Nice to worship, to worship nice!
[01.04.07]


The emerging church is about to gain mass media coverage. After years of being an interesting but ultimately niche spiritual-cultural experiment, TV broadcasters in the UK and Australia are joining forces to feature emerging church in a 'big brother' style virtual reality show.

'The Generation X Game' will focus on 12 members auditioned from emerging church communities across Britain. They will be invited to spend three weeks together in a specially converted disused church wired with cameras and microphones to watch and and record their every move as they struggle to create an authentic expression of Christianity for 21st Century culture. The show is set to replace 'Songs of Praise' - the long running BBC Christian show which media bosses have long thought promotes an outdated view of church culture.

The new show will have the same prime-time Sunday evening spot in the TV schedules but instead of a church filled with 100+ worshippers, viewers will tune in to see a dozen 30-something Christians play with tealights and data projectors whilst debating the impact of postmodernism on the core beliefs of Christianity. The producers have promised an A-list celebrity to host the show although rumours that Bruce Forsyth will be at the helm are yet to be confirmed.The BBC are hoping that the programme will add a healthy dose of much needed youth appeal to its portfolio of spiritual programmes. A spokesperson for the production company Boulderdash said:

"It's time the church had a make-over. Out go stuffy fifty year olds with their old hymns and dull clothes, in come hip young things with ipods and snow boarding t-shirts. This could totally change the public perception of church. Each week viewers will be able to vote out the person they think achieved the lowest level of cultural relevance in worship whilst the winner can look forward to a high paying job with a nationally known mission agency."

In a syndication deal with ABC of Australia, a sister show will run in Australia with the winners of both shows meeting for a one-off Christmas special in which they have to start a 24-7 prayer youth project in a 'difficult' urban setting over the Yuletide period. The working title for this festive programme is thought to be' Strictly Come All Ye Faithful'.

The Church of England have yet to comment on the reality tv idea although there has been a recent flurry of positive statments about emerging church and 'fresh expressions' issued from the Church's media relations department. The emerging church has often been associated with the use of contemporary technology in worship and sources close to Lambeth Palace suggest rumours are rife that a promotion deal with Apple Computers is being negotiated personally by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

'The Generation X Game' is due to air in 12 months time, the first episode due to be broadcast on Sunday 1st April 2008.