The Emergent Church Part 2

The “emergent” metaphor is one of evolution. Are emergent churches a legitimate evolution of the authentic Church of Jesus Christ, or are they illegitimate compromises with their embedded cultural context? Vincent Donovan, Roman Catholic missionary to Africa, argued for a kind of evolution when he wrote, "In working with…people…do not try to call them back to where they were, and do not try to call them to where you are, as beautiful as that place might seem to you. You must have the courage to go with them to a place that neither you nor they have ever been before"

Are emergent church leaders going with their people to an authentically Christian place the Church has never been before? What are the implications of this to the regular practice of biblical exposition in Spiritual formation? Stan Grenz describes an e-mail he received from an acquaintance who is establishing an emergent church in Reno, Nevada. The church leaders have “five values” they will use to guide their new emergent community. These are:

1. Mystery – We’re learning that there can be fewer answers and more questions when it comes to God, life, and life with God. And, we’re OK with that.

2. Beauty – We celebrate artistic responses to a passionate, creative God.

3. Conversations – We value every person’s story because every person’s story is valued by God.

4. Organic – We are real people living in a real world trying to make a real difference with no strings attached.

5. Chicala (sp.?) – a cool Indian word for past, present, and future; a merger of ancient or historical Christian faith and our emerging culture.

This list does not include any clear affirmation of solidarity with the timeless authentic practice of raising Christians to maturity through the regular exposition of the Holy Scriptures. There is a great divide in the western evangelical Church. Two extremes seem to vie for legitimacy in the practice of preaching in the contemporary evangelical Church in the West. On the one extreme are those who would champion what has been known as “biblical (or expository) preaching” as the authentic approach to Christian proclamation, whether people will (or can) listen or not. On the other extreme are those who have rejected what they see as a modernist paradigm, and are attempting to craft a truly postmodern approach to Christian Spiritual formation. This emergent movement emphasizes the need to change the style of public, weekly church proclamation to make it more listener-centered and palatable, sometimes whether the message of God’s Word is heard or not.

Tom Sine asks, “Is it possible the church is in crisis and no one noticed? Is it possible God is raising up a new generation to re-invent the church?” There is a movement of young, postmodern, emergent churches growing in the West, led by 20-30-year-old Christians. These churches are forging new communities with unique expressions of Christian faith. The young leaders of these emergent churches are rejecting the modernist, rationalistic paradigm inherent in contemporary western churches. Meanwhile, they are attempting to craft truly postmodern approaches to Christian Spiritual formation. This is especially true of their attitude towards and practice of preaching. They are emphasizing the need to change the style of public, weekly church proclamation, and to make it more palatable to a postmodern audience. But what will this new approach look like, and will it be an authentically Christian expression?