This is a delicate subject. I have good friends, that I respect highly, who are big fans of the emerging church. So I pray right now that I will be able to continue to show respect to them, while giving my opinion on the matter (and hopefully making some good points along the way!).
Team Redd posted a very interesting article and it got me to thinking. I really agreed with just about everything the author said. To expand on her ideas...
I have to admit that the "emerging church" folks do have a point in that the stereotypical, traditionalist church isn't "relevent" to twenty-somethings. It sure wasn't relevant to me when I was in college. I wanted to be cool, to have fun, and to hell with stuffy traditions. But I think the point that they miss is that what your average Gen-Xer finds "relevant" and what they are actually hungry for are two very different things. They may find things that are trendy, and even trendsetting, to be relevant, but they are dying inside for something else. They want to be cool because they want to be loved. They want to fit in because they are desperate for a support network.
What meant the most to me was that a family of Christians was willing to let potty-mouthed, messed-up me into their home and their lives. Yes, they weren't always very "hip and with it." But I didn't care because both before and after I became a Christian, they loved on me and nurtured me. (And incidentally, let me marry their son a few years later, those suckers! ;) Man I love my in-laws. The way that Jesus lives through them never ceases to amaze me.)
When Paul told us to be "all things to all people," did he mean for us to be fake? Is there a point to being more "openminded" and going through change if the focus is not so much to become more like Jesus but rather for the sake of attracting people to your church?
Let me stop and say that I don't think that all folks who like the ideas and paradigm shift of the emerging church have the sole desire to fill more seats. I do think their hearts are in the right place, and we do need to not get stuck in a 1960's rut. Good for them for being willing to speak up and shake things up. But moving on does not mean dismissing the values and sense of family that have been a part of the church since its inception.
If we are trying to be relevant to a culture that is in search of a mirage, what good are we to offer them that same false hope, just packaged differently?
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2 comments:
Hi Chandra,
You had some good insights about the emerging church. I, too, have some good friends among them, but as a whole I regret to say that I think they're losing the edge. Here's what I mean:
When I first encountered them, in 1999, they were hungry for a reformation. They wanted to change the world, and they were open to hear what you said as long as you could prove your point. They also wanted to hear all the evidence about the old things, to see if they agreed with them -- and not simply take traditional beliefs for granted.
I thought they had a great deal of potential, but also one problem. I remarked to my friend, "they are like a troop of very fine actors, boasting of the performance they will one day give. But for the moment, they do not have a script."
If they had a new perspective on studying the scriptures, and used that to drive their reformation, that would be one thing. But to change just for the sake of changing, just to be different, is disastrous.
The emerging church has lost their once-vital drivem and it is now just another social expression. It's about 'the conversation' and not the goal, so in other words they are somewhat aimless now. They don't even know what they hope to achieve.
Furthermore, they have become rather a closed society. They are open to you if you already know them, but they are not very open at all to meeting new people. I find there is an actual built in, knee-jerk suspicion of other Chrsitians now -- an other Chrsitians are beginning to reciprocate.
I'm sorry it's come to this, I wish they'd think this through with prayer and get back on track again.
Loren,
Thanks for the comment. It's a good warning for all of us to not become "closed societies" in our churches, no matter the denomination or philosophy.
And prayer is indeed the thing that can get us back on track when we fail! God's grace is not just sufficient---it's amazing, isn't it.
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