A New Kind of Christianity with a New Kind of Christian: Exploring the Emergent Church

       Last year when the hullabaloo disrupted over Missouri Baptist, Roger Moran and his critique of emergent Christianity became news, I mentioned on several sites my own let's-just-wait-and-see-attitude about this phenomenon.  A year or so later, while I knew little about the Emerging, Emergent Church (hereafter EC) then, I barely know but a wee bit more now.  I am trying, though.  Be patient. 

A good will effort toward making more sense out of EC is the current volume I'm working through--The New Christians:  Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier by EC leader, Tony Jones.  According to many, next to Brian McLaren, Jones may be the most respected voice in the movement.  North Park University professor and New Testament scholar, Scot McKnight writes:

"This is the insider's journal of the journey called emergent Christianity, and it is the book I have been looking for.  If you want to know what emergent Christianity is, buy this book, read it, talk about it and then give it to someone else.  But don't leave it around--some one will swipe it!" (first inside page). 

Tony Campolo is just as hopeful believing this "postmodern version of Christianity" which Jones describes must be taken seriously. And, John Ortberg, who for years served as Teaching Pastor at Willow Creek Church and now Senior Pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, Menlo Park, California says:  "There is simply no way to think about the future of the church without knowing of the emergent journey.  Tony will give you an all-access tour from the inside" (Ibid). 

This post will begin a short series on Jones' book, "The New Christians" (hereafter, TNC).  I close this opening post to the series with a short summary of the book's introduction.

Jones begins with a fundamental question asking, "What is 'Emergent?'"  For those like myself who find themselves completely out of the circle of EC knowledge, Jones habitual practice of scattering definitions of key terms throughout the book is immensely important, albeit some of the definitions lack more than a desktop dictionary can offer.  Yet most of the definitions the reader can appreciate.

It's not often a "movement" can choose its own name, for more likely than not, movements, trends, fads, etc. gain the name that most sticks to them from their critics.  Jones actually dates the time and place when, in self-proclaimed fashion, they officially emerged as "emergent".  It was during a conference call, June 21st, 2001, with Jones, Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, Tim Keel, Chris Seay, Tim Conder, and Brad Cecil that this historic moment took place (XVII).

While more on EC unfolds in the rest of the volume, Jones describes "emergent" in the Introduction as "a dramatic shift in what it means to be Christian."  EC advocates tend to be a young, urban, educated, internet-savvy network of global Christians who think the "ecclesial elite on both the left and right of modern Christianity have spent the past century endowing denominations, founding colleges...launching publishing houses and magazines; building enormous churches; and getting face time on CNN and Fox News."  For them, this constitutes "cracks in the foundations" of not only mainline denominations but sadly evangelical Christianity as well (XVIII).  In fact, evangelicals may be the community with the most damaged goods, the way I read Jones.

Moreover, EC leaders think the theologian and the biblical scholar have seriously lost touch with reality and instead settle on tinkering with the latest technical innovations in 'how to do church' (XIX).  EC, consequently, is concerned with  a) rethinking theology and b) rethinking church. Clearly, these two "twin impulses" stand as the quintessential driving force of what it means to be emergent (Ibid). 

Unfortunately, as the book unfolds, EC appears to salvage very little from the empty hull of traditional Christianity as their rethinking process takes its toll.  Grab you a copy of this important book and let's wade through this together.

With that, I am...

Peter

Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V

Comments

[Tim Rogers]

Brother Peter,

I am placing my order today. Thanks for pointing us to this book.

Blessings,
Tim

[peter lumpkins]

Tim,

Excellent. I think the book is really an eye opener. I think also that much of the dissent among the younger bloggers in Baptist circles stands indicative of this particular vein of thought about the church. You will immediately see what I mean when you begin to read.

With that, I am...

Peter