Fleeing the resonance machine: music and sound in ‘Emerging Church’ communities

ABSTRACT

Traditional practices of congregational singing have often been brought into question within the contemporary so-called ‘Emerging Church’ movement. Emerging Church groups, through their self-consciously post-modern re-imaginings of Christianity, challenge not only ideas of group singing but also of the congregation itself, intentionally deconstructing the boundaries, patterns, and norms which have typically served to define the congregational group. Nevertheless, music and sound remain important, if contested, components of Emerging Church practices. Patterns of sonic, social, and spiritual resonance established within evangelical or charismatic settings are deconstructed, modified, and reconstructed in a broad variety of ways. This article explores musical dynamics within contemporary Emerging Church communities in the UK, examining how new patterns of resonant interaction are constructed when previous patterns are brought into question. In particular, it is suggested that a variety of practices are used in order to create acts of musicking which offer space for multiplicity and diversity of experience, in a move which shares a range of values with ambient musics.

KEYWORDS:

• Emerging Church
• congregation
• music
• resonance
• post-evangelical
• Christianity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. A term by which the movement was known to many participants.

2. The presence of candles, the music of U2 or pebbles are some of the more commonly disparaged stereotypes.

3. Interview partners were usually selected either for their interest in the musical side of the community or for their availability for conversation. Most were in their 30s and 40s and, despite my attempts to balance gender representation, tended to be male.

4. Some, but not all names mentioned in this article have been changed in order to grant some degree of anonymity, where requested by interviewees. The Society for Ethnomusicology suggests that “While interviewees should be given the option of anonymity, it is essential that ethics reviews take into account the need for and value of identifying consultants in most cases” (Society of Ethnomusicology 2013). Individuals interviewed were offered this option; however, relatively few took it. See, for example, Liz Tilley and Kate Woodthorpe (2011) for a discussion of the ethics of anonymisation. In addition, respondents were given the opportunity to review the article prior to submission.

5. I borrow the terminology, but not the precise usage, from Connolly (2005) via Packard and Sanders (2013).

6. Among the numerous mentions of “ikon” in the literature, Katherine Moody’s work is worth highlighting (Moody 2016). Moody focuses not primarily on sociological or ecclesiological concerns, but on understanding the work of influential thinkers in the Emerging Church movement in relation to Continental philosophy of religion. The thinking of “ikon’s” founder and former leader, Peter or Pete Rollins, and his various influences provide the paradigm for much of Moody’s book and she focuses on the more radical, but nonetheless influential element of the movement embodied by the “ikon” collective. Moody touches on themes such as the death of God/the big Other as guarantor of meaning, the move to religion without religion, the gap that is constantly present between faith and practice, and the purpose of ritual gathering as a transformative event that interrupts, intervenes, and reinvents. In looking at events she brings in work on suspended space and “Temporary Autonomous Zones” which are outside the control of authorities, the temporary suspension of identities which separate individuals in order to encounter the other, and practices of holding beliefs lightly. Her work offers a glimpse of one radical philosophical centre within the movement, discussing ideas that many within the scene are to some extent aware of but do not necessarily embrace in their entirety.

7. Ian Paisley was a Protestant politician and religious leader closely associated with ‘the troubles’ in Northern Ireland. His status as a figure of controversy can be clearly seen in Bruce’s (2001) article assessing claims that Paisley’s rhetoric might have served to motivate terrorism.

8. Peter Rollins, besides being the founder of “ikon”, is an influential philosopher, writer, and public speaker within the Emerging Church movement. He is known for interlinking deconstructive philosophy and Christianity. While influential, he is also considered to be on the more radical fringes of the movement (Marti and Ganiel 2014, 1).

9. It is important to highlight the contingency of these connections. While linking ambient music and religion, it is interesting that Till (2017) heads in a different direction, gesturing towards the potential relationship between ambient and altered states of consciousness.

10. See also Kassabian (2001, 2013) for a discussion of subjectivity in relation to ambient and background music as patterns of listening adjust to what she refers to as ‘ubiquitous’ music.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mark Porter

Mark Porter completed his doctorate in ethnomusicology at City University, London, in 2014. In 2015, he took up a postdoctoral position at the Max-Weber-Kolleg at the Universität Erfurt, Germany, to investigate concepts of resonance in relation to congregational music. He is co-founder and organiser of the biennial “Christian Congregational Music: Local and Global Perspectives” conference. He is the author of the book Contemporary Worship Music and Everyday Musical Lives (2016), of articles in the Church Music Quarterly, Ecclesial Practices, Liturgy, the Journal of Contemporary Religion, and the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, and of chapters in edited collections. CORRESPONDENCE: Max-Weber-Kolleg für kultur- und sozialwissenschaftliche Studien, Universität Erfurt, Postfach 900221, 99105 Erfurt, Germany.