lifeasmission
exploring the mystery of life and mission as one and the same
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Archive of "emerging" Category
What is the Emergent Church?
Last night Amy and I joined a friend for a presentation at Harvest Bible Chapel on the topic of, “What is the Emergent Church?”1 as part of an ongoing apologetics series they are doing.
As someone who gets to teach the course, The Emerging Church in the 21st Century, once a year, I was looking forward to attending and seeing what was said and discussed; especially considering the speaker for the evening was Dr. David Finkbeiner, a professor at Moody Bible Institute.I mean, if you want to get a balanced understanding of what the “Emergent Church” is all about, who better to ask than a professor of systematic theology at a school that officially, “does not endorse the emerging/emergent church” right?!
Harvest would have done well (though from what I could tell – would never so much as have considered it) to have invited at least one person who could have spoken as an insider to the EC discussion.
It was clear from the get-go that the tenor of the evening was going to be critical, bordering on condemnatory. And this, even after Dr. Finkbeiner admitted that there is no simple way to define the EC as a whole.
Dr. Finkbeiner’s focus for the evening was theological method. His premise was that what undergirds the “Emergent Church” movement is a post-conservative theological method. His aim was to critique this theological method overagainst a more traditional conservative evangelical one.
Essentially, here’s what that meant…
1) Post-Conservatives err in their non-foundationalist approach to epistemoplogy which takes things like history, context, and culture seriously, where as conservatives rightfully embrace Scripture as the objective and sole foundation to all knowledge.
2) Post-Conservatives err in asserting that absolute truth, while real, may often times be beyond our ability to fully grasp. Conservatives rightfully assert not only the reality of absolute truth, but affirm our ability to, “with a little hard work,” objectively know it.
3) Post-conservatives err in not championing the inerrancy of Scripture. Conservatives rightly hinge all their hopes on Scripture having been verbally and inerrantly inspired.
So, here we have a guy who is doing a masterful job of towing the line of modern conservative evangelicalism, lambasting those who dare to think, “There might be some stuff we’re missing here.”
As I listened to him describe some of the perspectives and viewpoints of post-conservative evangelicals I found it hard to believe that he wasn’t converting himself!
He quickly and coyly dismissed a broad range of the most helpful aspects of post-conservative theology…
– The idea that we need one another in the pursuit of truth because all of our perspectives are bound by a host of factors
– The notion that theology loses its character when not born out of an embodied witness
– The view that the authority of Scripture lies not primarily in its abstract character, but in its function in the life of the Church
– The insight that biblical propositional truth derives its meaning and significance from the narratives in which they’re embedded
– That post-conservative theology is, at its core, a prophetic call to revisit some of our modernistic assumptions
In each and every instance, the speaker noted that these are the hallmarks of post-conservative theology and then attempted to show why they ought to be rejected.
OK, so that was the presentation and as enlightening as it was, the Q & A time was even better. I quote.
“Is Willowcreek an Emergent Church? I heard they sell Brian McLaren books.”2
“Is the Emergent Church a cult?”
“I’ve heard that Urbana and InterVarsity are becoming more Emergent. Should I keep my kids away from those groups?”
I actually had the opportunity to ask the last question of the evening…
With a little trepidation, but in the spirit of full disclosure, I teach a course on the Emerging Church at the seminary level and I need to say that I think there have been some pretty unfair characterizations of the movement here tonight. I was hoping that before we go you might offer a positive comment about the role the EC has had in the recovery of the importance of the Missio Dei or incarnational approaches to ecclesiology.
Dr. Finkbeiner commented that, “Yes, there has been some focus in those areas, but they still are wrong in how they do theology.” So, no, he didn’t have one positive thing to say the entire evening about the EC.
Left completely aside from the discussion of the evening was the historical evolution of the EC movement, its place in the scope of the collapse of Christendom, and the most relevant bit of information given the scope of the talk, namely, that theological method simply isn’t at the center for 90% of the people who are in any way affiliated with the movement. For the vast majority, what is central is joining God in his mission in the world and finding ways to make the church, not culturally relevant (as too many assume), but incarnationally faithful in the pattern of Jesus.
Between the tenor of the presentation and the questions and comments of the audience, it’s little wonder that conservative evangelicals are so often characterized by fear and close-mindedness. There are many in the EC community who are trying to carve out a way of being the church and doing theology that doesn’t fell prey to these charges. I was really hoping to come away pleasantly surprised by the event. Sadly, I didn’t.
- There is no such thing as the Emergent Church. This is a classic conflation of the terms Emergent Village and Emerging Church offered by those who aren’t all that familiar with the topic [↩]
- Someone from Harvest was quick to announce that Harvest doesn’t! [↩]
Forerunners of The Great Emergence
2 quick observations about the day…
1) The Emergent conversation is providing an opportunity to those whom no one else will listen (because they just don’t fit) to be heard and embraced.
2) A unifying characteristic of Emergent type people is their distrust of any version of Christian faith that leaves little or no room for complexity and paradox. They would rather be shunned than forced to conform.
The Great Emergence
With Memphis as the hosting city & St. Mary’s cathedral as a hosting venue, The Great Emergence conference is getting started.
The Church Emerging and the Multi-Cultural Future of Western Christianity
On Saturday night at CCDA I was excited to hear from Soong-Chan Rah, a Korean-American professor at North Park University in Chicago (stinkin everybody at CCDA was from Chicago!) and he did not disappoint.Soong’s main topic was the changing face of global Christianity. No longer a majority Western religion, Christianity is growing fastest in the global south and more than this, as the United States and other Western countries become increasingly multi-cultural, these non-Western believers are reshaping the future of the church.
What I was perhaps most interested in was Soong’s good critique of Emergent and the Emerging Church. Namely, that this group and its related conversation/movement are failing to reflect the seismic shifts of which he spoke. This is most notable, says Soong, in that the leaders and the majority of EC supporters are white and Western educated. Soong is right, there is little doubt about it. However, I would be quick to respond with 2 caveats. First, this critique is hardly limited to the EC folk. The vast majority of the streams of western Christianity are dominated by white, western educated folks. Second, a huge part of the EC conversation/movement has to do with pushing past forms of Christianity held captive by narrow perspectives and traditions. What better soil could one imagine for the changes Soong himself describes?
Interestingly, I just noticed today that Ryan Bolger and Eddie Gibbs’ book, “Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community is Postmodern Cultures,” was just translated into Korean! Now, it may not be Asian theology, but talk about a great avenue to really get cross-cultural dialogue started.
In another shocking bit of news, Tony Jones, the national coordinator for Emergent Village announced today that he was stepping down from the position as Emergent undergoes some changes precisely to
allow more voices into the conversation and allow the network to grow in a more organic way.
As a final sort of corrective to this critique of the EC, I’d like to point others to Brian McLaren’s article, “Church Emerging,” (pdf) and draw attention to this quote
More importantly, though, I’ve become convinced that the conversation about modernity and postmodernity is the ‘tails’ side of the coin, and the ‘heads’ side is a related but different conversation. So I am hereby giving notice that I’m not interested in arguing with anyone about modernity and postmodernity, but I would very much like to engage in honest conversation about colonialism and postcolonialism.
As he goes on he draws from and quotes the work of Dr. Mabiala Kenzo, a Twa theologian from the Congo – a great example of one of the foremost leaders of the EC discussion seeking to listen and learn from those outside our own context in an effort to provide a corrective.
Soong was great – he made me wat to go back to school and take his courses. More than this, his critique of the EC was a good one, but could have been levied against a larger population. This was just the sort of talk that seemed unique to the CCDA confernece and I was glad to have been a part of it.
Catching Up
I don’t really like it when a full week goes by and I don’t have a chance to blog – it’s like I get creatively constipated and then I don’t know where to begin.
Aside from just getting back into the swing of things and playing catch up since returning from Afghanistan, I have been busy doing a variety of things – getting the new house settled, wrapping up the online course I have been teaching, and training for a 1/2 marathon, along with other life-randomness. So, where to start? How about the 1/2 marathon.
My New Year’s resolution was to get a 1/2 marathon under the belt before the year’s end. I found out that there is one in Akron on Sept. 27, and since I had 2 friends doing the race (one doing the full marathon and another the 1/2), I decided to give it a go. Afghanistan came at a bad time in terms of training, so I hit it hard as soon as I made it back. Well, the left knee, as it has been doing for years, continued to give me trouble and I had to go see an orthopedist. He read through a previous MRI and did an x-ray. You should have seen his face when I told him I was training for a 1/2 marathon in 2 weeks?! He actually said, “You’re running on this?” I just started rehab this morning and we’ll see how much that helps. Next stage is a fluid injection to make up for the cartlidge that is damaged and/or missing, and then surgery will be a last resort. So, sadly, no race for me, at least not this month. There is another one here in Memphis in December, so perhaps then.
Semi-related, as a part of training and moving to midtown, I have been frequenting the downtown YMCA, which is a great facility. There is a trolly that goes back and forth, though it ends a mile from my house. The other day, I ran down to the Y, worked out some there, and took the trolly back, and ran the last mile. It’s a cool part of downtown Memphis that I was excited to experience for the first time.
My friend Joey stumbled on a newspaper article last week about a gathering in a local establishment called Beer and Bible, facilitated by Phyllis, Tickle, someone I have been wanting to meet ever since moving to Memphis. I had the opportunity to go and participate in the discussion last week and just loved it. It was about the most eclectic group of folks you can imagine who used the 7 deadly sins as a jumping off point for discussion.
I also had the chance to accompany my friend Jon and a few other guys who do some work with FCA at Carver HS to a football game. Carver is a school in urban Memphis with few resources and about 30 guys on the team. The team they played is an over-resourced suburban school with about 30 guys/position. Needless to say, Carver got crushed, but it was fun to be back on the sidelines of a HS football game.
What else? With the help of some friends, lots of painting at my new place has gotten accomplished and I also added a few pieces of furniture as I seek to create an inviting and hospitable sort of place. Pictures forthcoming.
The class. I am in the final stages of grading final papers for the first go-around of an online class for Fuller – The Emerging Church in the 21st Century. The class was filled with great discussion and insights. The majority of students feel as though they have a lot more clarity on what the EC discussion/movement is all about and I have reall enjoyed helping them to explore their questions, misgivings, and thoughts in general.
Lastly, while the website leaves a little to be desired, the atmosphere at Republic Coffee doesn’t. I am writing this from their location – one I very quickly become a huge fan of. If you’re around midtown, check it out.
Fuller and the Emerging Church
The crux of my message this past Sunday, at least as it pertains to my own personal story, had to do with the way in which God used my years at Fuller Theological Seminary to shake me up and refine me. I simply can’t say enough positive things about my experience at Fuller and its desire to shape the future of theological education as it relates to the church.
The other day my friend and former professor, Dr. Ryan Bolger, posted, “Fuller Seminary and Emerging Churches” on his blog. It is a great read, chalk full of the reasons that I think Fuller in uniquely equipped to come along side those who really have a burden for the church in Western culture as I do.
On top of that, I subscribe to a Fuller podcast and the latest one was entitled “Fuller’s Future (ab. 20 mins. if you wanna listen),” and reminded me of even more stuff that make me happy to be a Fuller grad.
I have said it before (here and here), but I wanna say it again. Fuller is a great school. It repudiates the false dichotomy of conservative and liberal. It pushes no denominational agenda or system of belief. And its faculty seeks to find unity in God and God’s mission over and above any particular theological bent. If you are thinking about theological/missiological/psychological education, Fuller needs to be on top of your list of schools to consider.
Hi There…
Hey, I'm JR - welcome to the blog.
I'm just an average guy trying to shape his identity around God's dream for the world and his place in it. This blog is a place for me (and you!) to reflect on and discuss all that might mean. Looking for a bit more on me? Check out the about me. Peace.
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