The Worship Mall by Bryan D. Spinks

The Worship Mall: Contemporary responses to contemporary culture

I enjoyed this which book sets out to give an overview of worship movements that make up the 'contemporary' scene, and it provides a very useful introduction to the major components from alt.worship to mainstream Roman Catholic, from Amish to mega-church.

In order to cover the breadth of the contemporary scene the chapters are unable to going into any great depth - however with its generous references to other writers and researchers it makes a very useful resource for  those embarking on study of 'worship' or one of the particular expression discussed.

A significant amount of the book is given over to descriptions of the different expressions of worship  but the analysis and comment that is there, although fairly concise, is given greater impact by the feeling that it is grounded in the observations of the actual practices. Spinks comments as a 'neutral' outsider and while some of the analysis is fairly cutting when it comes to some of the rhetoric and self-understanding of the different churches he provides this without undermining the value of the churches as site of integrity and potential locations for the encounter with God.

For example in the chapter "What is Celtic about contemporary Celtic worship?" Spinks' answer is in no uncertain terms very little, claiming that "Comtemporary 'Celtic' worship services seem as much Celtic as... Taco Bell fast food is Mexican." but he goes on that "It is what stirs the heart, soul and spirit ... not whether it is rational or historically authentic" that is the significant issue in their success.

The are also some moments that within the deadpan delivery of an academic work which made me laugh out loud, such as the discussion of the sexualised nature references to the believer's relationship with Jesus within many charismatic churches - which includes the quote from a spontaneous song "I can feel your love swelling, swelling and growing inside me/swelling and growing deeper and wider inside me"

It was also personally very pleasing when he points out that some of the 'hippest' innovators of alt.worship etc are in substances only doing things that have been around since the 1960s just with a few added lasers.

This is an excellent book and it merely wets the appetite to find out more about the weird and wonderful things that are going on out there under the banner of Christian Worship.