The ins and outs of the Emerging church
I’ve been reading Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger on the Emerging church. From the story they’re telling, here’s what’s in and what’s out this season for the EC.
Out: Church as a place, a meeting, or a time.
In: Church is a way of life, a rhythm, a community, a movement.
Out: GenX and Seeker Services with their “dualistic/spiritualized/interiorized understanding of Jesus, their embrace of the sacred/secular split, and their focus on the church meeting as opposed to community life.”
In: Whatever is the opposite.
Out: Being evangelical.
In: Being post-evangelical or a cultural evangelical. Emerging out of evangelicalism. Being everything—evangelical and charismatic and liberal and orthodox and contemplative and into social justice and into alternative worship. Being the son or daughter of an evangelical minister.
Out: Church buildings, church services, Church Growth, mega churches, attracting crowds to church.
In: Small networks for people on a journey. Church as the friends I spend most of my time with.
Out: Finding God in the church service.
In: Finding God on the dance floor of the club. Finding God in the world.
Out: Planting churches.
In: Embodying the kingdom.
Out: Modernist print culture and the spoken Word
In: Postmodern image based culture and the experienced Word.
Out: The message of the Cross; the gospel of personal salvation.
In: The gospel of the Kingdom as justice and social transformation.
Out: Jesus as preacher.
In: Jesus as politician.
Out: The Church as the centre of God’s redemptive mission.
In: The kingdom and God’s activity in the world as the centre.
Out: Proclamation. Trying to save people. Getting people to heaven.
In: Presence. Making our community a place where you can feel the kingdom of God. Bringing heaven to earth.
Out: Evangelism as persuading people to believe what I believe.
In: Walking the journey of life and faith together, each in their own distinct tradition, with the possibility of encountering God and truth from one another.
Out: Evangelising people of other faiths.
In: Finding God in other faiths or in people of no faith. Being prepared to be evangelised by other faiths.
Out: Apologetics as “atomized abstract presuppositions.”
In: “Narrative-based apologetics of building plausibility structures using narrative and in particular the biblical narrative.”
When you work out this last one, let me know.
