Is Postmodern Guy Detrimental to Healthy Personal Development?
The follow-up post regarding the Emergent Roadshow is in the works. The later part of my week is slow blogging, because I turn my complete attention towards my ministry responsibilities for the coming Sunday. So, the follow-up is coming, but it’ll have to wait ’till Monday afternoon. ‘Till then, read the article Brian Ross (one of my Atlantic Conference Church planting coaches) published at Ginkworld. Read More »
A Church Roadshow that Belongs in the Basement
A Roadshow Made For The Basement
Warning: The following is a pretty sharp critique of a contemporary movement within the church called “Emergent” (AKA Emergent Village). It’s not a pleasant critique, as I have never been fully taken with what this movement represents and peddles. I did honestly investigate it, with an open mind. I read most of the books. I even donated a few times to Emergent Village. I gave it a disciplined and discerning shot. The most recent antics of Emergent representatives has made it clear to me: Emergent is not something with which I want to be involved, nor would I want my friends to be involved with it. Thus, my public critique. The basic, evangelical Gospel, prayerfully expressed, is enough. I do not need Emergent. If you are a fan of Emergent, then do us all a favor and move on; go enjoy a flower field somewhere. This post is not for you. You will not like it! If you are one of the Emergent “Big Three,” I have a challenge for you at the conclusion of this post. So, read on. Read More »
Why We’re Not Emergent Chapter Three
The third chapter of Why We’re Not Emergent is titled Bible: Why I Love the Person and Propositions of Jesus. This chapter is a sturdy critique of the postmodern hermeneutic employed and celebrated by Emergent aficionados such as Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Tony Jones, and Doug Pagitt. These four men, and their many followers, have discarded traditional terms, such as: authority, infallibility, inerrancy, revelation, objective, absolute, and literal. Also discarded, along with the terms themselves, is the rich and historic theology towards which the terms point. The author of chapter three also cites the fact that postmodern emergent types also “bemoan the fact that evangelicals, as they see it, employ the Bible as an answer book, scouring it like a phone book or encyclopedia or legal constitution for rules, regulations, and timeless truths” (70). This is an interesting chapter, indeed. Read More »
Why We’re Not Emergent Chapter Two
Why We’re Not Emergent chapter two thoughts and reflections are coming a tad late because I gave my original book to a friend and I had to go find another copy! Luckily, the local Berean Bookstore has about 20+ copies stuffed into the “Church” section of their shelves. And I was worried that it would be difficult to find! I grabbed a new copy and dove into chapter two early this morning, as I spent some much needed time with my coffee. Read More »
Why We’re Not Emergent Chapter One
The first chapter of Why We’re Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be begins with the story of two guitarists who possess different talents and levels of musical knowledge. One is a virtuoso; the other (the author) can just get by. The virtuoso, during a conversation with the author, says regarding the music scene of which he is so engaged and knowledgeable, “In the music scene it’s really cool to search for God. It’s not very cool to find him” (32). The author goes on to write, “That line has stuck with me ever since as an apt summary not just for the world of entertainment, but for spirituality in the West. The destination matters little. The journey is the thing” (32). Read More »
Introduction to Why We’re Not Emergent
Why We’re Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be is a sturdy but cordial critique of the Emergent Conversation. It is a critique that may just prove to be the final straw that breaks an increasingly unpopular and self-contradicting camel’s back. Why we’re Not Emergent is a really good read. I highly recommended it to anyone who wants to take a closer and deeper look at the emergent church movement. Read More »
An Excerpt from Tony Jones’ Emergent Frontier
It took a mere thirteen pages to bump into an interesting factoid in Tony Jones’ new book The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier. The following excerpt is unarguably true and seriously sad: Read More »
A De-centralized and Emerging Ecclesiology
There is an extremely important theological conversation emerging in the socially networked phenomenon aka the blogosphere. A word or two should be spent, however, on the phenomenon of the discussion itself, before taking a headlong dive into the specific subject matter being addressed. Why? The nature of the discussion is absolutely remarkable! It would be a most unfortunate loss if the participants in this discussion and their readers failed to recognize how theology is being engaged in this postmodern time in which we are living. The nature of this particular discussion, or how it is being directly engaged, is, therefore, as important as the specific subject matter itself. These are truly remarkable and de-centralized times.
Drew Ditzel, a student at Columbia Theological Seminary, is enrolled in a class called “Emerging Church Models.” Specifically, the question Drew is contemplating has to do with the role of professional leadership in Emerging Church Models. He picked several Christian bloggers and requested a post dedicated to this question and any peripheral issues. The result: several well written posts - deeply cognitive and emotive - concerning emerging ecclesiology, missional practice, philosophy of ministry, leadership, friendship, orthopraxy, etc. The most remarkable aspect of this event is, however, the way theology itself is being engaged. As important as our local communities are to us, we are, whether we realize it or not, simultaneously engaging and developing the theology expressed within these local communities globally. Think about that for a minute or two. Read More »
What is Incarnational Ecclesiology?
I’ve been collecting definitions for “Incarnational Ecclesiology,” mostly from Emerging and/or Emergent Church writers and bloggers. Why? Well, because I believe in it. I think we should live it. I believe that the Good News of Jesus Christ and the supernatural movement proceeding should organically bloom in a given context. In other words, it should grow from the inside. So, individuals called to missional activity should plant where they live and interact everyday with authentic friends and neighbors. Moving into a differentiated cultural context for the singular purpose of making converts or church-goers is not incarnational ministry, at least according to the following definitions: Read More »
What is an Emergent Unitarian Universalist Church!?!
This is the sort of thing that makes it very hard for me not to be very particular about the friends I keep: An Emergent Liberal Church. I deeply appreciate the open conversation to which the Emergent wing of the Emerging Church is dedicated, but seriously … a Unitarian Universalist Emergent Church?!? I journeyed pretty far behind that particular curtain, and what I discovered was and still is not pretty. Honestly, it is not. The flirtation between Unitarian Universalism and the Emergent wing of the Emerging Conversation is nearly enough for me to join the growing multitude and discount Emergent validity completely. Emergent isn’t Emerging, after all; said differently, the Emergent Village is only one expression of the larger Emerging Conversation. Read More »
