Thursday, August 03, 2006

The Emergent Church?

Today I was surfing the 'Net, and I came across a Christian forum where they were discussing one of my favorite books, "VELVET ELVIS" by Rob Bell. And, I was very disheartened to hear the majority of the forum members bashing the book and saying it was anti-Christian.

But, I suppose that's to be expected. Rob's writing is quite "out-of-the-box" (exactly why I LOVE it!!!), and I think it "scares" a lot of people! In fact, one member even *said* that the book scared them! LOL

Another forum member sent a link to this article, talking about the "Emergent Church". Now, before I go rambling on about this, you should know that I know very little about this topic. I only know what I've just read from this same article. LOL. :o)

There were a few things mentioned in the article that I'd like to... oppose....:

[They started questioning their assumptions about the Bible itself – “discovering the Bible as a human product.” “I grew up thinking that we’ve figured out the Bible,” Kristen says, “that we knew what it means. Now I have no idea what most of it means, and yet I feel like life is big again – like life used to be black and white, and now it’s in color.” To the postmodern mind it is more important to, as Rob Bell says, “embrace mystery, rather than conquer it.”]

I believe that you can believe in the inerrant truth of Scripture, but you can also embrace its mysteries & see things through it in "color", as Kristen and Rob say here!

[The emergent church leaders are asking us to embrace a faith without truth, a Bible which has value due to its mystery, and a reality that is individual, subjective and changeable. This is touted as a new and improved version of Christian living. I fail to see the attraction, not to mention that no such understanding of truth is supportable by the Scriptures.]

Now, I don't see it this way! I see it as them wanting to get to the Truth... digging through all the crap (if you'll pardon my term) that the modern-day church has errected... getting real with your faith instead of having it be how you think others say it SHOULD be.
And, as I said before, the Bible can be mysterious but still remain true.

[Recognized, but not official leaders of the movement at this time include: Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Dan Kimball, Doug Pagitt, Leonard Sweet, the late Mike Yaconelli, Spencer Burke, Erwin McManus, Tommy Kyllonen (aka Urban D) and Donald Miller. Some see Richard Foster and Dallas Willard as key mentors for the movement.]

I've read books by Rob Bell, and Erwin McManus ... and absolutely loved them!!! And, I plan to read books by Mike Yaconelli and Donald Miller, too! These are my favorite kinds of books -- the ones that challenge how we live out our faith right now!

The article describes the "Emergent Church" as:

  • interested in religious experiences and feelings

  • NOT interested in systematic theology or logical reasoning

  • attracted to spiritual mystery

  • wanting to experience God with all 5 senses (as the vintage church did)



It also described the Emergent Church as defined by the acronym E.P.I.C.:

  • E - experiential (enter into worship with all 5 senses --> more than listening and thinking)

  • P - participants (not just observers)

  • I - image-based (power-point presentations, etc. used in services)

  • C - communal (strong sense of community)



Now, I see nothing wrong with any of this! These are all GOOD things! We should get out of the box and worship God with everything He gave us! We should be "doers of the Word, and not hearers only"! We should have a strong sense of community ... God created us to be in relationships with each other! And, as for the image-based teaching ... for some, that's more potent than just a message given from a pulpit in words alone. I, for one, am a "visual learner". If you just tell me something, I'm less likely to remember it than had you SHOWN me! I like to SEE things... then the message "sticks" better. ;o)

I'm off to go exploring! The article mentioned three websites that I'm interested in checking out:
VintageFaith.com
The Ooze
(the last one had a link for a cultish event, so I'm not posting it here)

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