The Labyrinth, Postmodernity and Ritual

<< Inculturation | Ritual and Change >>

Alternative Worship

The Labyrinth was developed by alternative worship groups in London. Alternative worship is a strategic Christian response to postmodern times, an attempt to inculturate the gospel - 'Alternative worship arises from the need for the church to engage with a culture shift from the patterns of life which took shape in modernity to a faith which brings the authentic message of Christ to bear on life in postmodernity'. The description of inculturation outlined above in the York Statement could almost be read as a rationale for it. The Drapers list the following as characteristics of alternative worship (nearly all of which are features of the labyrinth):

• A renewed exploration of creativity
• A concept of faith as journey
• Less rigid or hierarchical leadership structures
• A holistic understanding of worship - our lives as worship
• Affirmation of personal identity
• An emphasis on relationships and community
• A care for the environment and an exploration of our place within it
• Risks taken, unusual things tried
• Congregational involvement - interaction encouraged
• An embrace of uncertainty
• A focus on contemplation and meditation
• A search for the transcendent and a sense of mystery and wonder
• An emphasis on small locally based groups not big events
• Cultural relevance not technology for its own sake
• Use of symbolism that connects with people at different levels
• A combination of ancient and contemporary
• A commitment to change instead of self preservation
• Use of elements that both sides of the brain respond to - i.e. experientially and intellectually

A glance through these characteristics immediately helps gain a good feel for the strategies employed and in particular how they contrast with some of the strategies employed by other Christian groups, tribes or denominations. Alternative worship is both a strategy for those involved to help them develop an expression of faith that is 'authentic' for them and it is also a strategy for mission and evangelism.

Along with many other aspects of the church's life, evangelism is an area that feels stuck in another era. Many Christian denominations and organisations recognise that the old ways of doing evangelism no longer seem to work. For example Youth For Christ, who I work for, in their strategy for 2000 have identified as a priority what they have termed 'reinventing evangelism'. A whole approach based on apologetics, persuading people of the truth of Christianity's claims is no longer answering the questions people are asking. In a culture swamped with advertising people have had enough sales pitches. Those who claim to know all the answers are viewed with suspicion.

Alternative worship doesn't go in for the hard sell. It's more undergirded by a belief that if those developing worship find themselves at home in it then it will relate to their peers. Its starting points are recognising that many people are spiritually searching and looking for experiences to meet their hunger, but that they don't want to be dictated to by those who have already 'arrived'.

Success in evangelism has often been measured in terms of numbers responding and then joining a congregation/church. On this measure of success, alternative worship has been relatively unsuccessful. Groups have tended to remain small. Numbers becoming committed members of core groups are in their ones and twos. However it is also typical of groups to have a stream of individuals and groups visiting their services sporadically.

Many groups have done some soul searching on this issue. Why is it that what feels like them a great hope for the future of the church remains so small? In part it may well be because groups have stuck with a congregational model of church which doesn't connect with people's meaning routes through a consumer culture and they are measuring success in terms of that model. Most groups meet monthly or fortnightly. Whilst the style of worship relates to the emerging culture, the structure doesn't seem to in the same way. The challenge for alternative worship groups' inculturation lies here. What are the meaning routes, networks and flows of relationships in postmodern times? How might the Gospel relate to them?

The Labyrinth offers a good example of a different (or complementary) approach. Its closest parallel is an art installation that directly appeals to the way tourists and pilgrims negotiate their way through life. Viewed and treated as a cultural resource, they can ignore it or choose to explore and experience it, weaving it into their own lives as they see fit. It's not in a Sunday service slot. It's on the track of tourists. There is no expectation or pressure on them to sign up or come back. It's offered as a gift. In a consumer culture, the availability of the CD to purchase in the cathedral shop means that they can relive the experience at home. The availability of connection via the Internet can enable further contact and conversation for those keen to pursue it.

It may be that one or two tourists are so transformed by it that they will seek out a group to join. In this respect, the structure is more akin to an art collective than a congregation offering its art/worship as a cultural resource. In an art collective, the vast majority of people encountering the art are visitors. There is an inner core of members who give to, support and shape the vision of the collective. But these are a minority. Some combination of developing a core group of artists/worshippers who develop services, spaces for spiritual encounter, and products that are able to be used as a cultural resource by tourists in postmodern times alongside some way of developing the networks of relationships within which those same tourists relate is a challenge facing alternative worship groups.

Alternative worship is not the only strategic Christian response available. The rise in fundamentalism in the world is seen by some as a strategic response because it offers certainties for those unable to live with the anxiety which comes from the tendency to keep options open at all times, to avoid fixation of identity.

The 'growth from below' of Pentecostalism around the world, especially in Latin America is another. In the recent survey of church attendance in England, evangelicalism is one area where small growth can be seen. This is an area of the church that has been quick to develop strong tribal identities and to develop products in the marketplace, one response to a consumer culture.

In charismatic evangelical churches, the experiential nature of worship and perhaps a contextualisation of worship as rock concert or performance, has been another strategic response. The Alpha course developed and franchised by Holy Trinity Brompton is another. Orthodoxy, perhaps particularly because of its iconic tradition has also experienced growth, although again the overall numbers in the UK are relatively small.

If, as has been argued above, religion is being treated as a cultural resource, there are also many individuals and groups whose strategies remain invisible as they are outside the observable institutions, whether they gather in pubs, homes, visit a variety of churches without becoming members of any, or meet in cyberspace or develop loose intentional communities to do a combination of all the above and more.