BillHobbs.com - Blogging about politics and media from Nashville.

June 2, 2006

The Emergent Church and Blogs

Ed Dodds forwarded me the text of a fascinating article in the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, on the "Emergent Church" movement, titled "Postmodern Christianity: Emergent Church and Blogs."

Early in the 21st century it is apparent to us that new technologies, as well as other factors, have given rise to new responsive behaviors within various faith communities, which once again alter the religious landscape. For this reason we have focused this year's brief theme chapter on "Emergent Church and Blogs," two interconnected phenomena of a new century.

...The Emergent Church or EC, as it is frequently called by proponent and critic alike, is a many-faceted expression of Christian faith. Sometimes called the ..emerging church" or the "emerging church movement," its origins lie in late 20th century Protestantism. Its participants like to refer to it as a "conversation" rather than a "movement" although it increasingly has some of the hallmarks of the latter. Characterized by a robust energetic and growing online and hardcopy literature, the EC is a vigorous attempt to shape a Christianity responsive to contemporary culture. Fueled by postmodern philosophic perspectives, the conversation centers around deconstructing inherited faith and practice and reconstructing a Christianity centered around:

Christocentrism - following closely and emulating the person and ministry of Jesus

Narrative theology - in which truth is found in the story not in repair to doctrinal standards

Missiological focus - which challenges extant forms and understandings of church and in imitation of Christ, finds identity in service to a broken world

Responsive Worship forms - the place of worship is central to the EC drawing from apostolic as well as contemporary sources to forge a diverse worship through experimentation.

Yet, any attempt to summarize this loosely confederated conversation is perhaps premature since it is, well, emerging still. What is clear is that while elusive to easy definition, it is a significant development in Christian thought and practice in which reductionism and propositional theology have been displaced for a broader embrace.

The EC understands itself as an ongoing conversation. Evidence for the truth of this claim can be found in proliferation of blogs and web sites dedicated to this discourse. At the conclusion of the introduction to his book A New Kind of Christian, Brian McLaren directs readers to www.findingfaith.org as a portal into the conversation.

Shaped by today's media and more at home with blogs than books, the EC is nothing if not collaborative and dialogical...

Update: Please do not miss the first reader comment, below, which expresses thoughts I am in 100 percent agreement with with.

Comments

I posted this on my website last week.

Job 32:9 - It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right.

I think it was during the 1960's that the phrase "generation gap" was first used. All over the world, young people were rebelling against the institutions of their day by dropping out of school, confronting the authorities, and staying away from church. For those of us who can remember, the summer of 1968 seemed to be full of riots on the streets, sit-ins on campuses, and protest marches in every large town. It was amazing to see young people challenge society in every continent under the sun. It was a time of uncertainty, but there was also an excitement about the radicalism those times produced.

There's a new movement happening again, spear-headed by young people, who are casting off the old ways of doing church. They're calling themselves the "emerging church" and our denominations and religious institutions need to start listening to their voices. These young people are rejecting the hype and hypocrisy of church styles that no longer connect with their spirits. They are joining together in small groups, worshiping in their homes, and studying scripture together in online chat rooms. They are developing a simple liturgy and adopting a life style that won't give in to societal or ecclesiastical pressure. They are the closest church movement to reflect New Testament Christianity and, as they emerge, our monolithic, classical, and tri-centennial structures will begin to crumble and fall.

As Elihu says to Job in this passage, "It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right."

The question we must face today is this: Are we preparing our churches for this emerging faith community in the days ahead, or are we still trying to uphold traditions that are dying on the vine?

Posted by: John Stuart at June 2, 2006 5:28 PM

As a Mennonite I'm delighted to see that our 500 year old way of doing things is once again popular with large sections of the mainstream church.

Posted by: Katherine Coble at June 3, 2006 4:06 AM

I've seen a similar movement in Judaism gain momentum only to fizzle and be unable to make the jump.

The defining question isn't whether or not they can get a prayer group together each week, but whether they can develop self-sustaining communities and institutions for another generation to carry on.

The jury will be out for a while on this one, but it's a development to follow.

Posted by: Joshua Sharf at June 5, 2006 11:33 PM

Church Meetings,
Bible Studies,
Youth Groups,
Sunday Schools,
Seniour's Groups,
Prayer Groups,etc,in abundance.
Where however,is the love?
Cathy.

Posted by: Cathy at November 24, 2006 2:22 AM