I've absolutely never had any idea what emergent churches were and I still don't but I started checking them out and came upon this emergent church website. There's actually a prayer lava lamp! What's that? Not really sure but they've got one and it's interactive! and it has it's own ambiance music to get you in the mood. You click on a bubble, right in your prayer and watch it float away....No, God doesn't respond on your screen so much. Well, I don't know, I tested it and prayed for facial-hair as a test, even though I don't want more facial hair. That was the wifey's idea. You gotta see it I guess....
Anyway, they have part of the Wikipedia explanation of what an Emergent church is and that blurb is this: "...the emerging church seeks to deconstruct and reconstruct Christianity as its mainly Western members live in a postmodern culture..."
I bring this up because this is very similar to what I wanted to do for myself in this blog and the FIRST part is almost word for word on one of my first posts (I don't trust postmodernists. What can I say, It was bred in to me.) Anyway, kind of a co-inkidink I thought., Let's see if these postmodernist emergent types are "full of it" or have something going here.
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'm not sure why but the Emergent Church thing scares me. The book of Judges has made a BIG impression on me - how God's own chosen constantly strayed into idolatry.
The first time I read through it I found myself thinking - "Boy! there they go again!! Don't they ever learn?!!" There was constant straying - punishment - by other countries God used to overpower and enslave them. (Talk about physical abuse!) Finally they would see their sin and turn to God and He would forgive them and free them from bondage. Then a few years down the road in the next generation it would all happen again! That's why we're compared to sheep I guess. Funny how it is much easier for one to see others stray (as when I read Judges) than to see myself taking a turn in the wrong direction -like say -of complacency. Now I read it and think instead - I'd better watch myself!
Maybe the lava lamp thing was started with good intentions - but
I'm thinking "God help us from good intentions!
I don't know enough about it yet. Just a curiosity. From the little I've read from their own pages it doesn't seem like there's a lot of talk of the Almighty. It's more of a response to other religon's. The substance may be suspect but I don't know and there aren't any of these churches around here to check out in person. Some of it seems hokie but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I guess I'm at the point where I'm thinking to myself after having gone to traditional churches that I better watch out because comfort doesn't equate a close walk with God.
Curious...
I'll haven't looked in to it much lately. I should do that again.
If you search blogger with the words emergent church there's one that has a top 50 (not sure what the rating system is.. I think it says)
emergent churhes.bryanmurley.com
I have read a book by D. A. Carson, "Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church." I recommend it for this issue. He explains the Emergent Church very well. BTW, this man came to our school to speak the the teachers a while ago... The Emergent Church movement brings a plethora of postmodern ideas. Notice how I said "movement." Not too many Churches will claim to be Emergent Churches, rather it is a movement starting to appear in "regular" Churches. Carson explains how we can deal with the movement. As you have probably already realized, the postmodern culture arisen has a lot to do with the Emergent Church. You will have a spectrum of different Emergent and postmodern supporters. You have some that allorgorize and spiritualize the scriptures so that nothing is authoritative, which brings relative truth. Some Emergent Church idealists don't look at the Scriptures at all. Carson writes about McLaren who is an Emergent Church writer. Emergent Church (or can I say postmodern) writers are interested in conversation, not truth. I cannot say that I have read McLarens book. But, it seems as though they are awfully authoritative for explaining truth as relative.
Postmodernism has many implications. Some will think that we need to present the Gospel in a way that people can understand. This is a good idea, yet we must not change the Scriptures to do this. The Scriptures are not bound by culture, language, or societal differences between the the time it was written and our day. The scriptures are written by a supernatural God, therefore it will take a supernatural Helper to understand the things of God. Men cannot change the meaning of the Bible. The Holy Spirit will guide and illumine the broken who are chosen by God. So as we approach a postmodern society who thinks that even the bible is relative, we cannot bring a relative Gospel to reach them. We need to bring and offer them the one and only Word of God that is able to cut and pierce any soul making them dead to themselves and alive to Christ! The Word DOES change people.
I like to think of the Emergent Church this way: In trying to contextualize the Gospel, Emergent Church thinkers have committed syncretism. Contextualizing the gospel means to not allow ones own culture to interfere with the heathens dicision to follow Christ. Syncretism means: "Reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief"- This is bad.
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