Reformed?

We in Emergent continue to get criticized by the conservative Reformed folks. We’re recently been written about at 9Marks, in, I think, an even-handed way.

But my neighbor in Minneapolis, John Piper, has invited folks to his conference next month with the words, “We think the post-propositional, post-dogmatic, post-authoritative ‘conversation’ is post-relevant and post-saving.” I assume this is a jab directly at Emergent/emerging.

Now, I’m quite confident that Piper (or whoever wrote this) has never read a word that I’ve written, so he must be talking about the work of Brian, and maybe of Spencer, Doug, John and Stan, et al. No matter.

What I find the most disheartening, I guess, is the smartass tone of the line. “Post-relevant”? That’s virtually meaningless. And “post-saving”? Is that meant to imply that our message is not the gospel, but theirs is? And anyway, who is the author of salvation? I understand the Reformed doctrine to be that God alone is the author of salvation. If that is so, how can our conversation about theology, gospel, and scripture be less “saving” than any other conversation about theology, gospel, and scripture?

FYI, I’ve sent emails to several of the presenters at Piper’s conference next month, inviting them to coffee. As someone writing a dissertation on a doctine (ecclesiology), I think they’ll find me quite dogmatic and propositional!