship
Values, ethos and emphases in Alt.Worship
In what way do these values and ethos
things reflect and/or critique wider
culture?
What kinds of practices and material
effects would you expect these values
etc to have on worship? Perhaps use
churches you know to illustrate or to
imagine potential changes?

21. An example of Alt worship
from the mid-late 1990’s
Note in watching:
What did you see or
hear that illustrated
the Values and Ethos
shared?
Start . 2 mins in

22. An example of Alt worship
from the mid-late 1990’s
In pairs /3’s discuss:
What did you see or
hear that illustrated
the Values and Ethos
shared?
5 +5 mins
Then be ready to share in plenary

23. be failing to disciple 'people like us'.
not an attempt to reach particular social or
cultural groups (however cool or fashionable)
-rather to enable culturally helpful
expressions of Christian faith to emerge.
not a 'facelift' or rebrand of existing forms
and structures: shift from centralised into
networked and empowering forms of
church
Theological, ecclesiological &
missional characteristics
not intended to transition people into
existing forms of church - these were felt to

24. the Church as servant of the Kingdom rather
than its container
Mission as growing the Kingdom everything that is of God - not just growing
the visible Church
Theological, ecclesiological &
missional characteristics
Belief: God is active in the material and
cultural world … so … the visible Church is
not the only potential place of encounter; life
is a chief instrument of mission not church
services

25. Theological, ecclesiological &
missional characteristics
a more radical conclusion:
the church service is not the public
interface with Christianity
but a resource for Christians
- a point of renewal where the
church service facilitates discerning
the Kingdom in the world.

26. Theological, ecclesiological &
missional characteristics
a more radical conclusion:
the church service is not the public
interface with Christianity
but a resource for Christians
- a point of renewal where the
church service facilitates discerning
the Kingdom in the world.

27. Pairs/3s discussion > plenary
What effects would you see likely from
these theological, ecclesiological and
missional points on worship, on church life
and the relationship between them?
Could they transfer into churches you
know? How so? -or why not?
Theological, ecclesiological &
missional characteristics
Questions arising ….

29. Service shaping -environments
Service shaping -environments

30. Service shaping -environments
Avoidance or subversion of
hierarchical layouts, e.g.
stages, pulpits …
non-directional space - no front
to face, things happen all
around
centralised space, symbolising
community
Service shaping -environments

31. Service shaping -environments
cafe spaces and
communal tables - eating
and drinking together
informal seating
arrangements comfortable and
domestic in style, or sit or
lie on floor
Service shaping -environments

32. Service shaping -environments
•atmospheric lighting for
intimacy, warmth, a sense of
mystery - spotlights, candles,
projections
•installations and artworks
•ambient music - often as
background to everything
including speech and prayer
•ambient video - relevant to
event content but not attentiongrabbing
Service shaping -environments

33. Service shaping -environments
creative use of available
technology and media,
including from home or
work
technology and media
used for environment or
art as well as presentation
tools
Service shaping -environments

34. Service shaping -environments
Service shaping -environments

35. Service shaping -environments
curation model
organisers bring
group together,
help form
contributions into
coherent event,
but is not sole or
dominant voice
Service shaping: content-making

36. Service shaping -environments
• shape of event worked
out in group
• events often planned
around a chosen theme
which determines all of
the content
• Individuals or smaller
groups take parts of the
event to work on and
lead. Note plural
distributed leadership.
Service shaping: content-making

37. Service shaping -environments
•congregation are
active not passive
participants
•learning by
exploration and
interaction, not
located in a single
'teaching' slot
•periods when people
can do different
things at the same
time
Service shaping: content-making

38. Service shaping -environments
• rituals and liturgies often
newly created for specific
events or communities
• pre-existing rituals and
liturgies usually adapted and
mixed with new elements
Service shaping: content-making

39. •Return to the culture tricircle: Choose one of the ideas,
values, material things or … and fill out the various
dimensions of the tricircle.
•Drawing up a set of principles for how you would go about
creating a service/ worship-event in the spirit of Alt W. …
How would you explain it to would-be co-planners?
•How far would these transfer or be useful in other local
church worship planning?
•What legacy and effects do you think Alt W may have
passed onto the wider church?
•How would these principles and characteristic work with or
challenge Common Worship? Is compromise possible? How
might it look?

40. culture
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