Appropriating contemporary cultural forms, these churches are creating a new genre of worship music, restructuring the organizational character of institutional religion, and democratizing access to the sacred by radicalizing the Protestant principle of the priesthood of all believers. The typical new paradigm church has taken shape in the last several decades. Most of the members are relatively young. The church meets in a building that has no stained glass, no steeple, and no pews. In fact, most of these worship spaces are utterly utilitarian, and are either converted warehouses, theaters, or rented space in a school auditorium.
People come to church dressed as if they are heading to a picnic, including the pastors.
The music often sounds similar to what one might hear on a pop radio station, except that the lyrics are Christian, filled with statements of praise and worship. The sermon is typically informal and rather practical, and usually focused on exposition of a passage of Scripture. God is viewed as capable of supernatural intervention in our lives, and hence, these pastors have no difficulty affirming the miracles described in the Bible. They hold to a fairly literal view of Scripture. This worship environment is not legalistic and rigid.