Volume 6: What is the Emerging Church?

Emerging church struggles against the consumer orientation of worship. Do we come to hear the funniest, best sermon from one man or woman? Or do we come to experience God? What if we brought our best to church? What if we brought our faith TO church? What if we open our hearts to something bigger than consuming a product offered on Sunday mornings?

May God show us the way to faith together. I pray to God that I never become the center of church or Sunday mornings...for then my life's purpose has failed. I pray that everyone sees my weakness and my inadequacies. I pray they see I am just a broken man. My prayer is that we bring our faith in God together, and together, we celebrate the God who loves us all. May we truly experience God.

Volume 5: What is the Emerging Church?

Here is an excellent example of a church using an emerging worship paradigm. We've done some things like this at our church, too. Using the fine arts is a great way to communicate the message of God in an open way. Words are so confining, yet art is beyond words...it speaks to the very soul, and I believe God speaks through it. Enjoy!

Volume 4: What is the Emerging Church?

On YouTube there was a video discussion going on about the Emerging Church movement. One older gentleman (trust me, I am using that word VERY loosely) was calling Emerging Church "stupid, heretical, and unorthodox." I have refrained from putting his voice up here because it is filled with such vitriol. This video is of a Roman Catholic priest defending the Emerging Church movement by responding to said gentleman!

I thought it might be fun to just hear what a younger Catholic perspective might be.

Volume 3: What is the Emerging Church?

Mark Driscoll, Evangelical author and pastor, comments on his views of the Emerging Church. His views are a mostly fair minded, Evangelical perspective, which is why I include him. It is wise to hear from a variety of traditions and viewpoints.

You can hear his discomfort with parts of the emerging church when he addresses an important issue of what values and beliefs we can/are willing to leave behind. This is an appropriate question and concern that gets to the heart of Emerging Theology: The doing away with doctrines. Scary for some. Liberating for others. What makes a Christian? Believing propositional statements or following Jesus with our lives? I believe the latter, and so I believe it's time to do away with Modernist propositions that do more to divide than unite.

Unfortunately, he also makes an Al Gore claim of being one of the "founders" of the Emerging Church movement. Just like our former VP and the internet, the facts don't quite work out that way...

The beautiful thing about the Emerging Church movement is that it was born around the globe simultaneously over many years of painful soul searching. Surely there was a better way to be the Church? We've failed in so many different ways. What does it really mean to be a Christian...a Follower of Jesus the Christ? These questions drove several Christian faith communities to explore theological and methodological traditions from our past. It wasn't created in one place by one person. In my humble opinion, the Holy Spirit is bringing the Church together from many different places and traditions in order to do something new. That is exciting.

The one thing Mark really brings out is the contextual and missional component of the Emerging Church. That seems be a cornerstone of the Emerging Church movement: New forms of communication, new ways of thinking, new ways of speaking will all need new ways to contextualize the Gospel (i.e. make the Gospel speak today's language and culture). Afterall, just by reading this you are partaking in a new way of sharing our lives together.

Volume 2: What is the Emerging Church?

This video is 11 minutes, so it is long. However, it is a documentary of the Emerging Church movement done from within the movement itself. It is done alongside Solomon's Porch an emerging church flagship. Again, notice about midway through the discussion that he speaks of "going native," which is a discussion of how the Christian life is by definition missional. We believe that the Church needs to wake from her slumber of complacency to a faith that Jesus died to give: A faith that tranforms our lives such that we reflect the love of God in all that we say and do.

Volume 1: What is the Emerging Church?

This video has Dr. Ray Bolger, an emerging church leader, speaking of the emerging church. His insights are very helpful, and I believe representative of most emerging churches. Church as family vs. institution is critical. Emerging movements are all about community...not building or organization.

I really like his description of the emerging church as trying to find God's fingerprints on culture. My view of truth is that Truth is God's fingerprints in the universe. Therefore, in all things we can find some truth, but in no single thing can we find all truth. Emerging Church movements recognize this and are approaching faith more humbly. We believe in Truth, but with the understanding that we know only in part...as through a mirror, dimly, but one day we will know fully...and be fully known.

Intro: What is the Emerging Church?

I've had several people ask me about the Emerging Church movement. Some hear me talk about my ideas. Others have seen or heard of Rob Bell. Others still have read Brian McLaren, Leonard Sweet, or visited sites like Emergent Village. I am going to run a series of articles and videos on the Emerging Church movement the next few days...maybe weeks if the discussion is good. My goal in all of this is to spark discussion, so please feel free to comment away!!!

This video is a Nightline special about the Emerging Church. It is a good intro if you have never heard of Emerging Church before now. For those of you more into the movement, don't worry, I'm going to give better explanations later...This is afterall an intro!