Monday, September 01, 2008

Emerging?

Who would have thought how much trouble would emerge around the word "emerging."

Andrew Jones is one of the most widely read Christian bloggers, and blogs under the name, Tall Skinny Kiwi. Recently he polled his readers asking whether or not he should continue to use the phrase "Emerging Church." Follow the link to read the results, but also be sure to read the pros and cons of the term.

It sucks to think that some of the pain and conversations that I've had over the past couple years aren't isolated, but have been causing pain in all sorts of people's lives.

Andrew Jones writes:
Jenna White who is staying with us, told us that her missionary support had been stopped because a pastor in the Baptist church she attends in USA just preached an anti-emerging church sermon and they put a hold on the money they were going to send her. Funny thing was, it was the same denomination that I had just taught, and we have enjoyed a decade long relationship to this particular church


I think the most upsetting things to me about all of the "emerging" hoopla is that some people give more weight to an anti-emerging pastor's comments re: "Emerging Churches," than to years of relationships with people who they have been serving together with.

Sounds a lot like McCarthyism to me.

2 comments:

hestermom said...

Hey Ryan, I have not checked out the links yet, but I will. Just wanted to ask... did you happen to see the series that Mark Driscoll did, including the sermon on the Emerging Church? I found it very helpful and insightful. It is a very hard issue. I know that Pastors take their calling to "protect their flock" very seriously, so I can understand them being cautious. I think it is a heart issue... that instead of assuming that "emerging" means a certain thing, that we should discuss these things with people we're supporting or in partnership with. But I do agree, that if there is a point at which the foundational theology regarding Jesus Christ and who he is and what he came to accomplish comes into question, or any issues concerning the infallibility of God's Word, then any funding or partnership would have to be reconsidered.

hestermom said...

P.S. I would also say that if you are going to use the term emerging or emergent that you might want to be prepared to define what you mean... and since it is a source of controversy, I would wonder if it would be better to throw the term out and define more clearly what you mean. ??? Just a perspective.