emerging church

The emerging church (also known as the emerging church movement) is a controversial^[1] 21st-century Protestant Christian movement whose participants seek and to engage postmodern people, especially the unchurched and post-churched. To accomplish this, "emerging Christians" (also known as "emergents") deconstruct and reconstruct Christian beliefs, standards, and methods to accommodate postmodern culture. This accommodation is found largely in this movement's embrace of postmodernism's postfoundational epistemology, and pluralistic approach to religion and spirituality. Proponents of this movement call it a "conversation" to emphasize its developing and decentralized nature as well as its emphasis on interfaith dialog rather than verbal evangelism. The predominantly young participants in this movement prefer narrative presentations drawn from their own experiences and biblical narratives over propositional, Bible exposition. Emergents echo the postmodern rejection of absolutes and metanarratives. They emphasize the subjective over the objective since postmodern epistemology is ultimately destructive of certainty in objective propositions.

Emerging church methodology includes frequent use of new technologies such as multimedia and the Internet. Emergent blogs are quite numerous. They have not neglected more traditional means of communicating their ideas, however. Many emergent books and articles have been written, and leaders in the movement often conduct seminars.

Critics of the movement are found in academic and evangelical circles. Academics critique the movement for being without legitimate theological, historical and philosophical roots. Conservative, evangelical theologians and pastors believe the movement's embrace of an anti-biblical, postmodernist philosophy, leads emergents to unorthodox theology, relativism, antinomianism, universalism, and syncretism. These critics frequently equate emerging church theology with the liberal theology that has historically been at odds with Christian fundamentalism and Evangelicalism. Though emergent theologians generally share the views of classic liberals they arrive at these positions through a subjective journey rather than the objective one pursued by classic liberals. For example, while classic liberals will reject the notions of sin, atonement, and judgment because of their anti-supernatural presuppositions, emergents will reject these same concepts because of the dislike postmoderns have for such teachings. While emergents sometimes see themselves as bridging the divide between evangelical Christianity and liberal Christianity, critics equate emergents' attempts to recast Christianity into the mold of a hostile, postmodern, philosophical system with their liberal forbearers efforts to recast Christianity into the mold of a hostile, modern, philosophical system. Thus, conservative Evangelicals generally see the emergent bridge between conservative and liberal camps as a one way bridge leading from Evangelicalism toward liberalism.

Membership

Emergents can be found throughout the globe[1], predominantly in North America, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Africa^[2]. Some attend local independent churches or house churches^[3]^[4] labeled emerging while others worship in traditional Christian denominations.

Values and Characteristics

While practices and even core doctrine vary within the emerging church "conversation," most emergents tend to exhibit the following characteristics:

Postmodern worldview

The emerging church movement arose as a response to the perceived influence of modernism in Western Christianity. As sociologists noted a cultural shift to postmodern ways of perceiving reality in the late 20th century some Christians began to advocate changes within the church that corresponded to these cultural shifts. These critics began to assert that the church was culturally bound to modernism and began to challenge the church regarding its use of institutional structures, systematic theology, propositional teaching methods, buildings, attractional understanding of mission (trying to bring people into the church rather than improving their world), official clergy, worship lacking in premodern practices such as incense and candles that evoke sacred feelings, and the role conservatives often played in Evangelical politics. Postmodern epistemology is fundamental to emerging church movement beliefs and emergents have labored to construct a postfoundational theology which rejects certainty in favor of a view they describe as more humble in which emergents see their voice as just one among many legitimate, non-dogmatic religious voices that engage in peer-to-peer dialog or "conversation." Emergents believe it is necessary to deconstruct and reconstruct (redefine and reshape) Christianity in order to engage post-Christian Western culture in this two-way conversation rather than proclaim a message that is alien to and unpopular with that culture.

Narrative theology

Narrative explorations of faith, Scripture, and history are emphasized in emerging churches over exegetical and doctrinal approaches (such as that found in systematic theology and systematic exegesis), which are often viewed as reductionist. Systematic study is seen as a relic of modernism born out of the view that cross-cultural absolutes could be found. Emergents embrace the postmodern concept that we can only relate the narratives that cause a person or group to believe in the values they do.

Generous orthodoxy

The movement publicly advocates ecumenism though they admit to being intolerant of theological conservatives who view the authorial intent in Scripture as having absolute authority for doctrine and practice. Emergents espouse an open, flexible, and subjective view of doctrine in which they embrace a continual reexamination of theology which causes them to see faith as a journey rather than a destination. This is a natural consequence of their rejection of certainty in faith. Some emerging leaders claim to "hold in tension" even radical differences in doctrines and morals. This openness leads many of them to extend an invitation to "open minded" people of all religions and social backgrounds to contribute to the dialog or conversation. Some emergents see theology as merely an icon pointing to God rather than as a definition of God that has a 1 to 1 correspondence to "what is." For most emergents this means they do not see any doctrinal expositions as definitive.

Postmodern Hermeneutics

Postmodern literary theory rejects the referential theory of language. For them, the text takes on a personal meaning as they experience it, but it has no authoritative meaning such as authorial intent to distinguish a right from wrong interpretation. Likewise, emergents allow for a plurality of Scriptural interpretations. Emergent leader Tony Jones says “We must stop looking for some objective Truth that is available when we delve into the text of the Bible.” ^[5] Emergents exhibit a particular concern for the effect of the modern reader's cultural context on the act of interpretation in contrast to the emphasis of historical orthodoxy on the primacy of the author's intent and cultural context. The influence of postmodern thinkers such as Jacques Derrida and Stanley Fish is evident in the emerging church movement's approach to interpreting Scripture.

Authenticity

Emergents favor the sharing of experiences and interactions such as testimonies, prayer, group recitation, sharing meals and other communal practices, which they believe are personal and sincere over propositional, evangelistic preaching and exegetical bible teaching, since these involve claims of clear knowledge regarding absolute truth. Emerging church participants are thus true to the social constructs of their local narratives rather than to any absolute, ahistorical, cross-cultural authority.

Conversation/dialog

The movement's participants claim they are creating a safe environment for those with opinions ordinarily rejected within historic orthodoxy. Non-critical, interfaith dialog is favored over evangelism in the movement. Emergents do not engage in apologetics or confrontational evangelism.

Missional living

Participants in this movement assert that the incarnation of Christ informs their theology, believing that as God entered the world in human form, adherents enter (individually and communally) into the context around them, aiming to transform that culture through local involvement in it. This holistic involvement may take many forms, including social activism, hospitality, and acts of kindness. Emergents call this beneficent involvement in culture "missional living." Missional living is thought to make emergents part of the culture rather than outsiders who call people to come out from among the culture; and this approach leads emergents to their focus on temporal and social issues, as opposed to the Evangelical emphasis on eternal salvation. The hope of the emerging church movement's "gospel" is to enhance the lives of others regardless of their lifestyles or beliefs. Therefore, social action, community involvement, and sacrificial hospitality are more emphasized in the movement than preaching and teaching.

Unstructured ecclesiology

Emergents communicate and interact through fluid and open networks because the movement is decentralized with little institutional coordination. Participants avoid assumptions about the role and nature of the church, attempting to gather in ways specific to their local context. In this way emergents share with the house church movements a willingness to challenge traditional church structures/organizations though they also respect the different expressions of traditional Christian denominations^[6].

Creative spirituality

This can involve everything from expressive, neocharismatic style of worship and the use of contemporary music and films to more ancient liturgical customs and eclectic expressions of spirituality, with the goal of making the church gathering genuinely reflective of the local community's tastes.

"Non-Legalistic" conduct

In a strict theological sense the term legalism pertains to the idea of justification by works. Legalism in a popular/colloquial, Evangelical sense is a pejorative describing an improper fixation on law or codes of conduct, or legal ideas, usually implying an allegation of misguided rigor, pride, superficiality, the neglect of mercy, and ignorance of the grace of God. Emergents tend to see any exhortation to moral conduct other than social causes to be "legalistic." Many emergents participate in activities such as drinking and watching movies with explicit sexual content that most Evangelicals disapprove of. Those who identify with the emerging church movement are not likely to be dogmatic about private, moral behaviors which do not hurt others or the environment. Homosexuality is held as an open question by most emergents. Brian McLaren, for example, says “Frankly many of us don’t know what we should think about homosexuality.”^[7] Spencer Burke agrees, saying, "Given a less than stellar track record, is it really so heretical to think that the evangelical church may be wrong about homosexuality as well?”^[8] Emergent Donald Miller summarizes this attitude by saying “The problem with the Christian community was that we had ethics, we had rules and laws and principles to judge each other against^[9].”

Use of new technologies

Emergents use the Internet as a central medium to facilitate global friendship and to converse about theology, philosophy, art, culture, politics, social justice, etc. through various blogs, websites, and online videos.

Postmodern terminology

The movement's members make liberal use of jargon originally coopted from more popular usage by related schools of thought such as the narrative theology movement. Once emergents have made them their own, terms such as "generous," "missional," "authentic," "narrative," and "conversation" serve as "flags" by which emergents are able to quickly recognize each other across denominational lines.

Justice

Emergents express concern for what they consider to be the practical manifestation of God's kingdom on earth, by which they mean social justice. This concern manifests itself in a variety of ways depending on the local community and in ways they believe defy "modernist" labels of "conservative" and "liberal." This concern for justice is expressed in such things as feeding the poor, visiting the sick and prisoners, stopping contemporary slavery and working for environmental causes. ^{[citation needed]}

"Emerging" versus "Emergent"

Although some emergent thinkers such as Brian McLaren and many Evangelical scholars such as D. A. Carson use "emerging" and "emergent" as synonyms, a large number of participants in the emerging church movement maintain a distinction between them. "Emergent" is sometimes more closely associated with Emergent Village. Those participants in the movement who assert this distinction believe "emergents" and "emergent village" to be a part of the emerging church movement but prefer to use the term "emerging church" to refer to the movement as a whole while using the term "emergent" in a more limited way, referring to Brian McLaren and emergentvillage. Many of those within the emerging church movement who do not closely identify with emergentvillage tend to avoid that organization's interest in radical theological reformulation and focus more on new ways of "doing church" and expressing their spirituality. Mark Driscoll, an early leader associated with the emerging church conversation, now distances himself from the "emergent thread." In a short video clip, he summarizes some of his concerns. Some observers consider the "emergent stream" to be one major part within the larger emerging church movement. This may be attributed to the stronger voice of the 'emergent' stream found in the US which contrasts the more subtle and diverse development of the movement in the UK, Australia and New Zealand over a longer period of time. As a result of the above factors, the use of correct vocabulary to describe a given participant in this movement can occasionally be awkward, confusing, or controversial.

In the mid-1990s I was part of what is now known as the Emerging Church and spent some time traveling the country to speak on the emerging church in the emerging culture on a team put together by Leadership Network called the Young Leader Network. But, I eventually had to distance myself from the Emergent stream of the network because friends like Brian McLaren and Doug Pagitt began pushing a theological agenda that greatly troubled me. Examples include referring to God as a chick, questioning God's sovereignty over and knowledge of the future, denial of the substitutionary atonement at the cross, a low view of Scripture, and denial of hell which is one hell of a mistake. -- Mark Driscoll^[10]

Comparisons to other movements

It is sometimes useful to compare the emerging church movement with other Christian movements, which emphasize a similar approach to Christianity and inner experience.

The Taizé Community in France parallels the emergent experience in many ways. Traditional symbols in this community such as candles and crosses have intensified importance in creating subjective feelings. Taizé places a greater emphasis on meditation and the experiences derived from the monastic life than they do upon Scripture. They also embrace a religious pluralism that discards notions of eternal judgment. Within the wider Emerging Church there is a growing exploration of a similar kind of monasticism, known as new-monasticism. Communities such as "Moot"^[11] in the UK and "COTA"^[12] in the US are examples.

The Religious Society of Friends, although not born from a conflict with modernism, has nonetheless influenced the emerging church movement through mystics such as Richard Foster. This influence is often seen in the mystical tendencies of emergent worship and devotion. Emergents mirror the Quaker rejection of church hierarchy while valuing the sacred as a personal, subjective experience. A number of Quakers have begun to recognize the similarities between these two groups and have started to encourage dialogue and cross-cultural exploration in a similar manner as the emerging church movement. These convergent Friendshave focused their energy on translating the Quaker traditioninto a postmodern expression.

The house church movement, which has been partly influenced by the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and 70s, is considered by some emergents to be a “cousin” of the emerging church movement in that some elements in the movement reflect a lack of structure. Most of these house churches, however, are quite different than those in the emerging church movement as they are conservative in their theology, morality, and structure.

All four of these groups seek fellowship with likeminded groups and value some subjective traditions and experiences. The emerging church movement stands out by its postmodernism as well as its pluralistic dialog with the surrounding culture.^{[citation needed]}

Theologically, the emerging church movement bears many striking similarities to the theology of neo-evangelicals such as Langdon Gilkey and David Tracy, shares many beliefs with the more liberal post-Vatican II Catholic theologians such as Karl Rahner, and can trace much of its roots to the teachings of "postliberals" such as George Lindbeck^[13]. In many ways emergent thought resembles that of the iconoclastic Stanley Hauerwas. Eschatology in the movement closely resembles that found in theologians such as Jürgen Moltmann who advocate the "theology of hope" and the emergent approach to interfaith dialogue is similar to earlier discussions of this kind of dialogue as found in authors such as John Hick. However, some emergent thinkers have also been deeply influenced by postliberal authors such as Walter Brueggemann^{[citation needed]} and Lesslie Newbigin^[14]. Newbigin, especially, along with fellow missiologist David Bosch, offer alternatively nuanced understandings of dialogue which, nevertheless, do embrace a relativistic epistemology. Emergent ecclesiology is reminiscent of the "religionless Christianity" proposed by some twentieth century thinkers. NT Wright's eschatology, missiology and ecclesiology have also influenced emerging church theology^[15].

I don’t like to use the word “objective.” It’s not a Biblical word. I also find the word “known” problematic. -- Brian McLaren^[16]

You can talk a lot about techniques, programs, and practicalities, which are important, but I think the deepest problems are theological. -- Brian McLaren^[17]

New Lights offer up themselves as the cosmions of a mind-of-Christ consciousness. As a cosmion incarnating the cells of a new body, New Lights will function as transitional vessels through which transforming energy can renew the divine image in the world, moving postmoderns from one state of embodiment to another. -- Leonard Sweet^[18]

Criticisms

Many Evangelical leaders have criticized elements of the emerging church movement[2]. In spite of the movement's diversity there are several common emergent characteristics about which many Evangelicals have expressed concern:

Non-constructive focus on protest

Some Evangelicals such as D. A. Carson have characterized the emerging church movement as primarily a movement of protest in which participants are reacting against their more conservative heritage. These same Evangelicals generally claim that emergent books and blogs are more preoccupied with this protest than they are with any genuinely constructive agenda. Critics thus maintain that emergents frequently fail to live up to their own rhetoric regarding missional living.

Intolerance toward Evangelicals

Evangelical Christians generally do not find emergent blogs to be a "safe place" for them to visit. Critics claim emergent bloggers spend much of their time ridiculing Evangelical Christians and that Evangelical efforts to engage in the dialog on these blogs brings out hostility toward them from the emergents. ^[19]

Denial of certitude of faith

Many Evangelical scholars criticize the movement for maintaining that certainty in faith is not achievable and for rejecting the view of historical orthodoxy regarding the perspicuity of Scripture. Brian McLaren admits to not knowing why Jesus died on the cross, and he maintains that even Jesus did not know the reason for this sacrifice. ^[20] The movement's rejection of epistemological foundationalism and reliabilism, as well as bounded-set theology (borders for orthodoxy) has caused similar concerns within Evangelicalism^[21]. Evangelicals complain that when these factors are combined with the postmodern tendency to deconstruct traditional terms and biblical texts, the result is the emerging church movement's toleration of doctrinal and moral positions that most Evangelicals consider non-negotiable.

Use of false dilemma and straw man fallacies

Critics of the movement often assert that emergents frequently indulge in logical fallacies, especially the false antithesis or false dilemma^[22], and self contradiction^[23]. Some evangelical authors have responded that the emergent church tendency to paint Evangelicalism as culture-bound to modernism is a straw man argument^[24] and they respond that Evangelicalism has never embraced modernism in its entirety in spite of its acceptance of the correspondence theory of truth and semantic externalism. They maintain that only classical, liberal theologians have completely accommodated modernism and many of these same scholars fear that the emerging church movement's accommodation to postmodernism has the same practical effects as liberal accommodation to modernism. Evangelicals also reject emergent accusations that Evangelicals are belligerent toward non-Christians, and they are puzzled by emergent rhetoric that caricatures Evangelicals as unconcerned and uninvolved in benevolence and sincere Christian living.

Unorthodox theology

While many Evangelicals have been open to some of the criticisms that the emerging church movement has offered, most seem to have rejected the emerging church movement's views of several key theological themes within their soteriology and eschatology as well as the openness of some in the emerging church movement to alternative lifestyles. Many of these critics seem especially concerned about unorthodox views in the emerging church movement on doctrines such as blood atonement, salvation by faith, hell, and the sovereignty of God.^[25]

Propositionless "evangelism"

Conservative Evangelicals have also contested the emergent view of evangelism. They believe the emergent view of God's kingdom is too narrowly limited to improving social conditions while ignoring eternal matters^[26] and they contend that the emerging church movement did not invent lifestyle evangelism (as emergents often intimate). Many Evangelicals such as Joe Aldrich and Michael Green have long taught and advocated this concept. One finds the distinction between the evangelical and emergent approaches to evangelism in the emergent rejection of propositional evangelism^[27] which Evangelicals insist complements friendship and good works in order to impact both the mind and heart of others. The biblical descriptions of propositional evangelism by Luke and its teaching by Paul in the New Testament^[28] causes Evangelicals to believe this is a timeless practice which is needed for hearers to understand the gospel and believe it.

Syncretistic spirituality

Some Evangelicals also express concern that the postmodern spirituality embraced by many emergents is more syncretistic than scriptural^[29]. These Christians have questioned a variety of mystical techniques found in the emerging church movement such as contemplative prayer (although this term is used with various meanings) and labyrinths; and they express concern regarding the premodern (as exhibited in the medieval mystics) and Eastern approach to "spirituality" found in the movement.

Criticisms persist despite diversity in the movement

Several critiques of this movement have been written recently by leading Evangelical scholars such as D. A. Carson and Millard Erickson. In September of 2006 an open conversation was held in Perth between D. A. Carson and two Australian emerging church leaders, Andrew Hamilton and Geoff Westlake^[30]. This meeting restated the proponents and critics positions. Critics have long recognized the great diversity within the movement which makes it difficult to critique with too broad of a brush. This conversation served to highlight that issue, as Carson affirmed that the 'brand' of emerging church he was observing in Australia seemed different from that which he critiqued in his book. This concession by one critic concerning the churches in one region has not eliminated all of the controversies and questions this movement as a whole has stirred.

Faced with such opposition and the pressure it brings, postmodernism is a form of intellectual pacifism that, at the end of the day, recommends backgammon while the barbarians are at the gate. It is the easy, cowardly way out that removes the pressure to engage alternative conceptual schemes, to be different, to risk ridicule, to take a stand outside the gate. But it is precisely as disciples of Christ, even more, as officers in his army, that the pacifist way out is simply not an option. However comforting it may be, postmodernism is the cure that kills the patient, the military strategy that concedes defeat before the first shot is fired, the ideology that undermines its own claim to allegiance. And it is an immoral, coward’s way out that is not worthy of a movement born out of the martyrs’ blood. -- J. P Moreland^[31].

References

^ CTLibrary.com
^ Amahoro. Retrieved on 2006-08-09.
^ ReligionLink.org : Emerging Church trend expands, diversifies. Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
^ Kreider, Larry (2001). "1", House Church Networks. House to House Publications. ISBN 1-886973-48-2.
^ Tony Jones, Postmodern Youth Ministry (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 201.
^ Emergent Village : Values and Practices. Retrieved on 2006-08-09.
^ Brian McLaren http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2006/01/brian_mclaren_o.html
^ Spencer Burke http://www.zondervan.com/media/samples/pdf/0310253861_samptxt.pdf#search='spencer%20burke%20homosexuality
^ 25 Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003), 215.
^ TheResurgence.com
^ Moot.UK.net
^ ApostlesChurch.org
^ TheologicalStudies.org
^ Scot McKnight (2007). Five Streams of the Emerging Church (html). Christianity Today. Retrieved on 2007-05-04. -- McKnight in the article confesses himself to be a theologian in the "emerging conversation" and in the subsection on postmodernism expresses his admiration for Newbigin
^ Emerging church resources: A beginner's reference guide. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
^ BrianMcLaren.net
^ TheOoze.com
^ LeonardSweet.com
^ David Kowalski. Surrender is not an Option: An Evaluation of Emergent Epistemology. http://www.apologeticsindex.org/612-emergent-epistemology p.8.
^ Brian McLaren, More Ready than You Realize: Evangelism as Dance in the Postmodern Matrix (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 80-81.
^ Erickson 2004, 59-79
^ ApologeticsIndex.org
^ Smith, 97-98
^ Carson, 59-60
^ Carson, 157-187
^ Equip.org
^ SonLifeAfrica.com
^ Acts 2:12,41;8:4-5,25,30,35,39-40;10:27,44;13:16;16:13;17:1-4,16-17;18:4,27-28;19:8;28:30;2 CO 5:11
^ Veith 1994, 192-193
^ Forgewa.org
^ "Truth, Contemporary Philosophy and the Postmodern Turn", JETS, March, 2005, 48:1. by J. P. Moreland