Back last April Christianity Magazine did a good article critiquing the drive to close down congregations and replcace them with “emerging church” structures. They described Key Insights of the emergents many of which are valid, but they also listed concerns which could be aired.
KEY INSIGHTS
1. That most churches have moved away from the pioneering spirit of
the early church to be focused on set meetings.2. Many Christians find commitment to church activities leaves no time or energy reaching work colleagues and friends.
3. The language and assumptions of most churches are antagonistic to most postmoderns.
4. There is very little creativity in many church services designed to reach those outside church.
5. Churches don’t spend time encouraging their members in personal
witness and understanding people with a postmodern mindset.CONCERNS
1. Emerging church writers, analysis of the demise of the church in the west could be analysed differently. The church in other parts of the world (Africa, south east Asia, South America,) has seen rapid growth, with structures and approaches that are pretty similar to the styles being written off by emerging church writers. Some churches in the UK are making headway too. Is it because postmodernism hasn’t affected these places, or is it because the church in these areas more vibrant?
2. A church is by biblical definition, a group of those called together by God. This definition may free church from the trappings that have little to do with the Bible, but in some cases Emerging Church writers judge that the product (the church community) is not attractive to outsiders, as if the people who gather to worship are the focal point. Isn’t this like me failing to take a friend to see my favourite football team because I didn’t think the socio-economic background of the fans wouldn’t be to their liking? By all means work with affinity groups in evangelism, but when it comes to nurture, the church is diverse in age, background and outlook that’s its genius. The apostles were concerned to tell people how to get right with God. There was little or no comment on whether the community of believers was culturally relevant or not. They hoped their witness to God would be attractive but were equally aware that some would not wish to join them (see Acts 5:13).
Amazingly the writer of the article lets the following go uncommented-
In a joint interview with Christianity+Renewal Brian McLaren, pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church, USA, and author of many books on Post-Modernity and Emerging Church, and Steve Chalke, founding director of Oasis Trust, agreed that Jesus message was largely the kingdom of God, not trusting in his death for salvation. McLaren and Chalke speak of the need to stress original goodness alongside original sin, helping to create less rigid distinctions and connecting points that are less hostile and more amenable to the postmoderns distrust of universal truths. The mood is not the courtroom seeking to obtain a verdict but the pub, “having a natter about what is going on in our lives.
I am sorry to say that I have not been able to read the original article for this, but I have to question whether such statements leave any room to describe the authors as Christians let alone Evangelicals.
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