Jonny Baker...alternative worship interview

For anyone who has followed the " alternative worship ", ( wikipedia definition ) scene in the UK, you can hardly mention the word without mentioning Jonny Baker in the same breath. Jamie Arpin-Ricci does a great job of picking Jonny's brain around alternative worship, past, present and future. It is well worth the read, especially when we seek a way of worshipping that engages all our senses, using all froms of art.

In a snippet from the interview, Jonny says this...

JAR: When exploring the "emerging church" people tend to think of the US and the UK, countries and cultures very different from each other. Having visited Canada, where do you see us fitting in the bigger picture of this journey?

JB: There are more similarities between the UK and Canada than there are the UK and US in church. I think part of the reason for this is that more people have left the church in Canada. So there are similar challenges in terms of mission. The US is still in a situation where the pressure isn’t on in the same way- there’s plenty of people in church and plenty of money around.There’s a few things I like of what I have seen in Canada. The first is the way you guys manage to network together – it seems very open and relaxed and friendly rather than competitive. I think Resonate is a great space. I got in trouble for saying this a while back but I still think I’m right so I’ll say it again. Internationally I think the emerging church needs locally owned and set up networks. Resonate is a great example. The international policy of any other emerging church network should be to insist on local and contextual networks that have their own identity and name, and then offer encouragement and friendship and so on. Resist the temptation of expanding the brand as it were. The second thing I like about the Canadian set up is there is some great theology that has shaped me personally – I’m thinking of the influence of the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto and the likes of Brian Walsh, Henk Hart, David Lyon and others. I am very grateful for that – there’s been a particular way of thinking about the redemption of all of life. Then I think you’re all pretty laid back – that suits me. But you also have some huge challenges in terms of mission (as we do). And you also have Jordon Cooper – one of the most prolific bloggers – one of the first blogs I ever discovered.

JAR: Is there anything else you would like to share?

JB: Yes...

Make space for creativity and imagination.

Create a culture of participation where the whole community can make the worship rather than a few experts.

Take some risks.

Invest in artists.

JAR: Thanks!

Read all of it here...