Ordinary Theology as Narratives: An Empirical Study of Young Peoples Charismatic Worship in Scotland

Peter Ward and Heidi Campbell

Department of Education and Professional Studies, School of Social Science and Public Policy, Kings College London, Waterloo Bridge Wing, Franklin-Wilkins Building, Waterloo Road, London SE1 9NH, Great Britain Email: peter.ward@kcl.ac.uk

The ordinary has become a central theme in recent research in Practical Theology. It is implicit in the turn towards practices.1 It is also there in the growing interest in qualitative research and it is clearly central to the hermeneutic understandings of Practical Theology. This interest in the ordinary has some similarities with work in the seventies and eighties on theologies that arise from below.2 The contemporary interest in the ordinary emphasises the extent to which the expression of Christian communities is already theological. Jeff Astley defines Ordinary theology as a lay theology. Lay because it is shared by the whole people of God the laos but it is also lay because it is non-expert.3 It typifies the person who has received little or no scholarly, academic theological education.4 Ordinary is not used as a negative term. Astley sees it as a reference to the usual or the normal kind of theology. It is the theology that we learn first. Ordinary theology is what we start with, a kind of primal knowing that co-exists with the more technical and systematized knowing that is learnt through processes of education. It is the natural theology for people who are on their knees and close to mystery. For ordinary theologians, their kneeling God-talk also incorporates the deepest value convictions on which they rest their lives and their deaths.5

1 Dorothy C. Bass / Craig Dykstra, eds,. For Life Abundant: Practical Theology, Theological Education and Christian Ministry, Grand Rapids (Eerdmans) 2008. 2 Theologies from below tended to see ordinary theology as something to be produced through processes of reflection and education. For examples of this see Robert J. Schreiter, Constructing Local Theologies, London (SCM Press) 1985, and Laurie Green, Lets Do Theology. A Pastoral Cycle Resource Book, London (Mowbray) 1990. 3 Jeff Astley, Ordinary Theology. Looking Listening and Learning in Theology, Aldershot (Ashgate) 2002, 62 63. 4 Jeff Astley / Ann Christie, Taking Ordinary Theology Seriously, Cambridge (Grove) 2007, 5. 5 Astley (n. 3), 76.

IJPT, vol. 15, pp. 226 242  Walter de Gruyter 2011

DOI 10.1515/IJPT.2011.035

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The Ordinary and the Ideal, the Documentary and the Particular The idea of a theology from below has been variously defined as popular religion, local theology, common religion, contextual theology or vernacular theology. These notions of ordinary religion or theology share a common construction that is based on an opposing other. So the popular or the vernacular or the contextual is defined against a powerful or formal or privileged or colonial construction of faith. This kind of dualism owes a great deal to what are broadly Marxist understandings of culture, i. e. that an economic base determines the shape of a cultural superstructure. Astley shares this reading of the religion and culture around opposing positions when he defines the ordinary over and against educated or academic theology.6 While these dualistic frameworks have continued to have some purchase in Practical Theology7 in other fields they have undergone significant challenge and revision.8 One of the leading critics from the left who championed a revisionist reading of culture was the literary critic Raymond Williams. In The Long Revolution published in 1961 Williams argued that culture should be understood as a complex interaction between three broad areas: the ideal, the documentary and the particular. The ideal is derived from the best of human thought and expression. The documentary refers to what is produced and remains from a particular period e. g. novels, songs or buildings. The particular relates to the social or in Williams terms, a particular way of life.9 Williams refuses to valorise the particular over the ideal or the documentary, rather he sees them as having an integral relationship. As he puts it, such analysis ranges from an ideal emphasis, the discovery of certain absolute or universal, or at least higher and lower, meanings and values, through the documentary emphasis, in which clarification of a particular way of life is the main end in view, to an emphasis which, from studying particular meanings and values, seeks not so much to compare these, as a way of establishing a scale, but by studying their modes of change to discover certain laws or trends, by which social and cultural development as a whole can be better understood.10

6 Astleys concern for ordinary theology has many echoes with Richard Hoggarts classic description of working class culture. (Richard Hoggart, The Uses of Literacy, London (Chatoo and Windus) 1957.) A similar kind of nostalgia is evident in Timothy Gorringe, Furthering Humanity. A Theology of Culture, Aldershot (Ashgate) 2004. 7 The various Liberationist approaches to Practical Theology are evidence of this. 8 These developments are set out clearly in Kathryn Tanner, Theories of Culture. A New Agenda for Theology, Minneapolis (Fortress Press) 1997. 9 Raymond Williams, The Long Revolution, London (Chatto and Windus) 1957 (Edition London [Pelican Books] 1965), 57 58. 10 Ibid., 58.

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The insistence that the particular should be read in relation to the ideal and documentary is an important corrective to the dualistic definition of ordinary theology. Williams work suggests that rather than being constructed over and against formal or educated theology the ordinary might actually built up in relation to these structures. In theological terms we might see the ideal as the idea of God, the Church or salvation in short the doctrinal or the theological. These ideals however are evident from previous generations in the documentary. Here we might have liturgies, formal doctrinal agreements, and systematic theology but we might also include liturgies, songs and prayers and indeed buildings and architecture. The particular is a way of talking about the way of life of ecclesial communities. In other words, it is the place where the ideal and documentary are lived. In Williams understanding both the ideal and the particular have a double inflection. The particular relates to a particular way of life in the present, but it also connects the documentary to previous particular ways of life; ways of life that are hidden to us except in the documentary. The ideal exists as what is selectively passed on in the documentary but it also exists as a conversation about changing notions of value and meaning among critics and academics. So it is not simply that ordinary theology is a particular way of life that exists in relation to the documentary and the ideal but the act of researching the particular contributes to a conversation around the ideal (or the theological). And just to complete the pattern we can add that this in turn gives rise to documents. Williams sees the relationship between the ideal, the documentary and the particular operating as a cultural tradition. Tradition however is not a static concept, rather it is a shifting and changing flow of relations that arises from the continual selection and re-selection of ancestors.11 These selective and interpretative processes are of significant interest, he says, when examining contemporary culture. Williams argues that in the analysis of contemporary culture, the existing state of the selective tradition is of vital importance, for it is true that some change in this tradition establishing new lines with the past, breaking or re-drawing existing lines is a radical kind of contemporary change.12 Williams is primarily concerned with literary culture but his work is equally suggestive for the understanding of ordinary theology. Williams approach to cultural traditions would suggest that as we pay attention to ordinary theology, what we will see are processes of selection and interpretation, which draw upon the ideal and the documentary and locate them in particular ways of life. Ordinary theology grows and develops through an interaction with the theological as it is expressed in the inherited documents of the tradition.

11 Ibid., 69. 12 Ibid.

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One of the key ways in which this selection and interpretation is lived in the Christian church is through worship. Ordinary Theology in the Scot Project There has been a growing interest in the study of charismatic and Pentecostal worship in recent years. A number of these studies touch on what might be seen as ordinary theology. Albrecht for instance discusses the significance of gesture and bodily expression in a number of different charismatic congregations in the United States.13 Mary McGann describes her study of a Black Catholic Church in San Francisco as liturgical ethnography. The link to ethnography is also evident in Thomas J. Csordas study of ritual in the Catholic Charismatic renewal.14 In Worship in the Spirit James Steven discusses charismatic worship in the Church of England through case studies of five different congregations.15 These kinds of studies, in that they embrace different kinds of qualitative research are orientated towards the ordinary but they make no direct connection to ideas of ordinary theology. Mark Cartledges Testimony in the Spirit draws explicitly on Astleys idea of ordinary theology.16 Cartledges work is an extended treatment of ordinary theology in Pentecostal Church in Birmingham. This paper and the SCOT Project, of which it is a part, contribute to this growing field of research into the theological expression of charismatic communities. The SCOT Project is distinct in that it is the first significant study to deal with charismatic worship in the Scottish Churches. The SCOT Project is a qualitative research project investigating the language and expressions used in extempore and informal prayer. The data from this study was recorded at evangelical youth worship and prayer meetings held in different parts of Scotland over a sixteen-month period in 2002 2003. The events that form part of the research include: Riding the Wave-Clan Community Youth Conference, Thurso, Edinburgh Christian Union Half Night of Prayer, Orkney Student Prayer Cell held in a private residence in Edinburgh, Aberdeen Alive, Shetland youth prayer meeting, Firestarters with Glasgow Prayer Network and Standing in the Gap held in Isle of

13 Daniel E. Albrecht, Rites in the Spirit, A Ritual Approach to Pentecostal/Charismatic Spirituality, Sheffield (Sheffield Academic Press) 1999. 14 Mary E. McGann, A Precious Fountain. Music in the Worship of and African American Catholic Community, Collegeville (Liturgical Press) 2004, xv. 15 James H. S. Steven, Worship in the Spirit. Charismatic Worship in the Church of England, Carlisle (Paternoster Press) 2002. 16 Mark J. Cartledge, Testimony in the Spirit. Rescripting Ordinary Pentecostal Theology, Aldershot (Ashgate) 2010.

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Lewis. In all approximately forty hours of youth prayer were recorded at the fourteen events.17 The initial analysis of these events was focused on theological metaphors and themes.18 Through detailed coding across the data set we were able to identify phrases and metaphors that were regularly being used as the young people were praying and worshipping. From the forty hours of recordings we began to see a pattern of a familiar or vernacular theology that was held in common by young people from all over Scotland. It is a characteristic of charismatic and evangelical prayer and worship that liturgies are not written down. So at the events all forms of spoken communication were extemporary. It was this spoken element that we were capturing in the recordings. This means that this material offers a snap shot of typical turns of phrase, ways of speaking and styles of prayer at a particular time. To use Williams terms we were able to see changes in cultural tradition as it was taking place through selection and interpretation. The most frequently used theological metaphors and themes in order of their frequency of use were: Gods Presence, Locality/Geography, prayer, restoration, worship and dance, army, forgiveness and generation. The initial analysis of these data findings connected the themes to expression and identity. In this paper we trace the way that these themes fall into two distinct groups or narratives. The first we call the narrative of intimacy and the second the narrative of revival. The most common theme was Gods presence, noted 58 times in 13 of the 14 meetings, and this theological metaphor had two related parts. First

17 In the end approximately forty hours of youth prayer were recorded in fourteen locations across Scotland in 2002 and 2003. Meetings which were recorded, and referred to in the article, were as follows: Riding the Wave-Clan Community Youth Conference (held at St Andrews Church of Scotland, Thurso) Feb 2002 [Thurso, 2002]; Edinburgh Christian Union Half Night of Prayer (held at Community Church, Edinburgh) April 2002 [CUEdinburgh, 2002]; Edinburgh 24/7 Prayer (held at private Residence in Edinburgh) April 2002 [24/7-Edinburgh, 2002]; Orkney Student Prayer Cell (held in private residence Edinburgh) June 2002 [Orkney Prayer, 2002]; Aberdeen Alive (Prayer Outreach with Firestarters held in Aberdeen) June 2002 [Aberdeen, 2002]; Shetland youth prayer meeting (held in Methodist Church in Scalloway) July 2002 [Shetland, 2002]; St Giles Noon Prayer (Edinburgh) Oct & Nov 2002 [StG-Edinburgh, 2002]; Edinburgh 24/7 Prayer (held at Raven Center-St Ninians Edinburgh) March 2003 [24/7-Edinburgh, 2003]; Riding the Wave Conference (held at Stirling Baptist Church) March 2003 [Stirling, 2003]; City Life youth group (held in private residence in Edinburgh) April 2003 [CL-Edinburgh, 2003]; Youth Prayer for the Nation gathering (held in private residence in Greenock) May 2003 [Greenock, 2003]; Firestarters with Glasgow Prayer Network (held at Findlay Memorial Church of Scotland in Glasgow) April 2003 [Glasgow, 2003]; Standing in the Gap (Barvas Church of Scotland (held in Isle of Lewis) June 2003 [Lewis, 2003]. 18 Heidi Campbell / Gordon Lynch / Pete Ward, Can you Hear the Army?. Exploring Evangelical Discourse in Scottish Youth prayer Meetings, Journal of Contemporary Religion 24 (2009), 2, 217 234.

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was the use of language acknowledging God as present in the meeting, for example Thank you for being with us and for giving us words of redemption, hope, light and peace.19 Second there were instances of young people highlighting a desire for intimacy with God, and to have some tangible experience of this presence, such as please meet with us, we want a glimpse of your glory.20 Perhaps reflecting the fact that the events were prayer and worship related prayer itself was another important theme occurring in 13 of the 14 recordings. In all there were 36 references made to the importance of prayer and calling others to commit more time to prayer. These ranged from simple requests directed towards God, teach us to pray21 to spiritual explanations of what happens when people pray, As we pray we release things over the city.22 Many references carried with them a belief that prayer can impact those present, to break the chains of those who feel they cant pray today, as well as those outside the meeting, we are crying tonight that our friends might know you.23 Linked to prayer there are two further themes; worship, and forgiveness. On 55 occasions during 10 of the recorded sessions, reference was made the idea of worship and its connection to prayer. There was a noticeable emphasis on the need or desire for youth to have the freedom to openly express themselves in their personal or corporate worship. The inference was that through worship defined as shouts of praise to God along with spontaneous singing or dance/movement would change the individuals present as well as youth across the nation. Prayers for increased freedom of expression were common, such as worship breaks down strongholds, Lord free us to worship24 and Are we ready? Its time to shout to the Lord.25 10 references specifically highlighted the need for dancing as a form of prayer to be expressed, such as its time to dance on injustice, to do something in the heavenlies26 and lets make a prophetic statementwe will dance upon injustice and dance unto God.27 Twenty tracks during 8 recordings highlighted the theme of repentance and forgiveness, both at personal and corporate levels. When forgiveness was mentioned, it most often done in relation to calling those present at the meeting to forgive others so they could find freedom in Christ. One poignant example was a university students testimony of her journey to be able to forgive members of the IRA
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Glasgow, 2003. Lewis, 2003. Greenock, 2003. Glasgow, 2003. 24/7-Edinburgh, March 2003. Glasgow, 2003. Lewis, 2003. Stirling, 2003. Glasgow, 2003.

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who had murdered her father in Northern Ireland. She prayed for the group present for the grace to be able to forgiveeven those who would murder our families.28 Forgiveness also surfaced in relation to prayer for the nations, such as forgive the pride of our nation of Scotland29 or the church please forgive us, as the church for our disunity.30 Forgiveness focused on calls for personal holiness, and to repent for ones own sins and the sin of the nation. The themes of Gods Presence, Worship, Prayer and Forgiveness seem to represent a core theological style or sensibility among the young people. We have termed this style a narrative of intimacy. Alongside the narrative of intimacy there is another cluster of metaphors. We have called this the narrative of revival. The narrative of revival is seen in the four remaining themes that were most frequently found in the prayers of these young people. In 11 of the 14 sessions, we found prayers that were making reference to a specific geographical location in Scotland. One-third of the 58 prayers related to this theme focused on praying for specific cities, such as, may Aberdeen come to know you31 or specific area, please open eyes in Shetland to you.32 The most common prayer in this category were prayers for the nation of Scotland: for spiritual renewal, this is the time of Gods favour & salvation for Scotland 33 ; reconnecting with Scotlands spiritual past, may prayer becoming the rock of the nation again34 ; or requests for change in the nation make us aware that choices we make in this time will determine our nations future.35 Closely linked to location was the idea of restoration. The theme of restoration was found 26 times in 8 of the prayer meetings. This theme focused on God restoring the broken lives and situations of those willing to repent of their own sin and the sin of the nation. Prayers calling for repentance often transitioned into a focus on personal or national restoration. One prayer meeting began with commentary stating, tonight is about repentance, get into pairs and say sorry on behalf of friends and the city and later transitioned to prayers, proclaiming a promise to young people God will restore the land & free its captives.36 Different areas were highlighted as in need of being restored, such as a prayer to Re-establish your word in the hearts in Orkney.37

28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

24/7-Edinburgh, 2002. 24/7-Edinburgh, 2002. Stirling, 2003. Aberdeen, 2002. Shetland, 2002. Glasgow, 2003. 24/7-Edinburgh, 2003. Stirling, 2003. Glasgow, 2003. Orkney Prayer, 2002.

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Central to the narrative of revival are two closely related themes, Army and generation. In 7 sessions, 36 references were made to the idea of young people or the Church in Scotland being an army. This includes reference to youth being in a battle, such as request to give us wisdom to know when to take up the sword or the need for a Church of holy warriors to arise for Gods purposes Father make us a church of warriors.38 The army theme was both personal and corporate, and used as a tool to pray for specific people to be empowered, such as Father make Fiona a freedom fighter, setting the captives free.39 In 7 recording sessions, 16 examples of prayers focused on the theme of reconciling the generations surfaced. These prayers dealt especially with asking God to heal broken relationships between mothers, fathers and children. Often direct or inferred references to Malachi 4, verse 5, which speaks of turning the hearts of the fathers to their children.40 The term generation was also use as way to describe youth as a corporate entity, such as describing those present as the generation or our generation. The term was used in a way to create cohesion and common identity of the youth present at the meeting, such as O God, let us be generation that seeks to see your face.41 It was also used by adults present at these meetings as a way to speak about their potential as a group, such as You could be the generation to really, really, really hear the voice of God.42 The generation theme centred on a corporate identity that had spiritual potential and promise.

The Narratives in Context In The Book of Jerry Falwell Susan Friend Harding observes the process whereby fundamentalist preaching evolves and changes.43 Her work describes how preachers combine vernacular turns of phrase with biblical material in such a way that they create distinctive and innovative turns of phrase, stories, and particular theological emphasises. These are in turn picked up by members in the congregation and indeed by other preachers. So through this communicative process what is ostensibly a conservative theology actually evolves and changes in profound ways. The change that comes about through these processes of expression can happen over a quite short period of time.44 In the worship and prayer meetings that form part of
38 39 40 41 42 43 24-7-Edinburgh, 2002. Greenock, 2003. Greenock, 2003. Thurso, 2002. CL-Edinburgh, 2003. Susan Friend Harding, The Book of Jerry Falwell. Fundamentalist Language and Politics, Princeton (Princeton University Press) 2000. 44 Ibid., 12.

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this study we see a very similar process happening, as young people pick up on distinctive phrases and emphases. The two narratives that we have identified however are not distinct to these young people. The particular and the ordinary in the evangelical and charismatic ecclesial culture are linked to a flow of communication.45 The events that we recorded in Scotland form part of much broader media generated networks of theological expression and creativity. So there is an interchange of speakers and worship leaders not only in Scotland, but also with groups in the UK and in the US that is evident in the data. Speakers and worship leaders bring with them distinct forms of theological expression in songs, prayer, prophecies and sermons. This flow of imagery and expression is seen in the two narratives identified in the themes. The narrative of intimacy shows echoes with the distinctive theology of worship and intimacy that is associated with John Wimber and made popular in the United Kingdom through the New Wine and Soul Survivor Networks.46 The narrative of revival draws on ideas of spiritual warfare and the concept of revival taking place in the land. This narrative exhibits the theology of Restorationist or New Church Groups.47 The analysis of the SCOT data shows that these narratives co-exist in the expression of the young people. In the prayer meetings and worship events young peoples expression seems to draw upon both of these clusters of narratives. In order to explore the theory that these are two different narratives that are co-existing in the ordinary expression of these young people we decided to look at these narratives in their context by carrying a further and more detailed analysis of one of the events that formed part of the original data set. For this next phase in the research we chose an event that took place at a youth conference in Thurso, one of the most northerly cities on the Scottish mainland. The event was called the February Gathering of the Nameless and Faceless and it was aimed at teenagers and university students. It was run under the auspices of New Wine Scotland, an organization which sponsors conferences and training events for Charismatic wings of traditional churches. New Wine Scotland has an annual conference called CLAN Gathering. The gathering attracts around 4,000 people and it is held in St Andrews. The event in Thurso was run by the CLAN Community youth advisory team and hosted at by a local Church of Scotland parish that was pastored by a New Wine Scotland board member. The youth conference was organized by young people for young people although most of
45 See Pete Ward, Participation and Mediation. A Practical Theology for the Liquid Church, London (SCM Press) 2009, also Pete Ward, Affective Alliance or Circuits of Power. The Production and Consumption of Contemporary Charismatic Worship in Britain, International Journal of Practical Theology 9 (2005), 1, 25 39. 46 See Pete Ward, Selling Worship, London (SCM Press) 2005. 47 Andrew Walker, Restoring the Kingdom. The Radical Christianity of the House Church Movement, Guildford (Eagle) 1998.

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the speakers were adults of different age groups. This was done deliberately as organizers described this as a tri-generational time of blessing and impartation and so speakers were chosen accordingly: a 90 year old man who had been a part of the Hebridean Revivals in the late 1940s, a pastor and New Wine leader in his late 40s, an American pastor with connections to Scotland in his late 30s and the leader of Clan Community in his early 20s. The event took place over three days in February 2003 and it focused on times of teaching and fellowship. There was a main worship event called Worship & Waiting held the Saturday night at the local town hall and it was this event that was recorded as part of the SCOT Project. The February Gathering of the Nameless and Faceless was chosen firstly because it was one of longer recordings in the data set. The main worship event on the Saturday evening lasted for around six hours from 7pm to 1am. Secondly it was selected because during this extended time of worship the two narratives, which we have identified as being typical of the expression of the Scottish young people in the survey, were present in significant ways. A further reason for the selection of this worship time was that, while dance is a regular theme in the SCOT data, it was only at the Thurso event that we saw extended periods of prophetic dancing taking place. Alongside the dancing we also wanted to include sung worship in our research. In this worship event there were extended periods of singing. This enabled us to contextualize the themes that we had observed in the spoken words at all of the events within their original musical setting. Selling Worship surveys the ordinary theology of worship songs in the United Kingdom.48 Changes in this ordinary theology over a thirty year period are identified through the content analysis of the most popular and widely used song books. What is evident is that roughly every five or ten years the metaphors and theological topes that are most commonly used in songs alter in significant ways. In Selling Worship the idea of narratives was also used to describe the different kinds of encounter with God that are described and enacted in and through the worship songs. The book argues that the narrative of encounter with God shifts and changes in substantial and quite radical ways between the different songbooks. The two clusters of themes that we have observed in the SCOT data, i. e. the narrative of intimacy and the narrative of revival, have their counterparts in the songbooks discussed in Selling Worship. The narrative of intimacy corresponds closely to key theological themes in the Wimber linked Songs of the Vineyard Vol 1 and the Soul Survivor Song Book. Here the worshipper is situated in a journey into intimacy with God through forgiveness and sacrificial worship.49 The narrative of revival by contrast with its themes of location, restoration, generations, and army is very similar to

48 Ward (n. 46), 121 162. 49 Ibid., 145 162.

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way that encounter with God is characteristically constructed in Songs of Fellowship Volume 1. Here military metaphors, marching on the land and the restoration of the temple and the nation are recurring tropes in the songs.50 In the Thurso worship event we see evidence of both of these narratives. But the narrative of intimacy is most strongly associated with the songs that are sung at the start and at the end of the event. The narrative of revival however is present in the prophecies, sermon and most significantly in the times of prophetic dancing. Alongside these two narratives, drawn from the themes in the SCOT data, we also found a third cluster of themes. These reference more formal doctrinal metaphors. We have called this the doctrinal narrative. This narrative is evident in scattered and small references to God, Jesus, biblical material, salvation, and sin. This material was not picked up in the initial coding of the SCOT data, partly because it is so varied that it does not register in the coding, but also because it is embedded in more distinctive ways of speaking. By contextualizing the initial findings in the single event and also looking at the worship songs as well as the spoken material this doctrinal narrative became more evident as a key contextual element in the ordinary theology of these young people. The remainder of this paper we explore the relationship between the three narratives, the doctrinal, intimacy and revival, through a detailed discussion of the Thurso event.

The Pattern of the Worship The performance of worship at the Thurso event moves through a series of distinct moments. These moments structure the worship around particular forms of expression and representation. Some of these elements are built from pre-existing composition e. g. the songs and the talk. Around these set elements there are a number of spontaneously developed improvisations and interactions. The dances for instance are free flowing improvised expressions of worship. At the same time while the songs and the talks appear to be planned they also include elements of spontaneity. This spontaneity is shown in patterns of interaction between the worship leader, the musicians and the participants. The pattern of the worship emerges from this interaction between pre-planned or composed elements and improvised interactive moments, which develop periodically throughout. What follows is a brief description of the structure of the act of worship.
Singing The meeting starts with an extended period of communal singing. Prophecy
50 Ibid., 135 141.

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A male leader gives a lengthy prophecy. Talk The prophecy leads directly into a 30 minute talk based on Genesis 32: 22 30 Jacob Wrestling with the Angel. Ministry Time The congregation are asked to turn to their friends and pray. Singing A second worship leader takes over at this point. The First Dance The worship leader introduces the idea dancing on the wave. A bodhran, a celtic drum, is added to the band. The group is invited to take their partners for an informal celidh. This is accompanied by whooping and clapping. Message An American steps in front of the band and gives a message of exhortation he says that worship songs should come from their own culture and be birthed out of their heart. He says, I wanted to hear the songs of Scotland.51 The Second Dance The rock instrumentation of the band is supplemented by the addition of a fiddle and penny whistle and the drum kit is broken up as several hand drummers join creating a 5 person drum chorus. The band begins with an extended improvised Scottish Jig. The new worship leader leads the groups into dancing by singing a series of short improvised lyrics. These lyrics are sung, chanted and intoned over the changing improvised Scottish Dance music. The musicians appear to interact and respond to the leading of the singer. A series of ritual moments form part of the flow of the dance. This improvised dance continues for approximately 2 hours. Singing The original Worship leader returns and six more worship songs are sung. Prayers and Words A series of short prayers and messages focusing on what God has done, personal spiritual change and taking these changes into the rest of the weekend are said. Notices
51 Thurso 2002.

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Finally a number of notices are given concerning the arrangements and schedule for the rest of the weekend.

The act of worship follows a set liturgical structure common within contemporary Charismatic worship.52 This pattern is based around an extended period of singing, a message or sermon, and finally a time of ministry in the Spirit. The ministry time will usually be quite lengthy and lead back into another time of singing and praise while ministry carries on. At the Thurso worship event this pattern is supplemented by the inclusion of the two extended periods of improvised music, singing and dancing. Here the dancing acts as an additional enacted and embodied ritual performance. Analysing Songs: The Narrative of Intimacy and the Doctrinal Narrative The Thurso worship event is primarily shaped around worship songs. The meeting starts with the standard worship set, in this case six songs. Following the sermon and the ministry time there are a further three songs, then after the two dances there is another extended time of singing. In addition to this within each of the dances, songs and singing shape and direct the ritual flow of the group experience. The songs therefore not only form the bulk of the act of worship, they also appear to generate a direction or shape to the worship. The songs are sung in a series of repetitions. The first song for instance Open the Eyes of my Heart53 consists of three distinct sections: Verse, chorus, and bridge. The song, if it is sung from beginning to end, is really very short. In this act of worship, however, each section is repeated multiple times. Repetition may take the form of one line being sung over and over, or one of the sections, e. g. the bridge, being repeated. In this way the lyrics of this bridge section Holy, Holy, Holy which are repeated three times in the original composition are turned into a more extended chant. Repetition in the songs is related to a directional flow, which operates both within individual songs, and during the extended time of singing. The songs develop a movement between steady crescendo and extended diminuendo. The dynamic between praise and intimacy and the instrumental and vocal patterns, which accompany these phases, are repeated throughout the act of worship. They develop an interaction between songs as structure and as particular improvised expression. In the praise sections this is mostly expressed in various forms of what we term vocal surfing. Vocal surfing refers to the exclamatory shouting by the worship leader over the top of

52 See Steven (n. 15), 91 134. 53 Paul Baloche, Integritys Hosanna! Music / ASCAP, 1997.

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the communal song. In the intimate moments fragmented and stripped down chords are accompanied by improvised (mainly female) harmonies and singing in tongues. In the two dance sections of the act of worship this pattern of exultant praise and quiet intimacy also serves to shape the ritual actions and the way that the worship flows through particular moments. Content analysis of the songs reveals two interrelated narratives. In common with many contemporary worship songs those used during the Thurso event do not have a specifically doctrinal focus. Rather they set traditional evangelical doctrine within an overarching narrative of intimacy. This narrative is repeated throughout the songs and also in the way the songs structure the worship event. The narrative of intimacy presents worship as a relational dynamic in which the worshipper is positioned as bowing down and acknowledging an embodied relationship with God, who is exalted in worship. Worship therefore involves honoring God by doing service to and for him. In worship the worshipper is accepted and received into an unequal and an undeserved relationship based on forgiveness. The relationship, which emerges however, is intimate and loving, and leads to the transformation of the worshipper. The songs carry this narrative as a dominant theme in the worship. Scattered throughout the songs however there are the fragments of a more traditional evangelical theology. So for instance the songs have isolated doctrinal references such as Lord God Christ Father, Holy Spirit, Risen One and Saving One and Jesus. The saving action of Christs death on the cross forms the focus of two of the songs and Jesus is specifically identified as the saving one and risen one. So while evangelical doctrine may not be a primary content of the song lyrics it remains as a point of reference that is assumed rather than explained. The songs operate as the dominant overall framework for the act of worship. The worship starts and ends with an extended period of singing. After the sermon and ministry time there is another short period of singing and then at the close of the meeting there is again an extended period of singing. The narrative of intimacy is therefore established as starting point and the finishing point for the event but within this overarching narrative another competing narrative is also animated in performance as the young people are worshipping. This is the narrative of revival. The Narrative of Revival The narrative of revival is most evident in the Thurso event in the sermon, the prophecies and in a extended form in the two dances. The dances are a curious mixture of a Scottish Celidh and improvised prophetic ritual. The first period of dancing draws specifically upon the Celidh as a form with people being invited to take their partners and form a circle. The dancing

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then starts but it is interrupted when the band start to play a contemporary worship song. The song however is the wrong rhythm for Scottish Traditional dancing. This dissonance between the expression of the charismatic subculture and Scottish culture is then taken up in a message given from the stage by an American who identifies himself as Ellies Father. His message challenges the group to search for the songs of Scotland.54 The musicians take up this challenge and they start to play an improvised Scottish jig. The fiddle and the whistle are a particular feature of this change in musical genre and they have not featured in the worship before this point. With the music as a backing the dance develops as a shared interaction between sung message and embodied ritual. The dance starts with an improvised lyric He is coming chanted loudly by a young man over the jig. This picks up on a prophecy given before the talk that talks about the coming of the Holy Spirit and the marriage of the Church the bride of Christ.55 The coming of the Lord needs preparation. The worship leader develops this theme as he improvises his sung chant. He tells those gathered that the people must prepare the way. Preparation relates to the idea that Scotland must find its voice. The worship leader continues to improvise a song around the Scottish Jig.
We know your love, we dance for you and we need you Lord and we find our voice, our voice is for you and we have your voice, our dance is for you and we have our dance.56

Then the people are encouraged by the leader to sing aloud any song that God has given them. A number of people begin to take up their own improvised songs in response to this invitation. As the group starts to dance the worship leader explains that the dance will crush the head of the enemy. At this point the music builds and a woman is heard to scream. The scream is intense and accompanied by shouting. Over the music a female voice is heard to shout:
Oh Lord, we are your warrior bride, we are your warrior bride.57

The dance is a kind of spiritual warfare, which echoes the first dance where the song lyric Were dancing on injustice is used as a repetitive chant at the end of the dance. The metaphor of warfare is evoked as an image of the spiritual life is also present in the talk. Here on two occasions the movie Gladiator is referred to. Worshipping within the narrative of revival is seen as being about both warfare and intimacy. After about an hour of dancing there are high pitched screams audible from people in the congregation. This follows the improvised lyric O Lord GodThe lion that well
54 55 56 57 Thurso 2002. Thurso 2002. Thurso 2002. Thurso 2002.

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follow, the lion of the tribe of Judah. After the screams the worship leader takes up the theme of the Lion. He sings The lion is in our midst. The lion is in our midst. The lion is in our midst. Hes shaking off his mane. Hes shaking off his mane. The fragrance of the Lord, the fragrance of the Lord, is coming to this The fragrance of the Lord.58 The image of the Lion is closely linked to that of the marching army and the army imagery is in turn linked to the idea of a restored and united Church. This particular theme is enacted within the dance in two prophetic rituals. The first relates to the unity of the Church. Earlier in the dance what are called, Mothers and Fathers are asked to gather around the Sons and Daughters. The older members are asked to form a protective ring around the younger worshippers. The imagery of the army is enacted in a lengthy period of marching. Here the band adapts their Scottish jig to a more martial rhythm. The worship leader sings: Hear the army march. Marching with a limp, marching with limp, marching with a limp. Can you hear the army?59 The dance enacts the narrative of revival in vivid and embodied ways but in the worship event it is bracketed by the two extended times of worship. In the songs in these worship sets the narrative of intimacy, and the doctrinal narrative that is also carried in the songs, is much more evident. The narrative of intimacy appears to operate as an orientating point for the worship. It is the comfortable point of departure and the reassuring place of return for the worshippers. Alongside it the narrative of revival appears to be more adventurous and risky. These two narratives seem therefore to coexist but they also carry within them a kind of tension or even conflict. Ordinary Theology and Narratives Analysis of the SCOT project demonstrates how empirical work into charismatic worship can contribute to the growing field of ordinary theology. Through research into acts of worship we are able to see how the particular is constructed through the selection and interpretation of groups and individuals. By looking at one worship event we have observed these processes in action. The analysis in this paper has centred on how ordinary theology is structured around clusters of metaphors or narratives. These narratives however do not arise simply from below they come from the selective choice of theological metaphors which are carried in the documentary. The documentary here does not just relate to the Bible or other theological literature, it also includes the wider flow of charismatic communication seen in the way that festivals, worship leaders, preachers, prophets, and publisher reproduce and circulate particular styles of theology. So the par-

58 Thurso 2002. 59 Thurso 2002.

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ticular is always interacting with these wider elements. The research indicates that the narrative of intimacy seems to be a key location or the decisive point of departure and return for the young people at the Thurso event. The narrative of revival on the other hand seems to be a more adventurous and out of the ordinary form of expression. There is some evidence that these two narratives rest slightly uneasily with each other in the single worship event. So while the initial findings of the SCOT project might be read as an indication that there is a single theological style of expression among Scottish charismatics, the analysis of the Thurso event suggests that while these might co-exist they may well do so slightly uneasily. Finally there is the observation that while the narrative of intimacy and the narrative of revival are clearly the dominant forms of expression among these young people there is also another, perhaps slightly hidden doctrinal narrative in this particular expression of ordinary theology. The doctrinal narrative seems to suggest that formal or more systematic forms of theological expression are carried within the ordinary. So while this doctrinal element may be in an abbreviated form it can be read as the persistence of doctrinal formulations within the processes of particular selection and interpretation. Abstract
Through a detailed analysis this paper demonstrates the usefulness of investigating public worship events as a site for studying the construction of ordinary theology. By identifying the theological narratives being enacting and affirmed by a specific group in such contexts helps strengthen our understanding of the documentary of a specific community. It also illustrates how the particular of a given culture is linked to and used to situate the larger narrative tradition. We suggest more studies of narrative and flow of worship events would benefit Practical Theology to help reveal new aspects of construction and flow of ordinary theology for evangelical and charismatics groups.

Zusammenfassung
Mit Hilfe einer detaillierten Analyse veranschaulicht dieser Beitrag den Wert der Erforschung ffentlicher Gottesdienste fr die Auseinandersetzung mit der Entstehung und Vermittlung von Laien-Theologie. Durch die Rekonstruktion der theologischen Erzhlungen, die durch die Handlungen der an solchen Ereignissen Beteiligten erzeugt und besttigt werden, gelingt es, das theologische Verstndnis einer spezifischen Gemeinschaf und seiner Formen der Darstellung besser zu verstehen. Auerdem wird so illustriert, wie das Spezifische einer gegebenen Kultur mit allgemeineren narrativen Traditionen verbunden ist und auf diese bezogen wird. Es wird deshalb vorgeschlagen, weitere Studien ber die Erzhlungen und den Ablauf von Gottesdiensten durchzufhren, damit die Praktische Theologie gewinnbringend neue Aspekte der Konstruktion und Gestaltung der Laien-Theologie im Bereich evangelikaler und charismatischer Gruppierungen zu entdecken vermag.

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