EXAMINING EMERGENT

Good Bye!

2009-04-02T13:46:00.000-04:00

This blog will be removed shortly.Consider this your advance warning!

Links to Every Section of This Study

2006-11-09T19:37:00.000-05:00

The following works like a table of contents to this blog. You can always start from here and work your way through the entire presentation. Welcome!------------------------------ Welcome! 10 Apr 2006 On Monday, April 10, 2006, I delivered a paper detailing my research into "The Emergent Church" for a local Pastor's Fellowship. The meeting was attended by many different folks, some

Closing Thoughts: Timeless Words on Emergent from C.H. Spurgeon

2006-05-19T14:17:00.000-04:00

Excerpts from “The Need of Decision for the Truth” A College Address, by C. H. Spurgeon From the March 1874 Sword and Trowel Magazine We have a faith to preach, my brethren, and we are sent forth with a message from God. We are not left to fabricate the message as we go along. We are not sent forth by our Master with this kind of general commission—" As you shall think in your heart and

Appendix Three: Names, Groups and Events Associated with Emergent

2006-05-13T18:45:00.000-04:00

Names Closely Associated with EC Ryan Bolger is assistant professor of church in contemporary culture in the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the coauthor (with Eddie Gibbs) of Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Communities in Postmodern Cultures. John Burke is pastor of Gateway Community Church in Austin, Texas. He is also the president of

Appendix Two: Was Jesus Purposefully Confusing In Order to Lure Others Into Following Him?

2006-05-11T15:38:00.000-04:00

Much of McLaren’s “Secret Message” is based upon the idea that Jesus told obscure parables in order to lure people into following Him. From this premise, he goes on to suggest that we ought to do the exact same thing. Meaning, we ought to learn to speak in parable and create intrigue both by our words and in our actions. It sounds like we are to become something like Eastern Guru’s... creating

Appendix One: Does Emergent/US Embrace Practicing Jews as Fellow Believers in the One True God?

2006-05-06T20:06:00.000-04:00

An unsettling event took place this past month in New York City. Emergent-US leaders Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones were full participants in a Jewish Emergent Dialogue called Synagogue 3000. From the website: S3K – Synagogue 3000 is a catalyst for excellence, empowering congregations and communities to create synagogues that are sacred and vital centers of Jewish life.[1] Turtling is when

Where Emergent Goes Bad (6) - Should Belonging Precede Believing?

2006-04-24T17:06:00.000-04:00

Some have argued that EC is fundamentally an off-shoot of the seeker-sensitive movement so popular in the last decade.[1] This is no where more clear than in the EC desire to allow people “in” before they “believe.” In other words, this is taking the seeker model of “making church inviting to unbelievers” to a new level (its logical conclusion?).

Where Emergent Goes Bad (5) - Confusion Over Homosexuality and Post-Modernism

2006-04-22T13:16:00.000-04:00

In January of this year, a controversy surrounding the sinfulness of homosexuality erupted between Driscoll and McLaren. The first part of the issue is summarized in this posting by Driscoll on the Leadership Journal’s “Out of Ur” blog: Well, it seems that Brian McLaren and the Emergent crowd are emerging into homo-evangelicals... For me, the concern started when McLaren in the February 7,

Where Emergent Goes Bad (4) - Some (like McLaren) Open the Door to Universalism

2006-04-20T13:16:00.000-04:00

I am not aware if McLaren has actually denied being a Universalist. He certainly never comes out and states that he does believe every person will eventually go to heaven, but I will offer a few extended quotes to demonstrate why so many accuse him of this heresy. If the Evangelical Jesus saves by dying, the Pentecostal Jesus by sending his Spirit, and the Catholic Jesus by rising from death

Where Emergent Goes Bad (3) - Historical Revisionism

2006-04-19T09:44:00.000-04:00

Historical Inaccuracy – Purposeful Revision? This leads us to another habit which is commonplace in EC. My own opinion is that the majority of EC authors are given to purposeful revision of historical matters to suit their own ends. There needs to be a serious work written to refute some of the patently erroneous statements made that serve as the foundation to much of the EC. One tiny

Where Emergent Goes Bad (2) - What Defines a "Christian?"

2006-04-16T19:36:00.000-04:00

Naming Christ Makes Someone a True ChristianA related fallacy to this is assuming any action or person that happens to mention “Jesus” is an example of true Christianity. McLaren’s slipshod treatment of the Spanish Roman Catholic explorer Pizarro is an easy example of this. Pizarro betrayed the Incan King and killed him and thousands of his men in the name of Christ.<

Where Emergent Goes Bad (1) - Over-generalization

2006-04-14T08:54:00.000-04:00

The Steady EC Diet – Over-generalization and Guilt-by-Association Brian McLaren paints with extremely wide brushes. He categorizes people and movements with the accuracy of one of those extra-wide rollers you can buy at Home Depot! This becomes absolutely frustrating in all his written work I have read. The end result is a blurring of categories by rampant overgeneralization and a redundant

Where Emergent is Good

2006-04-13T07:36:00.000-04:00

Diagnosis of One Particular Form of Evangelicalism One of the skills of an excellent physician is the ability to quickly and accurately diagnose the illness. EC certainly has some good diagnostic skill (with several qualifications). For if EC is nothing else, it is a reaction to the sham Christianity and false spirituality that abounds in today’s church. The examples of this in McLaren’s

Persons, Churches and Organizations Strongly Associated with Emergent – How it is a Movement

2006-04-12T08:54:00.000-04:00

Since EC is a movement among many individuals that crosses virtually every denominational boundary, it would perhaps be helpful to identify some of the more prominent individuals. Most folks by now have heard of Brian McLaren. If not the most outspoken proponent of EC, he is by far the most prolific. Until January of 2006, he was the pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church in Spencerville,

Defining the Indefinable?

2006-04-10T16:38:00.000-04:00

What is Emergent? Nailing Jell-o to a wall. Stapling wet noodles to the ceiling. You will have about as much success attempting these things as you will at defining Emergent.[1] To begin with, you have to decide what to classify it as; is it a movement, a group, a way to keep High School kids going to church, a denomination, a groundswell, a

Introduction

2006-04-10T16:00:00.000-04:00

“Have you heard of this ‘emergent church?’” “Do you have any idea what it is all about?” “What is a ‘missional?’” “What about this McLaren fellow, have you read his books?” These kinds of questions have been asked of me (and perhaps of you) with increasing frequency in the last few years. To be honest, I was never very interested in researching the topic. By my limited reading it seemed

Welcome!

2006-04-10T15:43:00.000-04:00

On Monday, April 10, 2006, I delivered a paper detailing my research into "The Emergent Church" for a local Pastor's Fellowship. The meeting was attended by many different folks, some involved in the emergent movement and others just hearing of it for the first time.I am posting that paper here in sections. The idea is to invite comment on each section as we go along and see if we cannot learn