The members of and visitors to this seminar track developments in “contemporary” worship (seeker services, praise-and-worship services, convergence worship, and “traditional” services that “blend” in elements from these other kinds of services). We research particular faith communities’ worship, as well as the general trends in worship and music styles, liturgical art, architecture, and seminary education for those preparing to become worship leaders in these worship settings, Protestant and Catholic.
Convener
Seminar Report 2020
Convener
Nelson Cowan serves as lead pastor of Christ United Methodist Church in Jacksonville, FL, while also teaching as contingent faculty for Drew University, Emory University, and Wesley Theological Seminary
Members in Attendance
Taylor Burton-Edwards, Dawn Chesser (online), Nel- son Cowan, Suzanne Duchesne (online), Billy Kangas, Swee Hong Lim (online), Jim Marriott (online), Ed Phillips, Lester Ruth, Casey Sigmon, Noel Snyder, Nicholas Zork
Visitors in Attendance
Saya Ojiri (online), Jonathan Ottaway (online), Adam Perez, Diana Sanchez-Bushong, Glenn Stallsmith, Teresa Stewart, Debbie Wong
Description of Work
The Exploring Contemporary and Alternative Worship Seminar had robust lineup of papers and book presentations on topics related to Pentecostal, Evangelical, and Charismatic movements (histories, theologies, analyses of practice), as well as alternative forms of worship emerging within Mainline denominations. We had two sessions of exemplary note. The first was a 2-hour introduction to Lester Ruth and Swee Hong Lim’s groundbreaking and field-defining book release, A History of Contemporary Praise & Worship. The second was an open seminar session co-led by Taylor Burton-Edwards and Ed Phillips on the Ecumenical Consultation on Protocols for Worship, Fellowship, and Sacraments.
Papers and Presentations:
- Adam Perez, “‘Contemporary/Modern (Christian) Praise/Worship (Music)’: A Review of Terms Towards Defining a Field.”
- James Marriott, “From Welcome Guest to Full Participant: The influence of migrant worship practices in the Lutheran-Church Missouri Synod.”
- Lester Ruth and Swee Hong Lim, “A Tale of Two Rivers: Introducing A His- tory of Contemporary Praise & Worship.”
- Taylor Burton-Edwards and Ed Phillips, “Adapting Worship for the Public Good: A Model from the Ecumenical Consultation on Protocols for Worship, Fellowship, and Sacraments.”
- Debbie Wong, “Transcending Tradition: A Reappraisal of Methods for Studying Charismatic Worship.”
- Jonathan Ottaway, “The Synthetic Theological Method in Pentecostal Theologies of Praise and Worship.”
- Noel Snyder, “Steven Furtick as Songwriter and ”
- Abigail Peper, “Setting the Homiletical Tables: A Sacred Feast With a Side of Conversational Preaching and Communal Authority.”
- Glenn Stallsmith, “Praying in Christ: The Role of Liturgical Prayer in an Evangelical Megachurch.”
- Nelson Cowan, Facilitated Conversation: “ECAW & Public ”
Other Work and Plans for the Future
For Toronto in 2023, we are issuing a general call for papers and presentations that pertain to the work of our seminar. Topics for consideration may be submitted directly to the convener for review. Potential site visit: The site of the Toronto Blessing Revival. Potential joint session: Liturgical Theology, discussing Melanie Ross’ latest book release. We will elect or re-elect a convener for another three-year term.
Seminar Report 2021
While the NAAL did not gather for our Annual Meeting in 2021, our seminar held a series of Virtual Meetings in January 2021.
Virtual Seminar Topics
Ed Phillips – Book Discussion, ”The Purpose, Pattern, and Character of Worship”
Billy Kangas – “Composing Utopia – How Charismatic Worship Spread the Covenant Communities Movement”
Amy Davis – Book Proposal Working Session, “Transforming Rites for Our Stories: Celebrating Beginnings, Middles, and Ends”
Seminar Report 2020
Convener
Rev. Nelson Cowan, PhD, senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in High Springs, FL, instructional faculty for The United Methodist Course of Study program at Candler School of Theology, Emory University
Members in Attendance
Emily Andrews, David Bains, Susan Blain, Taylor Burton-Edwards, Nelson Cowan, Brenda Grauer, Swee Hong Lim, Jim Marri- ott, Haejung Park, Ed Phillips, Lester Ruth, Alydia Smith, Noel Snyder, Richard Vosko, Karen Westerfield Tucker, Nicholas Zork
Visitors in Attendance
Chingyu Huang, Billy Kangas, Michael Lee, Nate Myrick, Saya Ojiri, Kat Olson, Jonathan Ottaway, Adam Perez, Diana Sanchez-Bushong, John Choi Seungkeun, Glenn Stallsmith, J. Terry Todd, Debbie Wong
Description of Work
The Exploring Contemporary and Alternative Worship seminar had a vibrant series of paper presentations, facilitated conversations, and short communications. Our time began with a presentation from Taylor Burton Edwards on the topic of “Shame in the CCLI Top 100.” Burton-Edwards reported his findings from an in-depth study of the lyrical content related to “shame” across the 100 most reported songs among Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) users in the United States. Emily Snider Andrews presented on Bethel Church in Redding, California’s “worship-rooted lifestyle” and the implications of this “worship-rootedness” in forming Evangelical ethics.
Our next presenters moved our discussions to contemporary and alternative worship practices in east Asia. Swee Hong Lim’s paper examined Chinese contemporary praise and worship songs and the strong link between worship music practice in the country of origin and the diasporic faith community. Haejung Park’s paper and multimedia presentation showcased an experimental worship conference led by seminarians in South Korea.
We then concluded the day with a segment on the topic of intercultural worship, where Jim Marriott presented his paper, “Disrupting the Dichotomy: How Intercultural Music Changes the Contemporary/Traditional Conversation.” Moving from theory to practice, Alydia Smith led us in a conversation about the United Church of Canada’s intercultural worship resource, “Questioning Worship: Engaging All God’s People Worship.”
Saturday morning opened with a series of short communications from first-time visitors. Each presentation was roughly fifteen minutes long, followed by fifteen minutes of discussion. Glenn Stallsmith presented, “The Path to a Second Service: Mainline Decline, Church Growth, and Apostolic Leadership.” Adam Perez presented on “Worship Conferences in the 1980s,” offering a “family tree” of sorts to the seminar members. Nate Myrick led the seminar in discussing the top- ic of “Whiteness and Multicultural Worship.” Debbie Wong shared her research project, “Charismatic versus Contemporary: Praise and Worship in Singapore Methodism.”
We concluded our time of presentations with Billy Kangas’ research on “Unique Forms of Worship within the Catholic Charismatic Renewal,” which is a part of his dissertation project. Noel Snyder’s shared his paper, “Pairs with Hillsong: Musical Features of Brian Houston’s Preaching,” which is a part of his forthcoming book with Intervarsity Press Academic.
Other Work and Plans for the Future
During our business meeting, our seminar discussed the possibility of doing a joint session with another seminar. However, because our seminar has had a record number of proposed presentations, it would make it difficult to incorporate the work of another seminar at this time.
To support the burgeoning interest in this field of study, we created a new website for the work of our seminar (a private link solely shared with seminar members) where presentations are uploaded and feedback is solicited. Our site also features a paper proposal submission form for next year’s meeting.