Last week I asked if the Emergent movement had stopped moving. Then Sunday, Feb. 15, the Denver Post ran a front-page feature about an Emergent church in the downtown area that brings both its Episcopal roots and a new style for Sunday night worship services that do something the nationwide denomination has failed to do lately—attract people.

This particular church, housed in a cathedral, sets up a projection screen, arms robed men with guitars and poetic license to bring "new life into this stuffy old building," according to one parishioner.

Predictably the feature included some name-calling. Church people are like that. Rev. Peter Eaton, St. John’s dean and rector, said that while he wants his church to grow he’s not "selling out" to the evangelical worship trend of praise bands in auditoriums. Hopefully the incense and jazz will be enough—oh and the theology. Eaton says he is proclaiming the Gospel. However, his denomination continues to struggle with how that Good News plays out for homosexuals.

Anglican and Episcopal groups have broken away and realigned themselves in America and Africa in order to come to terms with the dilemma of being under leaders who define sins differently. Bishop Rowan Williams told the Atlantic in its March issue that his aim is civility within the denomination, with the possibility of holding the communion together. His task may be impossible, however.

"I don’t think I’d registered how deep the culture wars could go," the Archbishop of Canterbury said.

For starters the culture wars extend beyond worship styles. According to Tony Jones, who the feature writer quoted as leader of the Emergent movement, (She must not have read my blog—or Christianity Today—or the Emergent Village blog. Are we really that insular? Talking so much to ourselves?) the Denver church is a poser since Emergent is more than an alternative worship style and since highly structured denominations simply don’t have the freedom to emerge.

However, at least one of the other churches that were named in the article as Emergent replied in the comment section that in fact they are not Emergent.

So we are left in relatively the same place we were last week. Emergent churches don’t appear to exist. Those that say they are Emergent, are upon closer scrutiny, only cleaning the outside of the cup, or perhaps just changing their china pattern to be more appealing. And to be fair, churches of various denominations and theologies do that, too.

But back to the Emergent search, even churches that others say are Emergent, refuse the label. Maybe they don’t want to be lumped in with the churches that are redefining sin. Maybe it’s just about the worship style.

Ultimately if churches are really going to use secular marketing they should learn the most critical piece of that science--that presentations are only as good as products. For churches that translates to worship only being as powerful as theology.

The best combo I’ve seen imparts the "everyone is welcome" message along with the "nobody’s sins are okay" idea. A church could work on getting those two right for the rest of its life and be busy enough not to worry about bands, incense, Emergent or traditional labels, because they will instead be worrying about what to do with the hoards of people arriving to hear more about forgiveness, grace and following Jesus.