The Worship 2.0 Well - Dr. Chuck Fromm
We know the conversation has just begun, and we are excited you are here to continue it with us. Below you will find the article "The Worship 2.0 Well" from the June Issue of Worship Leader
, but this time, we want you to interact with us and with one another. We have set up a community especially for this purpose because your thoughts are important, when we share, we help one another grow. Each question is linked here, to an external site "The Worship Well-Worship 2.0" where you can post your answers, discuss with others, and be a part of this online, ongoing discussion. Let's share, and let's grow. "Oh, so you're a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?" (John 4: 19-20, The Message) Worship wars have been with us from the beginning, as Dr. Ron Allen [1] has reminded us many times. The conflict over acceptable worship is associated with the first murder: Cain slew Abel (Gen 4:8). However, another conflict is referenced at the "worship well" of John 4: the dispute between the Jews and Samaritans over the proper location of worship-Jerusalem or Samaria. In this somewhat coy conversation, the Samaritan woman had no idea that she was discussing the worship location controversy with the incarnate God, Creator and Lord of Heaven and Earth. Jesus explains that the question of location is now (or soon will be) moot. Why? Future worshipers will not need to be concerned with geographical space in encountering God. There is a new mobile/missional temple, and the how of worship trumps the where.
Samaritan woman: "I don't know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When He arrives, we'll get the whole story."
Jesus: "I am He...You don't have to wait any longer or look any further" (John 4:25-26
The Message).
In searching the New Testament in an exegesis of Worship and Spirit, N.T. Wright has declared "The Church from Acts 2 onwards is the Spirit-led Church, with worship as an integral part of its proper life. ...[T]he Spirit has taken the place of the
Shekinah." [2] This shift of the
Shekinah from Temple to believers is what we are calling Worship 2.0. It is worship that knows no special mountain or building or tradition or ritual or space higher than Christ's regulative principle of worship, "spirit and truth." Thus it distinguishes form from function, but does not eliminate either. [3] It is a worship (which, although remediated through cultural forms, ultimately transcends them through the mediation of Christ) allowing a mobile missional church to reach out to the gentiles and go, as Dr. Luke tells us, to the ends of the earth. Worship 2.0 must be clearly distinguished from the cultural/communicational shifts dubbed Web 2.0. Since the Incarnation, Worship 2.0 remains the same, yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8); but Web 2.0 is clearly changing, and may soon be Web 3.0, perpetually being replaced with a new and "required" upgrade. [4] Such is the inevitable process of innovation and obsolescence that characterizes all communication technologies. From the invention of the alphabet to the digital era, from the book to the iPod, we see a plethora of media changes. However, the content of the Christian message does not change. In his instructive "primer on worship," Dr. WilliamDyrness [5] lists the elements of worship in the stories of Creation, Israel, Life of Christ, Ascension, Pentecost, Mission, and
Parousia (or the second coming). Taken together, these stories amount to one great story, "the greatest story ever told," informing and shaping the content of our worship, which is a collective act of praise and thanksgiving for God's power and grace as demonstrated in salvation history. Like any great story, the history of salvation is inexhaustible: it can be told, retold, and remediated in a thousand forms and tongues.
The Participating Church But what are we to make of the seismic shifts in communication and culture and the resulting challenges we face today? New innovations in technology create networked publics, which can level hierarchical control. Institutions in society maintain control, and so their "flattening" may be both harmful and beneficial. So the forces of chaotic creativity and the institutional state of hierarchal control are always in tension. Hierarchies maintain control by access (or restricting access), while the network allows open access to all, or "many to many" communications. This is the new participatory culture of Web 2.0. How does this new participatory culture change the ways that we think about worship and evangelization? Is the story of salvation being told in ways that are faithful to tradition, but appropriate for contemporary audiences habituated to instantaneous digital gratification?
In chronological terms, we are probably in Communicational Shift 5.0, the latest phase of transformation in which communication forms evolve from basic oral/aural, to manuscript writing, to printing, to broadcasting, and now to digital. The forms of digital communication are multiple and confusing, so that keeping up with technological change is more and more difficult. Do you surf the Web? Do you blog? Do you twitter? Do you text? Do you IM? Do you exchange MP3 files? Should you? And WHY should you? But as we have already hinted, it is not merely a change in electronic gadgetry that underlies the present blizzard of technologies. There is a seismic shift in the foundational logics of communication which impacts and shapes our message and hope of salvation. We will discuss those logics shortly.
Selah: WORSHIP 2.0 
As a pastor or worship leader, you may be inside or outside the networked Church movement that expands globally by the second. What are the theological, spiritual, financial and conceptual implications for you personally, for your church, and for the global Christian community? In tough economic times, some business enterprises circle the wagons and take a defensive stance, while some become proactive and reinvent themselves. Similarly, when facing the impact of technology on our worship, some churches refuse to move, and others move too quickly.
Whatever our current posture, whether we are resisting the wave of change or trying to anticipate and move ahead of it, we need to pause and consider how we can continue on the path of renewing worship. While our heads may be spinning with the rapid pace of change, our hearts will be in the right place so long as we listen to the voice of the One Who tells us that, "...where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:20). There is no doubt that in the online world today, not just two or three, but thousands, are gathering in His name in many virtual avenues. How will we meet and worship Jesus online? What must we do to minister effectively to the many who seek Him there? And how does the online campus of the networked church relate to our offline worship communities?
Your Thoughts? In this first of a three-part series on the networked church, we begin by defining terms, reviewing history, and establishing some biblical, historical, and cultural compass points. In our second installment, we will look more closely at what's going on and who is doing it. We're going share with you what works and what doesn't, and look for exemplars in managing time, finances, and content. Some churches on the cutting-edge have spent millions; we will gather up their learning so you can benefit. We'll finish by exploring what the technological future has in store for those of us called to serve in worship, and summarizing your input as we also hear from you. We invite you to join the micro-community we've formed to further explore and discuss the issues of the Networked Church (Go to worhip2.0.ning.com), where you can weigh in by responding to the questions we pose-and by posing your own.
Worship 2.0 is simply remembering that in the midst of these rapidly evolving communication forms, our worship is truly led by the Holy Spirit, not by cultural innovation and form. In fact, most of the forms and changes covered in this series are becoming so common and everyday that they will hardly be noticed in future months and years. Such is the nature of communication technology. As long as there is a plentiful supply of electricity, and the technology is in good working order, its role in re-mediation is almost transparent. The sixteenth-century Council of Trent is an example of the invisibility new technology can achieve. It was convened by the Catholic Church as a counter to the Reformation. It should be noted that in the deliberations of this ecclesiastical council, not one mention was made of the printing press! Yet it was the press, and the widespread popularity achieved through cheap printing of the writings of one man, Martin Luther, which created the first mass media movement and changed how Christians engage with their faith. We now see the Word as a book, and most sermons are written before they are preached.
Cutting Edge Before the printing press, Christians developed other communication innovations such as the codex book. At the dawn of the second millennium, literacy movements were spawned by so-called "heretics." Notable among these preachers was the early 13
th century leader Valdesius, who was deemed heretical, along with his followers, because they lacked licenses to preach from the Catholic hierarchy, which controlled the most powerful communication form of the gospel since Peter at Pentecost: preaching. Two hundred and fifty years prior to the reformation, Valdesius (Waldo) led a movement (the Waldensians, estimated by some to number in the hundreds of thousands and still existent today) based on teaching the Bible in the vernacular of the people. Fast forward to American History from the colonial era to the twentieth century, and we discover that evangelicals led the way in establishing communication industries, from printing to radio and television broadcasting.
Communication strategies and technologies have always been at the heart of the evangelical movement, whether in the re-creation of the Scriptures in the vernacular, or employing new tools to bring the message to mass audiences. The first amendment guaranteed that the government would not set up a religion or hierarchical structure; not freedom from religion, but freedom of religion. Benjamin Franklin supported the first Great Awakening led by George Whitefield by printing Isaac Watts' hymns. The first large printing presses in America were purchased by the American Bible Society. The Harper Brothers, two Methodist brothers, started their publishing business by printing Bibles. Today Harper/Zondervan continues that tradition by publishing the NIV. In the 20
th Century, with the growing development of sound technologies, the Jesus Movement leaders-both preachers and musicians-extended their voice through the new technology of the cassette tape duplicator. This technology came of age in the late 60s and early 70s, just as Larry Norman and Love Song were singing "I wish we'd all been ready" and "Welcome back to Jesus." Thousands of new churches were birthed through re-mediated preaching and music spawning what sociologist termed "the megachurch." And now as we face the "digital divide," it is no wonder that the unchanging message is once again being remediated by pastors and worship leaders. Re-purposing the gospel through the latest form of new media is in our DNA.
New Ears to Hear The digital age is being carried into the front door of the church-via one of the signature devices of new media, the cell phone-and is shaping the way we worship in its everyday, nearly unnoticeable manner. Oh yes, every now and then we hear the familiar sound of a ringtone as we solemnly sit in a pew. Someone forgot to heed the warning of the overhead screen to turn off their cell phone, and we are reminded that we are all in touch. I usually set my phone to "vibrate." A few weeks back, while in a worship service, a text message buzzed on my phone. It was my oldest son, asking for help to fix a flat tire across town. The circumstances were urgent, and I'm thankful I could respond with help. Undoubtedly, many congregants with their heads in a bowed posture, which used to represent submission (or rest), may now be text-messaging or even taking electronic notes from the sermon. We are a networked congregation, and this has serious implications for public worship. Soon the message on the overhead screens in the sanctuary will read: "Don't forget to turn your cell phone on."
What has become an everyday technology for us can also be used as a powerful tool. Revolutionaries and terrorists have used text messaging to topple governments and organize raids and suicide missions. On the other side, the Networked Church Movement is using it, and a host of online and mobile media tools, to build communities and pastor flocks. Understanding the transition from old to new media is crucial in deciding how, when, or if you want to ride the wave. The list that follows presents many of the foundational logics behind the cultural revolution that is giving birth to the forms the networked church takes.
INNOVATIVE: In the old media environment, tradition was the sure remedy for uncertainty, and novelty was a threat. But innovation is now the rule. The innovative aspect of cyber-culture means much more than the invention and adoption of new devices. It's true that the way we shop, eat, dress, learn, talk, and enjoy music and films has been profoundly affected by inventions such as personal computers, cell phones, iPods, and Web-in-hand tools like the Blackberry and iPhone. But more importantly, the rapid development and use of such devices has permanently diminished our expectations of a relatively stable cultural environment shaped by businesses and institutions dependent on particular forms of mediation. Newspapers around the country are going out of business, or moving entirely onto the Web. We have become used to the idea that our music, video, film, and book collections may evolve and migrate across platforms, from printed magazines onto Kindle and from CDs to MP3. And we see that this evolution often sounds a death knell for the old platforms and the companies and institutions that relied on and profited from them.
How will this trend affect staples of traditional worship such as the hymnal and other forms of print? What should worship leaders do when faced with decisions about which platforms or technologies to invest in? CONVERGENT: Old media were segmented from each other: we put down our book and turned on the television. But in cyber-culture, all media form a multifaceted whole. New media technologies encourage the simultaneous development and distribution of content across multiple channels. Books may still be popular, but novelists now write stories with an eye to their cinematic possibilities. Filmmakers post their work onto the Internet; musicians post their band's latest effort onto MySpace pages; television shows may be watched anywhere, not just in the home, on hand-held devices like the iPod. The same audiences that watch sporting events in the stadium on their iPods can be expected to bring these devices to church with them along with their cell phones, equipped for text messages and Web browsing.
How will the availability and portability of such new media inventions affect the conduct of worship on a church campus? Can such technologies be used to build and extend communities rather than simply distracting them from their purposes? NETWORKED: Old media communication was unidirectional, and it was always clear "who's the boss." New media communication is characterized by multiple producers and receivers of messages, and lines of authority are often unclear. Traditional media whether print or broadcast, were hierarchical, top-down, forms of communication, designed for one sender to reach many receivers. New technologies are predominantly characterized by interconnected distributed networks, which replace unidirectional, top-down hierarchies with many-to-many communication where there are multiple nodes acting as creators, transmitters, and receivers of messages. While this may not eliminate the need for centers of authority, it does require pastors and worship leaders to make room for audience input to an unprecedented degree, and to get used to the fact that the networked congregations are inherently more anarchic and less subject to pastoral control.
How will the networking of our congregations influence the way that they perceive and respond to pastoral authority? GLOBAL: In the old model, the local church was a physical plant (or campus) serving the needs of worshipers in a particular town, city, or geographic territory. But new media transcend locality and encourage the formation of global identities. The churches of the near future will not abandon the physical plant or the local community, but will find that its membership and its reach will expand across state and national borders and boundaries. In the new global economy, individual members of the congregation will move and be transferred to distant locales; with new media such as Internet, podcasting, and video chat, geographic distance no longer requires that church members leave their communities behind.
To what extent is our church's identity based on our physical location? How will our church respond to the globalizing effects of technology, and how can we use technology to expand our outreach and our sense of who we are in the worldwide Christian community? GENERATIONAL: In the old world, age conferred authority and commanded respect. In the new world, the young may have more wisdom than the old about what's appropriate in a given situation. Divisions between young and old-prefigured by the "worship wars," which pitted those who preferred rock bands against those who liked pipe organs-may grow up around new technologies which are unfamiliar and difficult for older congregation members but taken for granted by the young. Decisions on use of church resources for Web ministries must take age demographics of each individual congregation into account, and yet failure to position one's church community properly may result in obsolescence as one generation is succeeded by the next. Yet if properly integrated into the church's worship life and community-building, new media technologies may also break down divisions and increase dialogue and learning between old and young.
Will technology increase generational divisions in our church? Does it have potential to break down divisions between age groups? What assistance or tutorials do older members of our congregation require to become part of Worship 2.0 (assuming they are willing)? EVERYDAY: In the old world, there was a day and time reserved for worship, and we returned to the world for the rest of the week. In the new world, worship, like going to the movies, isn't something that is separated from the everyday. Church used to be a place we went on Sunday morning, with the occasional prayer group or Bible study on Wednesday night. But today's multimedia user can participate in an event by listening to it or watching it after it has happened and at times of their own choosing, and they can engage in discussion, prayer, and Bible study in an "asynchronous" fashion that does not depend on either physical presence or simultaneous participation.
How can new technologies help us to integrate worship into our everyday lives? CONCLUSIONS Whatever your source book(s) for "common prayer" or "liturgy" or "service of worship" may be, it is almost certain that you are appropriating portions of what you create in worship from the Web. This can include fulfilling CCLI requirements for reporting song use, downloading of creative visual or musical resources, blogging with other worship leaders, and now connecting with your congregation via one of several social networks. In our next issue, we will be talking with several early adopters of these new technologies, in order to gather up their insights for the common understanding and benefit of us all.
To think about what we are doing in this technological age is a challenge. Some have argued that the culture of print produced a new kind of idolatry, not based on the worship of images or statues but nevertheless reducing the message of Christ, the Living Word, to a material object: the book. As Scottish poet Edwin Muir has written: "[The] Word made flesh is made word again"-and thus the blood of Christ is drained from the message. And just as worshipers can mistake the form of mediation for the message by fetishizing the book, so too we can make new technologies into idols. If we are not careful, the torrent of living water can be limited to a few volts of electric current, and God's
voice will be smothered or choked through inappropriate veneration of the remediated forms of God's Word. The disciples were wary of this: "The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life," they said (2 Cor 3:6). They had felt the hammer of worship that was not Spirit-led. This in no way lessens our reverence for the Bible, the inspired Word of God, but we do not worship paper and ink. It is the Living Word who fills its pages with His Story and truth.
Symbolic tools which only point to themselves (whether they are statues, books or websites) are idols and must be broken. This has been the challenge of reformers from Hezekiah to Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli, and from the Jesus movement to the present day. But the worship well gives us a different challenge and a new standard of worship. It is a story that moves from questioning to personal revelation, a story that witnesses to Jesus as God, and to worship not linked to place, or driven by technology, but led by the Holy Spirit. Jesus also says: "My sheep know My voice. I know My sheep and they recognize My voice. But if you cannot hear Me you are not part of My flock" (Marshall McLuhan paraphrase of John 10:27).
Dr. Chuck Fromm is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of Worship Leader
magazine.
[1] Dr. Ronald B. Allen is Senior Profess of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological seminary and co-authored (with Gordon Borror) the classic
Worship: Rediscovering the Missing Jewel. [2] "Worship and the Spirit in the New Testament" delivered at the Yale Conference on Worship and the Spirit: February 2008.
[3] Wright emphasized that this is not to favor "free-form, non-liturgical worship as genuine Spirit-led" over "liturgical or set forms"
[4] Most experts agree that the next shift is several years away and may indeed involve the ability of the machine to summarize large patches of information via AI (artificial intelligence)
[5] For Further reading, see Dr. Dyrness' A
Primer on Christian Worship, Eerdmans, 2009
.
