Religion is in competition with the leisure and entertainment industries. The postmodern generation is open to spirituality, but young adults have not been born into faith communities that embrace them fully and command their allegiance over a lifetime. Studies suggest that for the young, belief in God is an optional matter, a consumer choice, and different trends in contemporary worship and worship styles are offered by churches to suit personal taste. What is in these trends that might appeal to "Gen Y"? Are they worship, or something other than worship? Bryan Spinks invites you to walk through The Worship Mall and see what is on offer in the postmodern culture.

Bryan Spinks

Cover page

Alcuin Club

Title page

Imprint

Dedication

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction: postmodernity, malls and worship

1. Blended, fusion or synthesis worship

2. Consciously postmodern: alt., emerging and liquid worship

3. Entertaining worship or worship as entertainment?

4. Praise andWorship songs and worship in the charismatic churches

5. On the margins of corporate global postmodern culture

6. What is Celtic about contemporary Celtic worship?

7. Second-guessing post-Vatican II liturgies

Concluding remarks

Bibliography

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Spinks, Bryan

A liturgy book about alternative worship from a traditional stable is so far unique.

The Good Book Stall

The book starts from the premise that whilst the generation of people under thirty should be more open to spiritual things, few have the knowledge or experience to explore spiritual matters in a Christian context. Therefore young people will tend to "shop" for a place of worship, hence The Worship Mall of the title. The rest of the book is an extensive sample of what is available in that Worship Mall, not only looking at what is Protestant, western, innovative and perhaps avant garde, but also covering Roman Catholic worship, the megachurch phenomenon, worship inspired by Celtic spirituality, and a diverse selection of examples from around the world. It all makes for an interesting read.  
The shopping mall encapsulates every aspect of postmodern consumer culture, and one of the things the book explores in its samples of different types of worship is the extent to which they reflect postmodern (or in some cases modernist) approaches. In the course of doing that, it also explores what appeals in worship to the baby-boomer and younger generations.  
Each chapter makes good use of existing studies and literature, quoting extensively, and often combining this with observations of specific services. There is a particular focus on liturgy and historical continuity.  
If you want to take several steps back from your worship culture and get a broader perspective on the developments you see around you, this book will help you do that, and will probably challenge a few assumptions in the process.

The Worship Mall

Contemporary Response to Contemporary Cultures

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