while i’m at it, i’ll try to answer jeph’s question: “what is alt.worship?”

fair warning, i’ve not participated, planned, or observed an alt-worship event. my answer is based only on what i’ve read on-line and my own ruminations.

at it’s most simple, alt.worship is an alternative to the normal forms of corporate worship. i won’t get into any philosophical or theological issues. we’re speaking about the worship that occurs when believers gather (for me and mine that’s sunday @ 6pm). we will assume this is in fact worship. we will get on with the issue at hand.

my answer, of course, begs the question: “what are the normal forms of corporate worship?” well, in my experience (which is all i’m speaking about here) worship = singing. period. how you sing varies: organ vs. guitar, hymn vs. hillsong, stoic vs. emotional, clapping vs. kneeling, etc. if, jeph, you are doing/providing something different than this, then i guess you’re part of the alt.worship movement that’s sweeping the nation(s).

now when you look at alt.worship practitioners and pioneers (or at least their web-sites), there seem to be some common themes that might more precisely define the alt.worship movement as it exists (at least on their web-sites): mystery, kinetic/wholistic, open-ended. elaboration follows….

mystery
alt.worship moves God out of the box. it acknowledges, embraces our limited understanding, our partial revelation. “we see as in a mirror.” alt. worship attempts to look over our shoulder, attempts to see God’s face directly, while at the same time acknowledging the futility of such attempts this side of eternity. to me, alt.worship revels in the God of Paradox: transcendent beyond space/time yet living in me, eternal yet historical, spirit yet flesh, change-less yet able to be persuaded, etc.

kinetic/wholistic
alt.worship engages the whole person: the five senses, the will, the imagination, the body in action. alt.worship events often involve creative response/interaction, hands-on activity, motion, etc. e.g. the labryinth with it’s path, it’s multi-sensory stations, it’s interaction, it’s activity. alt.worship reconnects the segmented, fragmented portions of our lives, particularily the physical with the spiritual.

open-ended
alt.worship does not pre-suppose the outcome, the impact. it seeks to bring the individual into contact with the Holy, leaving the work of transformation in the hands of the Divine. it suggests, but does not dictate. it embraces the unique identity of an individual, her place in life, and her relationship with God.

note - if i have one criticism of the alt.worship examples i have run across, it is this: they are highly focused on the individual. e.g. each person goes thru the labryinth on his or her own. there is little/no interaction among the worshippers during worship. this may just be my limited knowledge, so consider the source (me) before taking it to heart.

hope this helps.