We cannot define the emerging church by a distinct set of doctrines, nor can we define her by common practices. While there are similarities within parts of the emerging church, these things are not the thread that ties us together.
Rather, God has been birthing in the hearts of Christians all over the world to break out of their existing moulds and find better ways to be the Church in our unique settings. Eyes have been opened to problems previous generations could not see. Each generation will be blind to a certain degree due to the dominating worldview in their time and culture. The shift that has been occurring (and will certainly not be complete in any of our lifetimes) revealed flaws in the modern structures Christians have become accustomed to.
Even after the “emerging church” became a buzzword, many Christians who have stepped out and have created alternative structures for the local church do not self-identify with the movement. For some, they still don’t know about it. Seriously. Often these Christians do not maintain close ties to mainstream evangelicalism, which like it or not, is still really where the conversation is taking place. If we were honest about it any way…
Thanks to Scot McKnight’s posts on Alan Hirsch’s book, The Forgotten Ways, I’ve added the work to my to read list. I’ll be ordering it very soon. In his latest post, he places a stat which seems way out of control… unless of course, you look at the emerging church as a movement of God’s Spirit instead of a conversation you have to be lucky enough to know about in the first place.
Jesus Creed » Forgotten Missional Ways 3
Before I get to the characteristics he finds in Christendom, I want to point to the significance of recent church statistics about just how big this ‘emerging’ movement really is. We know Barna’s numbers are that there are somewhere between 5 and 20 million Christians in North America who are pursuing alternative forms of spiritual formation. Dr. David Barrett and Todd Johnson, in their study, conclude there are 125 million Christians without a church. Hirsch taps into this number to argue that it is here that the renewal of the Church is occurring. There are over 20,000 independent movements and networks among such Christians. There is a social-scientific word for this: ‘chaos.’ But, this is a good term for many.
(Via Jesus Creed.)
God has been birthing in the hearts of Christians all over the world to break out of their existing moulds and find better ways to be the Church in our unique settings.
I’m glad you and McKnight pointed out that what God is birthing in our hearts extends even beyond the self-identified emerging church. I don’t think the common thread necessarily is the creation of an alternate church structure either, but is the change God is creating in our hearts.
I wish there was a term that includes us all. But part of who we are defies having a label. If you have to be part of an emerging church structure to be an “emerging Christian,” then I wouldn’t qualify. I don’t like “post-modern Christian” because there is so much anathema to Christ in post-modern thought (as defined by Wikipedia). So what are a growing portion of especially younger Christians experiencing?
How about this: I am a Christian who shares many of the values and ways of thinking with the emerging church but who is called by God to attend a more traditional church structure (at this time) and participate there with others in whom God is moving. NVM, that’s way too long. LOL!
Really, if the emerging church is part of a movement of the Spirit in conjunction with a large societal shift and not just a new church fad, then the whole Church could be said to be emerging. We will all end up looking different because humanity is diverse, some old forms will persist, but no one will be left unchanged. So for me the question is not, “Who is emerging?” but, “God, how do you want us/me/my church to emerge?”
Karen
February 10th, 2007