I went to an Emergent Church. I was intrigued, even though I wasn’t personally fed by the experience. I know there’s lots of diversity among churches who self-identify in the emergent paradigm, so I don’t even want to suggest that my experience was typical of congregations in the emergent movement. This place – Solomon’s Porch in Minneapolis, MN – was interesting in how it loosly followed an order of worship, even as it tried to re-think and be free of traditional forms.
A layperson opened us up with a prayer and opening litany, and led us through a bodily prayer incorporating gestures and movements. After another song the pastor welcomed the congregation, and introduced the preacher for the day. The sermon was actually a lecture/discussion about medieval church history, and Q&A followed.
Another layperson offered a few more prayers that were followed by the opportunity to greet those around you and an extremely informal and de-ritualized period of Holy Communion (after a version of the last supper story was read, we were invited to go to one of the end tables that held wine and bread, to take some and consume it). Then another prayer and some announcements and more music.
Notably missing was a time of reading from the Bible. I asked the guest preacher about this (whose name I’ll omit since I didn’t ask for permission to print it), who said:
"I will say that in many emerging churches, there is a feeling of being less beholden to the traditional sermon of reading scripture then reflecting on it. However, most Sundays you would find a sermon that is a extremely close reading of a passage . . . That being said, we are trying to re-imagine traditional preaching."
I’m intrigued by the idea of a community gathering and hearing about church history and other spiritual/religious themes, but for me it seems that reading and reflecting on the Bible is still a central thing we do when we gather on Sundays in a Christian community. Word and Sacrament- I can’t get away from it. Call me Lutheran.
But who was gathered there on that Sunday evening? Lots of people who wouldn’t enter our Lutheran churches. 20/30-somethings. Skinny white guys with dreadlocks. The kind of people who attend poetry readings, protest globalization, listen to the Ramones, and otherwise identify with alternate ways of thinking about the world. These folks don’t come to Lutheran churches. But they are there in some emergent churches. What can we learn from our emergent brothers and sisters to enhance our ministry to reach a wider segment of God’s people?
The Lutheran Zephyr 