The emerging church.

If you don’t know what the emerging (or emergent, depending on the source) church movement (ECM) is by now, you better get with the program.  It is quite possibly the future of church as we know it.

Dr. R. Todd Mangum, Dean of Faculty at Biblical Seminary, describes the ECM as:

“a loosely knit group of people in conversation about and trying experiments in forwarding the ministry of Jesus in new and different ways, as the people of God in a post-Christian context. From there, wide diversity abounds. “Emergents” seem to share one common trait: disillusionment with the organized, institutional church as it has existed through the 20th century (whether fundamentalist, liberal, megachurch, or tall-steeple liturgical). Its strengths: creative, energetic, youthful, authentic, highly relational. Its weaknesses: somewhat cynical, disorganized, sometimes reckless (even in the theological ideas willing to be entertained), immature.”

Basically, the ECM seems to be more of an idea than a literal church denomination (although there are many churches who claim this as their denomination).  The ECM tries to relate the scriptures and Jesus’ teachings to the 21st century Christian.  They use more conversational language, new technologies, and an emphasis on community outside of the church building as means of sharing the Gospel, rather than using older traditions of church.  They even go as far as opening churches in movie theatres and old malls rather than traditional church buildings.  I am a fan of the movement in ways, but also very troubled by it.

I tend to get nervous when people start questioning the scriptures.

Pros:

• The ECM pastors and teachers apply the scripture to today’s life struggles, and aim to be more relative to people who are struggling and need guidance.  They reach people whose souls aren’t affected when hearing about Noah’s Ark but don’t know why it applies to them.
• The ECM is “modern” in their ways of spreading the Gospel.  They make plenty of use of new technology such as sermon podcasts, blogs, satellite churches (where one church meets in several buildings and watches the sermon live on a video screen), etc.  This reaches people in avenues that people were previously not being reached.
• The ECM is a church planter’s dream.  If someone wants to build a church in the middle of the ghetto of Los Angeles or in a rich neighborhood in Malibu, they are encouraged to design the church to appeal to the surrounding community.  In a ghetto, your pastor and congregation can wear a t-shirt and jeans or in a upscale neighborhood, the pastor may wear a nice polo and flip-flops; it’s all about fitting in with the people you are trying to reach.  They believe in “meeting people where they are” and in building your church around the culture of the 21st century instead of asking the 21st century culture to fit into the church’s standards.  This is greatly effective when ministering to non-Christians who have been “turned off” by the legalistic rules of church, and instead feel more welcome to come “as they are.”

Cons

• Not all, but many ECM pastors stray away from biblical truths in an effort to “modernize” the scriptures.  Just because Hell sounds like a weird, scary, or even made up place, doesn’t mean it isn’t real.
• The ECM seems to teach that “conversation” about scripture is as important as the scripture itself.  The truth and meaning of scripture can be lost in the midst of “conversing.”  We are called to reach the lost and Paul tells us to become like the people you are trying to reach.  The danger is that when trying to “fit in,” you may allow a homosexual to think their sin is okay, and that repentance and a conscious effort to change aren’t necessary.  This perverts the truth of scripture.  We should never flat out change biblical truths just to appeal to a particular group.  It is okay to struggle with sin, but the sin itself is still unacceptable to God.

I am definitely intrigued by the ECM.  There are widely different views within people who consider themselves “emerging” or “emergent.”

Some are simply trying to make the church and Christianity more appealing to people who don’t normally attend church, but still seem to stick to basic biblical truths without argument.  This includes pastors Erwin McManus and Mark Driscoll, and author Donald Miller.  Acceptable.

There are also many ECM pastors, such as “emerging” leaders Brian McLaren and Doug Pagitt, who seem to question God’s sovereignty and very openly downplay biblical truths such as Hell and salvation through death on the cross.  Scary.

Somewhere in the middle might be pastor and author Rob Bell.  Overall, l am a fan of his; but I’m not totally sold on him.  He somewhat denies being part of the ECM, but seems to hold to most of the ECM’s basic ideals and ECM leaders speak at his church regularly.  His book, Velvet Elvis, is a favorite of mine and I tend to disagree with a lot of the extreme criticism he receives, but I’d still tell you to read his work carefully and with both eyes open.

I think the basic idea of “modernizing” the traditional church as we know it is the wave of the future, and I think it is necessary.  The word of God is alive, and relevant now; and adaptation is key if we are going to move forward with the generation of people living today.  That being said, the scriptures were written with a special meaning and purpose, and that cannot be compromised.

Put up a cool new sign.  Use a rock band or rap group to lead your worship.  Wear a t-shirt and jeans instead of a suit and tie.  Develop ministries to reach bikers, college students, soccer moms, or alcoholics.  Preach about topics that might ruffle a few feathers.  If it spreads the Gospel effectively without damaging scripture, then go for it.

Once the truth and inerrancy of scripture is questioned or tested, it becomes heresy.

The Barna Group is the leader in church polling and statistics.  They say that by 2025, Christians who get their main source of “God time” from their local church will drop from 70% (currently) to 30-35%.  That other 35-40% will mainly receive the Gospel from other outlets such as podcasts, books, internet services, etc.  Many ECM critics say that this movement is just a “fad” or a short flare up, but I’d argue that it’s ahead of the curve.

The fact is, there are many churches who still claim to be concrete denominations, such as Baptists and Methodists who still hold to their fundamental doctrines, that infuse the postmodern emerging ideas into their churches.  This movement is affecting everyone, and it’s getting harder to avoid it.

Right or wrong.  True or false.  The emerging church just might be here to stay.

*I know this is a controversial subject with many different viewpoints, and I welcome and encourage any debate, ideas, or opinions via my comment section.