Current Issues: Emerging Church

1
Current Issues Emerging Church

• Bethany Baptist Church
• Jerry Sanderson
• Spring Electives 2007

2
More Overview

• PBS Video Part 2
• Various Postmodern discussion levels on knowing
  truth
• Is there truth?
• There is truth, but can we know it?
• We can know truth, but how certain can we be?
• We can have a certainty of truth, but what kind
  of certainty is it?

3
What does Scripture say?

• 1 John 513
• 1 Cor 1312
• John 146-7
• 2 Tim 112
• Col 18

4
Emerging vs Emergent

• While many people consider them synonymous, some
  want to make a distinction. Emergent can be
  specifically related to the Emergent Village a
  loose network churches. Other churches consider
  themselves Emerging, but dont want to be a part
  of the Emergent Village due to its stark break
  with Biblical orthodoxy. An example is Mark
  Driscoll who said..
• In the mid-1990s I was part of what is now known
  as the Emerging Church and spent some time
  traveling the country to speak on the emerging
  church in the emerging culture on a team put
  together by Leadership Network called the Young
  Leader Network. But, I eventually had to distance
  myself from the Emergent stream of the network
  because friends like Brian McLaren and Doug
  Pagitt began pushing a theological agenda that
  greatly troubled me. Examples include referring
  to God as a chick, questioning God's sovereignty
  over and knowledge of the future, denial of the
  substitutionary atonement at the cross, a low
  view of Scripture, and denial of hell which is
  one hell of a mistake. -- Mark Driscoll

5

• Video of Mark Driscoll
• Website of Emergent Village (www.emergentvillage.c
  om)
• Emerging Church does not want to be considered a
  movement, but a conversation. However, there are
  national conferences in the Emerging Church
  Movement

6
The Emerging Church - Terms

• Missional - temporal and social, rather than
  eternal and spiritual focus. Social acts of love
  and kindness to change the culture more important
  than calling people from out of the culture.
  Social action and acts of kindness more important
  than preaching and teaching.

7
Terms

• Fluid ecclesiology willingness to challenge
  existing church structures and respect for
  different expressions of Christian tradition.

8
Terms

• Conversation Safe environment for expressed
  opinions versus intolerant proclamation of dogma.
  Dogma (which takes on the negative connotation
  of the day) is the height of offense to them.

9
Terms

• Generous orthodoxy ecumenical, non-dogmatic,
  continual examination, flexible approach to
  theology, journey rather than a destination.
  Theology that points to God rather than a
  definition of God reality

10
Terms

• Hermeneutics the Emergents cultural
  hermeneutic is the readers cultural context.
• This contrasts with Conservative Evangelicals
  view of the writers cultural context and intent.

11
Terms

• Worship use of images, media sometimes going
  back to older traditions of worship including
  liturgical customs.
• They reach back to older traditions such as
  Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholicism.

12
Contemplative Prayer

• "This is really a very old Christian form of
  prayer which does not use words or active
  intellectual meditation," said Sister Marianne
  Burkhard, who leads a class in contemplative
  prayer at Holy Family Catholic Parish. "It is
  what is often called the 'receptive form of
  prayer' which cultivates stillness and interior
  silence."

13
Emerging Behavior

• Emerging Churches are open to conduct that they
  consider to have freedom in Christ, drinking,
  salty language, media with sexual content

14

• Emergents value experience over propositional,
  evangelistic preaching.
• Leonard Sweet argues that ministry should be EPIC
• Experiential
• Participatory
• Image driven
• Connected

15
Next Time

• Known names in the movement
• Examples of Emerging Church websites
• The tie from Postmodernism to the Emerging Church
• Tracing the church through modernism and the
  post-modern reaction