1.@ clay: what is church for? I think a clearer way of shaping this is to consider church as a verb- those Spirit filled moments (synchronicities, to borrow Jung) when Word and Sacrament are ordered to join and anticipate God’s purposes in creation. This is more incarnational and avoids the platonic urge to pre-design an air-tight formula.

2.@ clay: can deep shifts happen in a 1/3 of the congregation? I can;t think of a time when transformation does not originate in “practices” or “postures” that catch on. In other words, a few folks begin to “do” and “act” differently and their minds are then transformed. Until a few more join them. And then a few more. So why not start with this third and invite them to include those from the other 2/3rds to reflect with them on what is happening. The “traditional” services do not need to change their style to join this more participatory way. An imaginative Traditional Worship Leader like Tony describes is a great way for this to start.

3.@ david: what is contemporary? David, most american church goers who consume pre-fabricated worship formats see contemporary as a closed genre. It is the byproduct of CCM’s successful branding in the 80s and 90s. Try introducing the word “contemporaneous” (remember this from Greek tenses- I believe it was Aorist) and asking how does the worship style or material we use in worship come from the actual everyday world around us (you can grab You-Tube videos, newspaper clippings, popular music, folks music, movie quotes, and styles/chord progressions). We can learn from the Word of God whom/which we follow into the world (C-67) as much as from a Word of God remembered.

4.@ steve: Interesting to pair up “force feeding” and “calling.” CCM and denominational(or ecumenical) top down curriculum has created a consumptive Christian way. How do we reverse this tendency and equip worshipppers to produce, to make their own testimony? Borrowing some of Tom Wright’s pneumatology, the community is sent gifts from the Spirit almost like the Israelite sampled fruit from the promised land brought by the spies. As such, the fruits of enthronement, adoration, and lamentation are gifts from the promised eschaton for worshipers to taste and enjoy. So worship is born out of calling and not out of a top down “force feeding.”

5.@ tony: You wrote, “gatherings exist for the sake of the world.” I love it! Spot on. Somehow blending our “target audience” to include God with us, the body of Christ in which we are united, and the Christ of the Emmaus way- these are how worship looks beyond our congregations. A friend of mine says it this way: the church is not the end user of the gospel. I agree, and neither are we the end users of worship.

6. @ tony: to paraphrase you said, “our worship and everything else would be better if it were subservient to the Word.” I have found folks use this to marginalize order/art/testimony to only “illustration of the preacher’s sermon or the platonic idea presented by the Bible.” I would suggest that the Word is hidden and being revealed, and that the risk of missing is unavoidable… The Word is hidden in our past (such as Jesus’ exposition of the collective memory of the Emmaus road disciples) AND the word is also being revealed ahead of us (such as the angel instructing shepherds to go and see these things, and the voice telling peter to get up and go meet…). As such worship is discovery and not “explanation” or “illustration.” We meet God as we sing and pray. Our bodies are put into play as we kneel and raise hands and kiss one another and wash feet and ‘pray double’ through song. And as such, worship that serves the Word is less of a coersive predetermined posture and more of an open receptive posture. I might be splitting hairs here, but my purpose is to suggest that we cannot avoid the risks of stylizing or crafting or “ordering” our acts of worship by being more “Word” centered. Instead worship is to enter into that risk. Perhaps we can, however, make space for the hidden Word to be revealed in our sacramental habits. And, then, to make space for faithful-yet-risky responses of conversion.

For more information regarding this position, please contact:

Mark Bassham
432.570.4353
mbassham@sbcglobal.net

Gerry Weisenfels
432.688.1338
gweisenfels@grandecom.net

Thanks,

Rich

Presbymergent Polity 101: Worship, Sacraments and (Dis)Order
Many view the Book of Order as a rigid, rule-focused guide for saying more about what one “can’t” do in PC(USA) worship, than what one might be able to do. However, in this workshop we’ll look at some key sections of the Book of Order that promise more freedom and openness than one might think, and we’ll talk about some issues relating to “emergent” expressions of worship in both traditional and non-traditional congregations. While this is not meant to be a “How to…”-workshop, we will spend some time looking at examples of how some PC(USA) congregations might use emerging worship/alternative worship in their worship services.

In the workshop, I’d love to give some examples of ways in which current Presbyterian/Presbymergent churches (both traditional and more progressive in their liturgy-styles) have incorporated emergent expressions of worship into their gatherings. If you have done something that you’d like shared, please let me know in the comments.

I’d also love to know what some of your struggles have been, questions you have, or if there are any seemingly insurmountable obstacles you’ve run across. Feel free to leave all of these in the comments - or if you would prefer, you can email me with your thoughts and perspectives.

If you are planning on being there, please leave a comment so that presbymergents can locate each other while meeting on tropical beaches, umm, I mean, conference meeting rooms. - Karen

Here is more information from Spencer:

A Learning Party - October 25-27, 2007

Come and lend your voice, your experience, and your dreams as we explore the Evolving Church - rethinking and reinventing what the Church could be in years ahead.
Learn more - http://www.soularize.net/

Key Note Line Up
N.T. Wright, Brennan Manning, Rita Nakashima Brock, and Fr. Richard Rohr

International Conversation and Venue - Nassau Bahamas
Take advantage of off season rates and ease of travel for our international friends

Five Learning Modes of Engagement
Keynote, Small Groups, Extended Experience, Reflective Time, 24/7 Web Collaboration

Varied Relational Environments
Private Island, Art Studios, Swim w/Sharks, Social Network, Lecture Hall,
Limited to 500 attendees

Totally Wired Conference
Free T-1 wireless access, Live Web Interface with polling, chat, webcams, whiteboard

What makes Soularize unique is the learning environment. We create a casual, safe and interactive place where you can wrestle with issues your church and faith are facing today. You’ll engage in a wide variety of learning experiences like facilitated groups of less than 50 people, hands-on learning experiences, main sessions with keynote speakers, and workshops. Open times in the schedule offer chances for you to reflect and refresh in a hammock overlooking the Caribbean.

Regular (today) - $249
Late (after Sept 1) - $299

Register Today http://www.theooze.com/store/details.cfm?item=10006

Knowing that all have limited budgets to invest in annual learning opportunities, we hope you take opportunity to compare the Soularize learning experience with a few of the other national learning opportunities happening this coming year. Perhaps you’ll be as surprised that an event in the Bahamas is actually cheaper than attending an event in San Diego (see comparison chart http://www.soularize.net/compare-conferences.php) . So if you’re looking for a more progressive, independent, and cost-effective learning experience in a tropical setting, perhaps you should consider joining us for the Soularize learning experience.

So here’s my problem. If orthopraxis and a rediscovery of the prophetic call to care for our neighbor and our world are at the heart of the emergent movement, then why in the Sam Hill doesn’t anyone write songs about it?

When I’m preaching out of Isaiah against the relentless acquistiveness of consumer culture, for example, I’m pretty much up a creek without a musical paddle. The hymnal is usually good for one solid blast from the old-line, but the landscape of contemporary Christian music is practically useless. The songs are fine, but are so monomanaically focused on praising God and Jesus that any inkling that Christians are called to do other stuff in their lives can’t be found. My little congregation now has a praise team, and after working with them for a while, I’ve pretty much given up on finding contemporary music that ties in thematically to the message.

So if the Emergents are a movement, what are the songs to which they march?

I have done things like choosing fabric, creating things out of magazine pictures, lighting candles as we pray for certain things, illustrating areas of need or concern and writing thoughts in a journal, fitting together puzzle pieces cut out of spongy material, dropping pebbles in a bowl of water … all with different reflective significance, but the well is running dry.

This week’s topic is “believing in the unseen,” and I only have one or two ideas for our usual stations. Those involved don’t seem to be able to help me think of new ideas. Any books or resources you know about? Suggestions for how to stir creativity in my own folks to help with this? Ongoing offers to brainstorm with me online?

Presbyterian

• Blue Hair
• Scottish heritage
• Antique Roadshow
• Discord
• Decent and in Order
• Order and Ardor
• Geneva Tabs
• Rich tradition
• Robert McAfee Brown
• Connectionalism
• Family
• Reformed & Always Being Reformed

Emergent

• Goatees
• Untucked Shirts
• Uncomfortable
• Risky
• Change
• Untidy
• Friends
• Incarnational
• Self-centered
• Young People
• Missional
• Organic
• Fresh
• New Growth
• Practice
• Forward
• Homogenous
• Arrogant
• Attitude
• Limited Geography

Presbymergent

• Oxymoron
• Reformed and Always Being Reformed
• Connectional
• Anti-Connectional
• Paradoxical
• Pragmatism
• Transformation
• Roots & Wings
• Old & New
• Embracing Polarities
• Ritual

It was very interesting to hear some of the thoughts of people in the room, especially with “Emergent.” Karen and I then shared some of our stories, I shared some about being loyal radicals and Karen then shared some case studies of PC(USA) churches who are interacting with Emergent Village and the emerging church movement in a variety of ways. We had around 80 people at the seminar and many wanted to continue the conversation.

I think for many of the people in the room, their questions revolved around some of the Emergent worship practices and issues of Presbyterian polity. I had put together a handout (available here) that listed off some ways in which the Presbyterian Book of Order was actually more open to new ways of doing things than we may have previously thought. It also gave an example for an alt.worship service I led in the Princeton University Chapel that was organized according to the traditional Presbyterian order of worship.

Overall I think it was a good conversation starter, and I think many people will be continuing on with the conversation at here at presbymergent, which I hope continues to grow into more and more of a resource center and conversation hub for PC(USA)ers who are open to the Emergent conversation.