Pastor’s FAQs File: The Emerging Church [Part 1]

Every once in a while I need to empty out my “Frequently Asked Questions” file and try to address some of them here. Far and away the questions I am asked most frequently these days has to do with what has been labeled the “emerging church.” Here are the usual queries. What is the emerging church? Are you pastor, part of the emerging church? Are Nazarenes a part of the emerging church? And is the emerging church a good or a bad thing? These are all good and important questions. 

 

This is highly unusual for me but rather than write one super long blog that addresses all these questions I thought I would take the next few days and address some of the questions about the emerging church one by one. This may mean that your BIG question about the emerging church doesn't get answered for a day or two, but please be patient and I'll try to get to the questions I consider to be the important ones. I also will probably not post comments or questions on the blog until I'm done with all the parts, but I would encourage you if you are interested to read each section.

 

Here are the questions I plan to cover:

Part 1: What is the emerging church?

Part 2: What are the common themes of the emerging church?

Part 3: What are primary critiques of the emerging church?

Part 4: What do we need to hear from the emerging church?

Part 5: Is the Nazarene Church (and PazNaz in particular) becoming or part of the emerging church?

 

I hate to give away the ending before the last chapter but let me say from the get go that I do not consider myself part of the emerging church nor am I trying to make PazNaz an emerging congregation. The emerging church is such a new and amorphous movement it is difficult to nail down exactly what it is, but nevertheless I do think there are some themes that we Nazarenes have in common with the movement, some things that we need to hear from them, but also some concerns that we want to raise. Whatever the case, I agree wholeheartedly with those who are doing what they must to reach the coming generations with the gospel. So to that end, let me deal with the some of the questions. Here's part one:

 

Part One: What is the Emerging Church?

The movement which is being called the “emerging church” (from now on I’ll abbreviate it as the EC), is very challenging to define because it is a very young movement and it intentionally has no central institution, no primary spokesperson, and no unifying statement of faith. It is important to distinguish between the EC as a movement and the Emergent Village which is a particular organization (primarily organized around a website by the same name) that has attempted to unify some of those who have taken on the label of an “emerging Christian.” Although many people who think of themselves as part of the EC are members of the Emergent Village, most are not.

Although what is today described as the EC began, as a conversation, about two-decades ago outside of the United States, the movement is only about a decade old in the US. The emerging conversation began among young Christian leaders for two primary reasons. The first is that, like the Boomer and Buster generations before them, Generations X and Y had grown disillusioned with and had begun leaving the churches in which they were raised and were not returning. So the conversation began with the question: What kind of church and worship practices resonate with the spiritual passions of the emerging or future generations? This is not a new conversation. In many ways this conversation has taken place at the end of every generational shift since the Reformation (and perhaps before).

What is new is the second part of the conversation. Not only is western culture going through continuous generational changes, but uniquely there seems to be a massive philosophical shift taking place in the culture. Most often this shift is described as a shift from modernity to postmodernity. If one adds to the philosophical shift taking place the fact that Generations X and Y are the first global (meaning they are not only used to cultural diversity but celebrate it) and post-Christian (meaning most of them have grown up outside of Church and with a secular worldview) generations in US history, one can see how the practice of the Christian faith might take on very different forms among them then it did in previous eras.

Thus the question that dominates the conversation among those who call themselves part of the EC is: What will the practice of Christianity look like 25 years from now? Is there a different kind of Christianity emerging that has many similarities to the way the Christian faith has been practiced in recent decades but may also have many differences as well?

 

Therefore it is critical to recognize that the EC is not a “thing” or a new denomination as much as it is an on-going and building conversation across many, many, denominational and theological lines. It is primarily a dialogue of “kindred spirits” with very little theological, ideological, or pragmatic uniformity. So to talk about emerging theology or EC practices is sort of tricky because there is so much divergence among those who call themselves part of the EC.

I would add one more thought to the definition. In the same way the Reformation would not have happened without the invention of the printing press, I don’t believe the EC would be an identifiable entity without the advent of the internet. Imagine if in 1517 the great reformer Martin Luther would have posted his 95 Theses on-line rather than on the door of the WittenburgChurch. Thousands and thousands of other young discontents with Roman Catholicism could have instantaneously joined in on Luther’s reforming conversation. Some would have agreed with his theology but not his politics, others would have celebrated his ideas about the abuses of Church authority but not his ideas about the authority of scripture. Also, rather than one Pope excommunicating one monk, there would have been thousands of websites in support of Luther and a thousand more from Catholic priests and laypersons denouncing Luther and those in conversation with him for their heresy and their destruction of long-standing theological principles. I certainly don’t think what is happening in the EC is on the level of the great Reformation, but whatever is going on in the EC conversation could not have grown to its current size in less than 10 years without the help of the internet and email.

Comments

[Bruce Nuffer]

Thank you so much for the undertaking to write an objective overview of this. Not being a member of your church, I do not know the discussions you have been having internally about this. But in the larger world of theological debate it's rare to find anyone who is not totally on one side or the other of this discussion. I think your last paragraph is especially helpful for me to consider how the circles I run in--and the websites/blogs I frequent--probably land me in one camp or the other and leave me largely ignorant of the views of the other side. As you pursue this endeavor, I will commit to being intentional about seeking out voices from both sides to also be fairly informed.

[Jenny Jenkins-Dill]

Pastor Scott, so far so good. I can pretty much track what you are saying so thanks so much. Every other site I have read so far on the EC has left me very confused. It is also very good to read thoughts from someone like you because I trust your heart for God and I guard my heart in Christ.

Jenny