A Friend Of Emergent?
Some of you are probably wondering why I am returning time and again to the debate over the Emerging Church. Please know that for me these kinds of discussions are wonderfully thought provoking, and for that reason I keep up with them. This is one of the more highly visible theological debates going on in Christendom today, especially in the area of 'ecclesiology' - the study of the church.
Today I ran across this blog posting at MMI. I find this guy's take on Emergent pretty well reasoned. I really like the part nearing the end of the article where the author quotes a recent Relevant Magazine article:
"For a generation raised on televangelists, pedophile priests and megachurches, Emergent [Village] seems like a pretty good deal. It represents a new kind of Christian, a phrase coined by Emergent's unofficial patriarch, Brian McLaren. To those who have been burned by the Church, this kind of Christian is more open-minded, intelligent, loving and sophisticated than the Christians who came before. But this is sacred territory, and it’s easy to see why this makes many Christians uncomfortable. To Emergent’s critics—and it has many—the group is off base at best and heretical at worst. Emergent has no formal doctrine, and, thus, the group is quite mixed. ‘We have Texas Baptists who don’t let women preach, and we have lesbian mainline pastors in New England,’ says Tony Jones, Emergent’s national coordinator. ‘Emergent is an amorphous collection of friends who’ve decided to live life together, regardless of our ecclesial affiliations, regardless of our theological commitments. We want to follow Christ in community with one another. In a very messy way, we’re trying to figure out what that means.’”
Hmmm.
If you're like me and you enjoy the thought provocation - and for me it really does leave me in more wonder and awe of our God - then give the article a read. If you're so inspired as to chime in, post a comment. Are you a 'friend of Emergent'?
Today I ran across this blog posting at MMI. I find this guy's take on Emergent pretty well reasoned. I really like the part nearing the end of the article where the author quotes a recent Relevant Magazine article:
"For a generation raised on televangelists, pedophile priests and megachurches, Emergent [Village] seems like a pretty good deal. It represents a new kind of Christian, a phrase coined by Emergent's unofficial patriarch, Brian McLaren. To those who have been burned by the Church, this kind of Christian is more open-minded, intelligent, loving and sophisticated than the Christians who came before. But this is sacred territory, and it’s easy to see why this makes many Christians uncomfortable. To Emergent’s critics—and it has many—the group is off base at best and heretical at worst. Emergent has no formal doctrine, and, thus, the group is quite mixed. ‘We have Texas Baptists who don’t let women preach, and we have lesbian mainline pastors in New England,’ says Tony Jones, Emergent’s national coordinator. ‘Emergent is an amorphous collection of friends who’ve decided to live life together, regardless of our ecclesial affiliations, regardless of our theological commitments. We want to follow Christ in community with one another. In a very messy way, we’re trying to figure out what that means.’”
Hmmm.
If you're like me and you enjoy the thought provocation - and for me it really does leave me in more wonder and awe of our God - then give the article a read. If you're so inspired as to chime in, post a comment. Are you a 'friend of Emergent'?
technorati tags: emergent, emerging church
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