So you want to know what the emerging
church is? This is the place to start...
If you would like to read a more detailed description,
check out the “In Depth Description of the Emerging Church.”
First things . . .
Since there are a lot of misconceptions about the
emerging church, let’s begin with what it is NOT. It is not
an actual church body. It is not a denomination (some emerging churches
are non-denominational and some are part of a denomination). It
is not a program that can be used to bring in new members or serve
a different demographic. It is not generational ministry or “contemporary”
worship. In fact, there is no one definition of what the emerging
church is. There are a lot of churches in the world that would consider
themselves “emerging,” but they all look different from
one another, and have different ideas about what it means to be
emerging.
It is responding . . .
By and large, the emerging church consists of those
congregations and individuals that feel the church has not been
engaging our world very well in the recent context and who strive
for the Gospel and the Reign of God to “emerge” (or
re-emerge) in our time. As a movement that has grown with the rise
of postmodernism, emerging churches believe that the church has
become captive to the reason-centered, compartmentalized life of
modernity (as in the Modern Era, closely tied to the Enlightenment—modern
here does not mean “recent times”). In particular, emerging
churches believe that the division between “religious”
life and “real” life has been detrimental to both faith
and the world because it devalues God’s incarnational work
through Jesus.
It is dialoging . . .
Rather than assuming that we can know everything
there is about God, the Bible, and the world, emerging churches
live in the tension of not knowing all the answers. They seek to
engage one another, scripture, and the world to discover the many
ways that God is revealed to us. In addition to the things Christians
have in common, they value the diverse perspectives that different
people and traditions have to offer each other. If there is one
thing that describes emerging churches more than anything else,
it is conversation. They love to think and talk about God and how
God works in the world, asking the difficult questions that we often
avoid because there is no easy answer (or even a single answer).
They are rediscovering a lot of ancient Christian spiritual forms
and practices and reapplying them in a contemporary context. As
they engage in conversation with one another, emerging churches
are also very much in dialog with the culture. Thus, they are constantly
seeking ways that the Gospel can communicate to people who face
the challenges of our context and who learn and experience life
through its media.
It is hoping . . .
Emerging churches find meaning and purpose not just
from Jesus’ death and resurrection, but also his life. For
this reason, emerging churches focus a lot on Jesus love and his
means of living. They seek to develop relationships and build community
as Jesus did. They hope that people’s lives will be transformed
by the Gospel, drawing them into lifestyles that mirror Jesus’
life and that through that loving action helps bring God’s
reign to our world in this time and place. Consequently, emerging
churches practice a radical hospitality that seeks to make all people
feel welcome in Christ’s community, especially those who might
be a “stranger” to the church. In the midst of their
discussions and faithful living, emerging churches hope to proclaim
the Good News that Jesus offers us a way of life that is altogether
different than the way of the world, a way that brings salvation
in our time, not only in the end time.
It is for you . . .
You don’t have to be part of a church that
is labeled as “emerging” or renounce your tradition
in order to learn from and share your perspective with others in
the emerging church. Like the Reformation, many leaders hope that
it can be a light for a church that Martin Luther said should always
be reforming. We hope that you might discover something about the
emerging church that excites you and challenges you. Ultimately,
we would love to have you join us in the conversation and in this
community so that we might be blessed by the ways that God has gifted
you.
If you would like to read a more detailed description
of the emerging church, check out the “In Depth Description
of the Emerging Church.”
If you have more questions about what the emerging
church is, visit our answers to some common
questions or visit the forum in the “Conversation”
section of the website to pose your own questions.
You might also find helpful some of our definitions
to common “buzz” words surrounding the emerging church.
Lastly, if you are a lover of theology, and
especially systematic theology, you might enjoy reading an essay
by one of our contributors.
|
