Without Author|ity 5: Traveling Light

The two major theological movements in Protestantism in the 20th century (one might argue in all of Christianity) were neo-orthodoxy and contextual theologies. In the first, led by Karl Barth, there was a recovery of biblical revelation and of a “high” Christology.

In the second, people in “base communities” had a Luther-like revelation as they read the Gospels: “Hey,” they said, “Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God (the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew) all the time!” That is, they realized that Jesus is not so concerned with his own divinity, defending the Trinity, or talking about the character of God. Instead, he is constantly talking about this present-future Kingdom.

As a result of this realization, “contextual theologies” sprung up around the world: liberation theology in Central and South America, Minjung theology in Korea, theology of hope in Germany, feminist theology in the U.S., and black theology in the U.S. and South Africa. All of these attempted to appropriate for a certain group the freedom that Jesus proclaims and brings in the Kingdom.

Nowadays, the bloom is pretty much off that rose. On the one hand, few want to go back to a universal, all-encompassing theology, but a different theology for every downtrodden group sounds a little like the Tower of Babel.

However, it is from this “Kingdom of God” move in theology that the emerging church gets its missional thrust (most in the emerging church have gotten it via Lesslie Newbigin, who was kind of a contextual theologian in reverse, bringing missionary sensibilities back to Great Britain).

To be missional means to be convinced that the Kingdom of God is about movement — it’s going somewhere. I’m often reminded of the American slave spiritual:

The Gospel train’s comin’

I hear it just at hand

I hear the car wheel rumblin’

And rollin’ thro’ the land

Get on board little children

Get on board little children

Get on board little children

There’s room for many more



I hear the train a-comin’

She’s comin’ round the curve

She’s loosened all her steam and brakes

And strainin’ ev’ry nerve

The fare is cheap and all can go

The rich and poor are there

No second class aboard this train

No difference in the fare

(A couple white guys turned it into a hymn in 1906 here; Waterdeep has a great version here.)

You see, there is both movement and urgency to the Kingdom of God in this conception. And it’s not just about a message — it requires action. You have to get on board or you will miss the train.

QED, Implication #2: The emerging church will be missional. That is, the emerging church will be developed in such a way as to be ready to respond with action to the call and movement of the Kingdom of God.

Subimplication: I contend that church hierarchies and bureaucracies diminish the ability of the church and of individual Christians to respond with action. You don’t have time to get the approval of a committee or a bishop if the train is pulling out of the station. Thus, the emerging church must be wary of any layers of administration or authority that will temper our ability to respond with action.