During the last 40 years Praise and Worship has moved from the fringes to the main stream in church worship. It won't be replaced, but as we enter the post-modern period of history there are signs that other movements are coming and they look hopeful. Many changes have taken place in worship in these last years, but it appears that even deeper and possibly more important changes are to come. These past "modern" years valued knowledge. Indications are that the "post-modern" era values experience. The modern era promotes individualism, but the post-modern era promotes community. Modernity values observation while post-modern values participation. Text versus image, and logic versus story.
This change in culture has the potential of driving us to a more authentic worship expression that is for the whole body of Christ being much more intergenerational in nature. Leonard Sweet uses the acronym EPIC to describe post-modern worship: Experiential, Participatory, Image-driven, and Connected.
This can potentially be good news for the church. The post-modern worshipper seeks an experience of God, participates wholeheartedly, and sees great value in the community of believers.
As far as worship, this opens new doors for intergenerational worship experience by the body and also opens an opportunity to use all kinds of music, traditional, modern, classic, folk, global, new, old, local, and foreign. We will be able to experience high art and folk expressions side by side. Many different, meaningful combinations can be used to deepen the worship experience of the Body. Glory!
