No one really talks about the emerging church anymore. This is understandable since the idea is over a decade old. I heard this term thrown around a lot a while back and I never understood what it really meant. I’m still not completely sure what it means. But then again that’s the point. It began as a movement that was defined by it’s inability to have definition.
I noticed something about the people that would reference it. Passion. Whether they were for it or against it, they were extraordinarily passionate about it. When people are extraordinarily passionate for or against something it intrigues me, and makes me wonder why.
That’s what fascinated me about Christianity.
Even though the emerging church is hard to define there are some claims that seem to be pretty consistent across the board. Whether we believe something is right or wrong tapping into the passion or motivation of others in history may help us turn lights on inside of ourselves.
Here are some of the consistent claims of the emerging church that seem to life off the paper.
1. Modernism derails the church from it’s purpose- creating a formulaic code for obtaining admission into heaven misses the mark and what Christianity is really about.
2. The Church Needed a New Image- Christianity is not as safe as people think. Systematizing Christianity and domesticating Jesus gives people the impression that we are something that we were never meant to be.
3. The Church hinders the Gospel- this seemed to more or less turn into a bashing session on the church for those who are embarrassed of the church. A decorpulation- not cutting off the head (Jesus), but the body (The Church).
4. More Relationships Less Apologetics- Dialogue over doctrine, conversations over controversy, alliance over argumentation. The idea is that the church is called into community not individualism, because emergent’s don’t think in terms of winning and losing.
5. Story is greater than Proposition- Emergents are suspicious of systematic theology. They foresee teaching the word of God in narrative form is desirable over a three point sermon complete with to do lists.
6. Embracing the Gray Area- Modernity emphasizes things being black or white and the idea that something must be either this or that troubles emergents.
7. Action Speaks Louder than Words- this aspect values the way that Christianity is lived out is even more important than the way its thought of or talked about.
Disclaimer: The above analysis is in response to the emerging or emergent church a movement distinguished from the Emergent Church which refers to a specific organization made up of pastors and leaders in the United States and United Kingdom known as the Emergent Village.
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