Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly . COVER STORY . The Emerging Church, Part One . July 8, 2005 | PBS
PBS's religion and ethics weekly is doing a multi-part series on the emerging church. The video of part I - you can watch online. It is only 10 min and cannot say too much. More interesting are the full transcipts of the interviews. Justin Taylor has them linked up at Theologica
Also, note to DA Carson. You have a lot to say to our generation - but please take of the short sleeve and tie. People will hear you better if you do :)
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POC Blog
The random technotheolosophical blogging of Reid S. Monaghan
Short Term Missions - Words from the Wise
A saavy pastor friend of mine had some great feedback for the Short Term Missions Discussion going on at CT Online:
- What was the purpose of the SST’s they “analyzed”? As anyone knows who has done experimental research, conclusions and causes are not possible in studies that miss the questions and fail to study the relevant issues. All STT don’t fit one neat category.
- Establishing and maintaining strong partnerships that share leadership and kingdom vision are essential characteristics of viability and effectiveness. My guess is that most STT ministry lacks these two elements at one end or the other.
Faith a La Carte? The Emergent Church (July / Aug 2005 Modern Reformation Magazine)
This looks like a good balanced view of the Emerging Church over at Modern Reformation Magazine. They do a good job in the intro to the issue "Cool Kids Church" at stating the strengths of the movement and a brotherly affection for our emerging brothers. Now I'm sure the theological/philosophical issues will emerge (sorry, I could not resist) but the tone of this seems right, in the Spirit of Christ. For that I am thankful and look forward to the read.
Very cool - Faith a La Carte? The Emergent Church (July / Aug 2005 Modern Reformation Magazine)
HT - Theologica.blogspot.com
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What Should We Think of the Emerging Church?
Emergent - now Emerged
The Emergent church has now emerged. There is a national director (which was quickly renamed - national coordinator), and a board of directors (for legal status as a non profit - 501 c 3), and a coordinating committee. The national coordinator will be funded from contributions - perhaps like a coorperative program...apologies, I couldn't resist.
There are also streams of cooperation which are very interesting. Here are these streams (somewhat like focuses)
Justice: partnering with individuals and organizations that are working to end hunger, poverty, human trafficking, and environmental degradation
Community, Connections, and Cohorts: coordinating the efforts of existing networks and establishing cohorts around the country
New Networks, Outreach, and Affiliates: establishing new connections with various networks and organizations
Events: coordination of events that Emergent hosts, co-hosts, and sponsors
Diversity: a thrust to broaden the Emergent conversation, to bring in persons of different ethnicity, socio-economic, racial, and theological persuasion; also works to ensure that the male-female ratio in all Emergent initiatives are as close to even as possible
- Communication and Development: coordination of our efforts to communicate clearly and to raise funds
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. James 3:1I pray that passage from James always drives me to my knees...may all teachers of the Word, emergent or not - take heed. Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura, Sola Christos, Soli Deo Gloria --------
The Buzz on Barna...
For years George Barna has been the apostle of "marketing church" to the masses that he understands through polling and market research data. It seems now that after years of frustration in trying to "fix the church" he is reorganizing his organization to create new structures that will bring about the revolution he seeks. A few years back it seems this was brewing as he was pretty down on church leadership. This is from Christianity Today in 2002:
"The strategy was flawed because it had an assumption. The assumption was that the people in leadership are actually leaders. [I thought] all I need to do is give them the right information and they can draw the right conclusions . …Most people who are in positions of leadership in local churches aren't leaders. They're great people, but they're not really leaders."The Barna Group will now create the leaders (starting with 8-12 year old kids) - this is from their web site:
As involved and enthusiastic as I am about these first three divisions, the one that really gets my juices flowing is the Josiah Corps. The paucity of godly leadership in the local church today is not because God failed to provide the leaders required. The obstacle has been how we define, identify, train, resource and support godly, called, gifted, visionary leaders. Unlike the popular teaching in many churches today, you do not decide to be a leader; you are a leader only if God calls you to that ministry. To address the church’s leadership paralysis, the vision for the Josiah Corps is to annually identify a nationwide collection of kids between the ages of 8 and 12 who have the calling and gifting to be godly leaders, and to pour 10-15 years of resources into their lives so that they are ready to lead us in fighting the good fight by the time they reach their early twenties. Through a combination of evaluation tools, mentoring/coaching, character formation, skill development, leadership teaching, hands-on experiences, team building, networking, apprenticeships, peer clusters, prayer, and feedback and assessment, we pray that the Lord will allow us to help raise up a mighty army of strong and courageous young leaders who will help our nation to honor God more completely.Maybe it is just me, but does this seem weird? Should not family and local church form the next generation of children? The Barna Group? I have been puzzled by his methodology "analyze research data" - then predict and plot trends of what is going to happen, report to "church leaders", say to them "you need to change" (sometimes "change or die"). It is amazing to say that we might predict the work of the Spirit of God by data, market trends, etc. Seems almost silly at times...Is it not true that God in his good pleasure, and eternal plans, loves his church and his purposes for his bride shall prevail. It makes me appreciate all the more, those who take their direction from the Word of God rather than the changing winds of the opinions of men. Now, I am all for engaging culture, using modern technonlogy, speaking the lingua franca of our day. Putting eternal truth in new clothes for a new generation...etc. But Barna seems to act like "he knows what everyone should be doing" because of his "data" and sends scurrying church mice running to and fro trying to avoid irrelevance. We can do better. Here is Barna's new plan as laid out on his web site - Reinvention of the Barna Group --------
Between Two Worlds: Philadelphia Inquirer on Emergent
Justin Taylor has some great advice for young believers in our day:
The church often fails in two directions, I believe: (1) they are both in and of (impossible to distinguish from the world), or (2) they are of but not in (worldly but isolated). The biblical road is much more difficult: remaining and engaging without accomodating and capitulating.Full post here: Between Two Worlds: Philadelphia Inquirer on Emergent --------
Brett Kunkle at Emergent
over at Stand to Reason's WEBLOG Brett Kunkle is recording his thoughts from the Emergent Convention this week in Nashville. Yes, Nashville - I would have loved to attend, but was "on assignment" in Peru - very ironic...while I was teaching on the inconsistencies of relativism and the incoherence of pluralism, the emergent folk seem to be reveling in conclusions that relativism and pluralism are "t-ruth" (little t of course). Many thanks to Mr. Kunkle for his insightful posts on the ongoings at Emergent.
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Ministry without Theology?
Melinda Penner over at Stand to Reason has a great little post about the importance of Theology for Christian ministers. See The Study of God
We live in a profoundly shallow time for evangelical faith, but their are signs that this is changing. May we pray that love of God with affections and intellect, emotion and contemplation, may rise again to lofty heights in our day. Psalm 139, after a brief meditation on the knowledge of God, the psalmist writes - "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it." High knowledge, too lofty for us - most of the time we never have a thought that seems too wonderful, too mind blowing, that it humbles us to worship. The study of God will never exhaust its task, for the depths of the riches of God are deep, and beyond that is the glorious unknown...plumbing the depths of what is revealed about God makes the soul soar, weep, worship. To know God, to be known by him, such is too wonderful - to love him, to think of him, to praise him as he is and not as we speculate him to be...such is the task of Theology...
Thanks Melinda; for reminding minsters of our task
Out
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Church History
Believers today know so very little about the past, especially the Christian past. While secularists will only decry the injustices down by church and Christianity in the past - this is so much of a caricature of the actual facts. Yes, there were abuses and injustices and down right evil atrocities done (in contradiction to the teachings of Jesus) in the name of Christianity. But the truth of the matter is that more good has been done by the gospel of Jesus Christ than anything in history (See Christianity on Trial - Arguments Against anti-religious Bigotry by Carroll and Shiflett)
A few books you may want to check out on the church history side of things…very good reading
- I like Bruce Shelley’s Church History in Plain Language
- One that is a small volume is The 100 Most important events in Christian History by Curtis, Lang, and Peterson…
- The One Year Book of Christian History by E. Michael Rusten, Sharon O. Rusten is a fun book that has a reading form Church History every day.
The Life of David Brainerd
MP3s of God's truth, lofty words, beautiful teaching, testimony to saints gone before, has many days lingered in me to lift me out of dark days of soul. This morning a long traffic jam afforded a lengthy listening to a biography on the life of David Brainerd. Brainerd, who lived but to the age of 29, who for the last 7 years of life literally spit up blood due to chronic tuberculosis...all the while giving himself to missions to the Indians in New England. Living in lonely isolation, sick and many times depressed this man's life has become an inspiration to so many. A few quotes - these come from "The Life of David Brainerd" by Jonathan Edwards:
O I longed to fill the remaining moments all for God! Though my body was so feeble, and wearied with preaching and much private conversation, yet I wanted to sit up all night to do something for God. To God the giver of these refreshments, be glory forever and ever; Amen." (p. 246) February 21, 1746. "My soul was refreshed and comforted, and I could not but bless God, who had enabled me in some good measure to be faithful in the day past. Oh, how sweet it is to be spent and worn out for God!"
I continued wrestling with God in prayer for my dear little flock here; and more especially for the Indians elsewhere; as well as for dear friends in one place and another; till it was bed time and I feared I should hinder the family, etc. But oh, with what reluctancy did I find myself obliged to consume time in sleep!"
Highly recommended reading - and if reading is a challenge, listen to the audio version - you can aquire that as well:
Audio CD - Men of Whom the World is Not Worthy
David Brainerd's Blog - A blog which is rolling up entries from David Brainerd's journal in 1745
Linger well outside of our present age which is indeed fading away - and long that your hearts might dwell on wonderful, glorious, light giving, things which are eternal Out...
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Emergent Church
Justin Taylor of Desiring God Ministries has a good blog entry on the Emerging Church...
Two books coming out soon should be of interest:
- DA Carson's - Becomming Conversant with Emergent - Zondervan 2005 - coming in April 05.
- Scott Smith's - Truth and the New Kind of Christian: Accessing the Emerging Effects of Postmodernism in the Church ocming in September from Crossway
My take so far on the bazillion (is that a word?) blog entries, I have read, books, etc. is this:
The Good
- Calling the church to “LIVE the gospel” - The gospel is not just believing things, but being transformed and changed so that we are, and we serve, and we share Christ with others.
- Calling the church to give a rip about the poor because our hearts are way too cold and our actions at times non existent in loving the least of these.
- Calling the church on its captivity to “modernist management techniques” etc. That we cannot manage everything so tightly, life is messy, ministry with people is messy, and managing it all to death can dishonor our God whom we serve.
- A strong desire for depth of community - realizing the bigger is not always better/more successful/etc. {I would add that bigger does not have to mean bad either}
The Not So Good (formerly know as The Bad but "remimagined for our postmodern times")
- Though the gospel is not just believing things, we must believe in HIM - and Jesus is not defined to be whatever we or "culture" believe him to be. He is defined by his own self revelation in Scripture, his own Word, his own propositions saying "I am...." . We sure hate it when others judge us and do not let us speak for ourselves. Life with God is by faith and trust in God's truth which saves us. We believe in God, the identity of his Son, his atoning work, his dire warnings, etc. Not just whatever I imagine Him to be.
- Philosophy that undermines the very nature of the Faith 1) Denial of linguistic ability to transcend one's culture or language game (ala Wittgenstein) 2) Too heavy an emphasis on Reader Response Hermenuetics. Yes, we have bias' but if the Scirptures are a Word from outside - truly from God, they serve as the norm which can correct our bias' and misperceptions about reality 3) Following of subjective feelings devoid of a Biblical worldview by which to judge our feelings, perceptions, "spiritual leadings, etc" - very scary if we only listen to "the voice within"
- Pluralism, Syncretism and the Denial of Doctrines which do not tickle the contemporary ear. This is nothing new in history. We do not like that Jesus claimed for himself to be the unique, prexistance Son of God, The unique Savior of humanity, the unique payment for sin and the Lord of Lords. That we must have faith in this Jesus (not he Jesus of our imagination or our inner voices) in order to be reconciled with God. We don't like thinking that "all the religions out there" are mistaken about God and Jesus - not mistaken about all things, but judged by Jesus himself if they deny his divinity. We do not like gehena (Hell), I don't think it is a fun-fun, joy-joy place either, but it is not love to be silent about a teaching Jesus reminded people about so much - If we do not turn to him, we perish.
The Ugly
- Well that would be my crooked nose that I broke two times in college.
Anglican Church in Africa...A Biblical Sort
There has been much internal strife in the worldwide Anglican Communion over The Episcopal Church's Decision to ordain an openly gay bishop. It seems that the majority of Anglicans, primarily from Africa, have taken a stand for Biblical morality...that God has designed sexuality for a purpose. Article here.
It will be interesting to watch these African leaders as they lovingly assert truth to their "enlightened western brothers."
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High and Holy Days
The season of Lent is upon us. The holy days of the Christian calendar revolved around the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday are all great signposts in a culture to the completed work on redemption by God in Christ. I was thinking this weekend about America's public secular life...What are the "high and holy days" of popular culture in 2004 America? I didn't have to go too far to find the regular, seasonal, convergence celebrated each year by Americans of all walks of life. Could we be in some high and holy days of our culture right now?
Today there are community fellowships, office discussions, and jubilant celebration taking place each weekend during this "Mad" month of March. Religion? Idol Worship? I'll leave those questions for you to answer. But a question can be asked of us as believers. What gets us more jacked up? Easter or March Madness?
Out...
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