Anthony Bradley, writing for World Mag makes the claim that whatever was called "The Emerging Church" is now officially emerged (is that a word?). Here's his point:
Reading a new book or going to a conference about the emerging church is a waste of time and money unless it’s to understand the movement as a recent historical one. The emerging church movement has ended. Andrew Jones, a leader of the movement in the U.K., wrote about the demise at the end of 2009. Rob Bell, the founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., delivered an April 4 sermon on the Resurrection that marks, in my opinion, the end of an era. Bell recounts how Mars Hill started out to be a different kind of church without the baggage of watered-down “seeker” churches and the religious legalism of “traditional” churches. In a moment of wonderful honesty Bell admitted that Mars Hill had become a big institution that wounded people in similar ways as the churches many Gen-Xers swore they would not mimic. Jones affirms much of Bell’s experience on his blog.
From Brian McLaren to Erwin McManus to Rob Bell to Tony Jones to Mark Driscoll and others, the theological lines have been drawn and are settled. We have all moved on. We know who fits into evangelicalism, post-liberalism, Anabaptism, Calvinism, and so on."
I'd have to say based on my limited experience, this commentary seems to be right on. I never saw any semblance of whatever was considered the "Emergent Church" really taking root anywhere (certainly not within the L.B., but also not in the broader Evangelical world).
So then, were there any Positives coming out of this movement? Negatives? Is Bradley right? Is the "Emergent Church" really over?
A few years ago Christian Smith, a researcher from the National Study of Youth and Religion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found some disturbing trends among youth and their views of God.
It seems that their religion can be summed up with the words, "Moralistic, Therapeutic, Deism." That is, there is a God who created the world and watches over it kind of (Deism); He wants us to be nice and fair and "good." (Moralistic) However, the only time that God seems to matter is when you're going through hard times (Therapeutic).
Of the three thousand teens interviewed in this study, most of them had no idea what the basic beliefs of their faith were. They seemed to talk about God as being good to talk to, but not as a Deity, as a Friend. Unfortunately, many of those questioned were Christian kids who had grown up in Church.
What should the Church do in order to counteract this thinking?
Perusing around the Resurgence a while back I found this little post about how the Church does it's mission. It's written by Tim Chester:
Ordinary Life
"Here’s another way of thinking about it. One of the catchphrases we use to capture our vision is “ordinary life with gospel intentionality” or “ordinary people doing ordinary things with gospel intentionality.” In other words, what we do is ordinary life together: household chores, trips to the movies, meals, neighborhood volunteering. But running through all these activities is a commitment to speaking and living the gospel. We pastor one another at the kitchen sink. We evangelize by talking about Jesus over a meal."
Yes, yes, yes! I couldn't have said it better myself. This is the way the gospel primarily is spread. People living out their callings (vocations) with Jesus being in all of it. So often we want to do events, have revivals, "draw people in;" this view says, we don't try and draw people in, but we are drawn out, compelled to go out, to them. It is in the ordinary, the mundane, even the boring, that God most often does His work.
Why is it so much easier to tell people what they need to do or don't do?
1. Our natures are hardwired to believing that the way to get right with God is by obedience (witness every other religion in the known universe!)
2. We think if we just know what to do, we'll naturally do it (witness Greek philosophy)
3. We think if people are just made aware of the potential consequences of their actions, logic and reason will take over and they'll surely stop. Though this can happen outwardly, internally, their desires will remain the same. Usually, then they'll continue the behavior, believing that the consequences discussed won't really happen to them (witness Teenagers).
There are many other reasons I'm sure for preaching what Edmund Clowney called "Synagogue Sermons," but the only message that can truly change a person from the inside out (the only change that truly matters) comes from the preaching of the Gospel.
The good news is, though you are a sinner (Rebel by nature), have sinned, failed, will continue to fail and never fully in this life, "Love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength" as you should, Jesus, God's own Son has done it for you. He has lived perfectly in our place, bore the penalty of our sin on the cross, and rose again for our justification. He became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21).
As I thought about this, I couldn't help but remember a short snippet of a sermon I watched not long ago. In it, Chandler describes sitting through a very typical Synagogue sermon, with a very sinful friend next to him. Here after all is why this matters:
I absolutely love reading the parables of Jesus. They have such a gentle way of opening up discussion and teaching biblical truths! Following in the spirit of the New Testament I submit these parables to you. Have a great time working through these four parable and may they grant discussion, clarification and understanding of church history's different views of mankind.
There was a swimmer in a lake a mile from land. While treading water the swimmer noticed that the water posed a threat. The lake was deep and dark. As a result the swimmer thought of the Lifeguard, who sat a mile away on the beach of safety. The swimmer thought, “What would the Lifeguard do?” Being inspired by the great example of the Lifeguard; the swimmer began to replicate the swimming techniques that had been previously demonstrated. In the swimming journey back to the shore of safety, the swimmer felt appreciation towards the Lifeguard because He was a Great Example in a time of need. The swimmer continued to diligently mimic the Lifeguard’s swimming technique all the way to the shore where the swimmer would eventually be removed from the deep and dark waters of danger.
There was a swimmer in a lake a mile from land. While treading water the swimmer noticed that the water posed a great threat. The lake was deep, dark and full of weeds. In fact, the weeds were so thick that if trapped in the weeds they would most definitely pull the best of swimmers under. As a result the swimmer thought of the Lifeguard, who sat a mile away on the beach of safety. The swimmer thought, “I better take the initiative and call for help. The Lifeguard will be able to help me through this weed infested water!” With a great amount of force the swimmer yelled out to the Lifeguard for help. Within minutes the Lifeguard was there at the side of the swimmer. The Lifeguard looked at the swimmer and said, “Don’t worry my friend, just swim with me and I will help you maneuver around the weeds to safety!” In the swimming journey back to shore, the swimmer felt lucky and continually thanked the Lifeguard because He was a Helper in a time of need. Both the swimmer and Lifeguard continued to vigorously swim together all the way to the shore where the swimmer would eventually be removed from the deep, dark and weedy waters of danger.
There was a swimmer in a lake a mile from land. While treading water the swimmer began to have a leg cramp; a leg cramp that posed an incredible threat. In fact, the leg cramp became so bad that the swimmer started to drown. The swimmer started to gulp up water, splash violently and the weight of the water began to press in. As a result the Lifeguard, who sat a mile away on the beach of safety, saw the swimmer’s distress. The Lifeguard yelled out, “I will not abandon you… I am coming to rescue you!” Within minutes the Lifeguard was there and He cast out a life preserver to the swimmer. The Lifeguard looked at the swimmer and said, “Trust me my friend… reach out and grab a hold of the life preserver!” The sight of the Lifeguard and the sound of His voice granted the swimmer the confidence to reach out and grab a hold of the life preserver even though there was chaos, a leg cramp and a hopeless situation of drowning. While the swimmer held tightly to the life preserver and kicked from time to time towards land; the Lifeguard pulled the swimmer through the water. On the journey back towards the beach of safety the swimmer felt grateful, comforted and continually spoke forth praises because the Lifeguard was a Rescuer in a time of need. The Lifeguard continued to pull the swimmer, who was holding on to the life preserver, all the way to the shore where the swimmer would eventually be removed from the threat of a leg cramp, a hopeless drowning situation and the deep, dark and weedy waters of danger.
There was a swimmer in a lake a mile from land. The swimmer had drowned. A body laid motionless, dead and saturated with water at the bottom of the deep, dark and weedy water. The swimmer was devastated and hopeless to say the least. As a result the Lifeguard, who sat a mile away on the beach of safety, took notice that one of His swimmers was not in sight. The Lifeguard made His hand into a fist and said, “I am not willing for any of my swimmers to perish… I will go out and find my swimmer!” Within minutes the Lifeguard found the swimmer. The swimmer was at the bottom of the lake ensnared by the weeds; dead and motionless. The Lifeguard looked at the swimmer and said, “I must descend to the depths of this lake, grab a hold of this dead body and give CPR!” The Lifeguard then dove into the depths of the water, fought His way through the weeds, grabbed a hold of the dead body and brought the body out of the depths of the deep water to the surface. Once on the surface of the water, the Lifeguard performed CPR upon the swimmer. The breath of the Lifeguard drove out the water and filled the swimmer’s lungs with refreshing air. The pulsating pumping of the Lifeguard’s hands upon the swimmer’s heart, firmly but gently, revived the swimmer’s heart. All of a sudden life came out of this motionless, dead and water saturated body. While the swimmer was shocked, disoriented and powerless, the Lifeguard tightly placed His arm around the swimmer’s chest and pulled the swimmer through the water towards the shore of safety. While being pulled through the water by the Lifeguard, the swimmer felt secure, became overwhelmed with the gift of life and continually wept with praises because the Lifeguard was a Life-giver in a time of need. The Lifeguard continued to pull the powerless swimmer all the way to the shore where the swimmer would eventually be removed from the threat of death, drowning and the deep, dark and weedy waters of danger.
Questions on the Four
Parables:
1) What was the main threat in each of the parables? (i.e. water, seaweed, the
swimmer)
2) What were the response and role of the swimmer in each of parable?
3) What was the response and role of the Lifeguard in each parable?
4)
Who was the hero in each of the parables?
5)
Who did the majority of the work: in solving the threat?
6) After the threat settled, how did the swimmer view the Lifeguard
in the parables?
7) Expound on the meaning of each parable in relationship to us.
8) Expound on the meaning of each parable in relationship to our world.
9) Expound on the meaning
of each parable in relationship to our
sin.
10) Expound on the meaning
of each parable in relationship to Christ.
11) Who represents the swimmer, the Lifeguard?
12) What does the water and seaweed represent?
13) Compare and contrast each of the parables in connection to scripture.
Each parable scenario is explained below. The footnote explanations come from: Robert Walton Chronological and Background Charts of Church History (Zondervan, 1986)
[1] Pelagianism: Man is essentially good and capable of doing what is necessary for salvation (Pelagius ~ Late 4th & Early 5th Century)
[2]Semi-Pelagianism: The grace of God and the will of man work together in salvation, in which man must take the initiative. (John Cassian ~ Late 4th & Early 5th Century)
[3]Semi-Augustianism: The grace of God comes to all, enabling a person to choose and perform what is necessary for salvation. (Caesarius of Arles ~ Late 5th & Early 6th Century)
[4]Augustianism: Man is dead in sin; salvation is totally by the grace of God, which is given only to those in Christ (Augustine of Hippo ~ Late 4th & Early 5th Century)
