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:: Emergent :: Arising unexpectedly :: Arising out of :: newly formed and prominent.
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What is this emergent stuff anyway?
There are certainly a lot of ideas, resources, and experts
out there. Some of the sites I've found are listed on this page. For me, emergent worship is almost
a renaissance or rebirth of artistic expression and thought in worship. Some take new ideas and
meld them with old ideas to form a new liturgy (explicit or implicit) and form that is touching and deeply
relevent to the worshippers. Most importantly it opens their hearts, minds, and eyes to the absolute majesty and
reality of The LORD. LIke in the Renaissance, media, art, and surroundings provide an environment rich in experiencing
the majesty, presence, closeness, and the reality of God. After all, God's realilty is what the post-modern is reaching
for. Technology has not lived up to their expectations of solving all man's problems. How could it? The
problem is us or more specifically our fallen, sinful nature. People need to know that their spiritual foundation is
sure. The LORD is the only thing that is not being shaken in these days. We are chasing the
reality and presence of God! We desire to be close to Him. Now, who do you think is bringing this all about?
I have a suspicion :).
The Altars....
Our church, Life House, is presently a small BIC church plant, near Harrisburg, PA. While there are advantages to being a larger sized church, we have found some advantages in being small. In worship, our smallness allows a
lot of flexibility in worship. We also like to especially look for ways to include
and engage the whole family, together. I noticed, in scripture, Israel would build little altars to commemorate the works of the Lord in certain places.
That gave us an idea to use in worship.
Building an Altar,
family style...
One Sunday, we brought containers of
shiny glass marbles. They are like the ones you see put in clear glass vases. We also included some small, flat, polished rocks.
We used an inexpensive square dish, some swatches of cloth and ribbon, and a couple candles. All the items were inexpensive and available at the local craft store.
While we worshipped, I asked our members to come up and “build’ an altar to the Lord. The children were very much involved and the altar we built seemed incredibly beautiful. As we lit the candles and worshipped some more, we could feel the Lord’s pleasure. It was a very physical expression of our worship that whole families could participate in and everyone
could significantly contribute to, no matter what their age.
A
bit different Altar spin...
For last Sunday’s worship, we
used our little altar again. This time we used it a little differently. We placed it in on the floor, in the midst of us, with only one candle. We also set out anointing oil (for folks to consecrate themselves) and a permanent ‘sharpie’
marker for writing on the stones. Our worship style for Sunday was Harp and Bowl
(look in Rev 5:8 for a reference). Harp and Bowl is just basically a free flowing
mix of prayer and worship. We gathered in an intimate circle around our little
altar and worshipped the Lord and prayed. I asked folks to take a flat rock from
the altar and write the name of the person they were praying for or a word to symbolize something they were praying for. Then they were to take the rock as a reminder to pray during the week. Again, the rocks transformed our spoken and unspoken prayers into something physical.
A
larger format?
Both these altars could be used in
a larger congregation, too. The church that sent Jeanne and I to Life House,
averages about 1000 to 1500 in each of two Sunday services. I could imagine how
beautiful it would be to have a lot of these little altars across the platform and steps.
Psalm 23 :: My Cup Runneth Over
Last Sunday, Pastor Blaine brought a pitcher and a bowl. He pointed us to Psalm 23 and asked for us
to thank the Lord for His abundant blessings to us. That we would remember and be thankful. As part of the banquet
table that had loaves of bread, a goblet, white candles in beautiful silver stands, muffins, and
coins, there was the clear glass pitcher of water and a beautiful glass bowl. Pastor Blaine asked us to cup
our hands and pour the water into them until it overflowed our hands, into the bowl. So the blessings of the Lord overflow
our lives.
Purpose
and concepts behind the scenes...
Including physical expression
in worship brings abstract concepts into the physical. When we see it and touch
it, our spiritual side is also stirred up and our faith is encouraged. I love
fragrant oil, incense (per Biblical recipes), flags, dance, and paintings in worship for the same reason. For the worship leader, these items can act as an impulse during worship.
I like to say the Lord opens my eyes to what He is doing at that moment through my surroundings as well as by spiritual
promptings (actually, it is all being led by the Holy Spirit). Finally, they
serve to gently teach worship principles. In our case, we all learned that the
Lord does respond to our physical offerings, worship, and prayer. Our Lord draws
near and He is very real to us. He hears and remembers our prayers.
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