If you ever get to start your church, let me know )

Sara

Sara I enjoy your perspective as someone outside of Christianity who seems very familiar with it. Your blog is particularly intriguing too. And I agree – boo to dogma and surfing for the “next big thing”. If I could start a church it would be about helping people discover Jesus as bigger than their boxes and seeing how he changes lives in that context. That’s one reason I respect the emergent movement is for its focus on deconstructing dogma and majoring on conversation. Who wants to hear preaching on “6 [more] steps to really really knowing God”?

Steven I think you picked up on what I was considering while I wrote this post – whether emergent is the next reformation comparable to the genesis of Protestantism. It’s an impossible thing to predict of course, but I for one feel like I’ve been looking for whatever that reformation is since I was in college. Perhaps emergent and “post-Christianity” are playing a part.

so what if “emergent”/”emerging” church is gathering people who are leaving church? is it a given that we are destined to un-church-ness? if there weren’t churches seeking to reach people moving away from traditional church, wouldn’t those in church want someone to reach out to them?

it all sounds like it could be a little disingenous…like they are jealous that emergent/emerging church is getting its 15-minutes-of-fame; although, knowing dave and charles a bit, it could also be a genuine look and assessment (and addition to the huge conversation going on re: emerging church) into whether emergent/emgering church is the next reformation, as some have called it – or like phyllis tickle calls it, fundamental change, that will spawn even more, yet differentiated, demoninations, but putting new language on it like “partnerships” or “networks” or “insert-your-own-catch-phrase-from-socio-economic-theory”

i do think charles emphasizes his gifted insight and evangelistic-oriented gifting to bound-and-frame his comments toward going beyond mere emerging church and going into the growing “post-christian box”, as he puts it…

For me, the experience of God is not about a set of doctrines–even the ones that feel “right” to me. (Of course, I realize that what I just said smacks of Emergent ideas, but I assure you that the relationship and personal experiences came well before I even knew that there was much beyond all the old Christian dogma that I’d always pretty much taken for granted.) What I’ve subsequently read has only served to give some affirmation to what I’d already felt in a very strong, satisfying (beyond satisfying), personal way.

If the “movement” doesn’t last, so be it. Maybe it will have at least gotten some people to see beyond conventional dogma and get a glimpse of God beyond the boxes. But, whatever happens, my own understanding and love of God and of Jesus’ teachings about love, compassion, and the part of God that lives within us will remain and influence the way I live every day.

And I’m not even a Christian!

Thanks for the post,

Sara
http://saradode.wordpress.com

So long as the emergent/-ing church (distinctions between emergent/-ing are virtually non-existent) strives to adapt itself to cultural trends (whether for good or ill), they will continue to have a relevant voice to both the churched, un-churched and what some call the “de-churched” (those who leave the church). However, with the current endeavors toward missional communities, it may be that more traditional churches will be influenced by emerging churches and expand their efforts to reach people’s needs. By that same token, the emerging church movement is often characterized as a “conversation” (cf. Brian Mclaren) within the overall evangelical movement; I’m not sure you’d find many who’d object to it being characterized as a transitional movement.

I appreciate your thoughts. I myself am new to blogging, though I’m gradually posting a series on changing generations on my own blog.

Chris Wiles
http://www.thornscompose.wordpress.com