This past Sunday we held the first Emerging Worship service for the year led by the Youth Praise Band (who knows, maybe we will come up with a name for the group in the near future…). Although the microphone levels weren’t perfect and some songs were less familiar to the congregation this was a great service in which we could encounter God through a different style than Sunday morning (although our choral worship style is in fact a wonderful way to worship God). Below are a couple of pictures of the praise band. 
Emerging Worship
But what exactly is “Emerging Worship” (A.K.A. Emergent Worship)? Do you really just mean “Contemporary?”
In practice the two terms share many similarities. Both are likely to use guitars, drums and other instruments common in today’s musical scene. They both strive to contextualize worship into the context of a particular group of people. Both strive to use music as a way to open hearts and emotions to connecting with God through worship.
So how is “Emerging” different than “contemporary” To understand that lets contrast the two words. Both terms emphasize time. “Contemporary” refers to the time period of now. Unlike the term “traditional” which emphasizes following methods or styles of the past “contemporary” seeks to worship God through “today’s” styles and methods. When the movement emerged this style shattered expectations of what church was all about as it emphasized worshiping in new and relevant ways.
The words “emerge” “emerging” “Emerging” carry a different meaning. They do not reflect a single time period but rather a process. Unlike “contemporary” which emphasizes now, “Emerging” emphasizes the process of moving forward. It is grounded in the past and the future, not in the present.
One difference this creates is a deep connection to the past. Tradition and church history shape who we emerge into being. Music, worship, and theology cannot be understood simply by looking at today’s culture. All of these elements have long and meaningful histories and traditions that shape who we are as individual believers and as bodies of believers.
However, God is not done working in the world. We can’t simply look at traditions and the past for what God has done. All of the traditions that currently have meaning to us emerged from something else That process is still going on. We not only remember the story of Christianity, the story of worship, but we also are experiencing next chapter that God is writing.
This is considerably less stagnant than the “contemporary” style. After all what is contemporary one year can easily become “old” the next. Describing “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” as contemporary hardly makes sense. This song, like many others has had a dramatic impact on worship and help lead people to worshipping God in meaningful ways. Likewise new songs and styles will emerge which will continue to help worshipers experience God.
For me I find that I am too connected with the past to be “contemporary.” I just like hymns way too much. I agree with traditional theology too much to throw that away. On the other hand I am not satisfied with living in the past through relying on tradition. I want to be part of the story of faith that begun with God creating the world and continues with new creation even today.
It is possible that this is more my take on worship than a view endorsed by the “Emerging Church” movement. Also, much of the new worship music reflects a combination of tradition and innovation without being part of the “Emerging” movement.
Several key ideas involved with Emerging Church movement are that of postmodernism, conversation, narrative, creativity, holistic, non-hierarchical. Critics of the movement (though less so the worship style addressed above) include assert that the movement is pluralistic, a movement of protest, intolerant towards conservative evangelicals, and to hold non-orthodox views.
For more information on the Emerging church and Emerging worship including some criticism’s of the movement check out these links.
New York Times Article
Emerging Worship
But what exactly is “Emerging Worship” (A.K.A. Emergent Worship)? Do you really just mean “Contemporary?”
In practice the two terms share many similarities. Both are likely to use guitars, drums and other instruments common in today’s musical scene. They both strive to contextualize worship into the context of a particular group of people. Both strive to use music as a way to open hearts and emotions to connecting with God through worship.
So how is “Emerging” different than “contemporary” To understand that lets contrast the two words. Both terms emphasize time. “Contemporary” refers to the time period of now. Unlike the term “traditional” which emphasizes following methods or styles of the past “contemporary” seeks to worship God through “today’s” styles and methods. When the movement emerged this style shattered expectations of what church was all about as it emphasized worshiping in new and relevant ways.
The words “emerge” “emerging” “Emerging” carry a different meaning. They do not reflect a single time period but rather a process. Unlike “contemporary” which emphasizes now, “Emerging” emphasizes the process of moving forward. It is grounded in the past and the future, not in the present.
One difference this creates is a deep connection to the past. Tradition and church history shape who we emerge into being. Music, worship, and theology cannot be understood simply by looking at today’s culture. All of these elements have long and meaningful histories and traditions that shape who we are as individual believers and as bodies of believers.
However, God is not done working in the world. We can’t simply look at traditions and the past for what God has done. All of the traditions that currently have meaning to us emerged from something else That process is still going on. We not only remember the story of Christianity, the story of worship, but we also are experiencing next chapter that God is writing.
This is considerably less stagnant than the “contemporary” style. After all what is contemporary one year can easily become “old” the next. Describing “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” as contemporary hardly makes sense. This song, like many others has had a dramatic impact on worship and help lead people to worshipping God in meaningful ways. Likewise new songs and styles will emerge which will continue to help worshipers experience God.
For me I find that I am too connected with the past to be “contemporary.” I just like hymns way too much. I agree with traditional theology too much to throw that away. On the other hand I am not satisfied with living in the past through relying on tradition. I want to be part of the story of faith that begun with God creating the world and continues with new creation even today.
It is possible that this is more my take on worship than a view endorsed by the “Emerging Church” movement. Also, much of the new worship music reflects a combination of tradition and innovation without being part of the “Emerging” movement.
Several key ideas involved with Emerging Church movement are that of postmodernism, conversation, narrative, creativity, holistic, non-hierarchical. Critics of the movement (though less so the worship style addressed above) include assert that the movement is pluralistic, a movement of protest, intolerant towards conservative evangelicals, and to hold non-orthodox views.
For more information on the Emerging church and Emerging worship including some criticism’s of the movement check out these links.
New York Times Article
Wikipedia Article
Theopedia Article
Emergent Village
Vineyard Website
Amazon Books about the Emerging Church
Theopedia Article
Emergent Village
Vineyard Website
Amazon Books about the Emerging Church
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