Thoughts on The Emerging Church

It's raining and looks as if it will do so all day long. I can neither fish nor golf today. I will think and write.

This is a week of reading in new developments in ecclesiology. That's a fancy way of saying, what churches are saying and doing currently as they seek to be faithful in contemporary culture.

I will call your attention to Dan Kimball's The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for New Generations. Kimball is the founding pastor of Graceland worship services at Santa Cruz Bible Church in Santa Cruz, California. [I've linked Dan's site to my blog. Scroll down to "Links worth visiting."] You've got to love the title of the services. I could not find anywhere in the book whether or not Kimball is an Elvis' fan. If he is and came right out with it, I would have reviewed his book even more favorably.

Kimball's book is thoughtful. He is a keen student of sociology and theology. He enlisted some heavy hitters to write the book's foreword: Rick Warren and Brian McLaren.

The word emerging is central to Kimball's ecclesiology. Emerging, simply defined, is that which is newly formed or just coming into prominence; coming to light or being discovered. Kimball cautions that there is no single model for the emerging church. For the most part, the emerging church is a mindset. It is a mindset that moves beyond measuring success by counting the three B's -- building, budgets, and bodies (all of which are necessary, but not the main point) or having an alternative worship service that is the buzz of the town (very helpful, but far from an end in itself). Rather, success in the emerging church looks at the "practices produced in the called people of God as they are sent out on a mission to live as light and salt in their communities."

Kimball quotes J.R.R. Tolkein: "Not all who wander are lost." He lists the numerous arguments made by the faith's detractors: Christianity is a human construct; Christians are close-minded and judgmental; Christians are arrogant to think that they and they alone have the only true religion; and so on. To each of the charges, Kimball answers guilty to a point, sometimes, and sometimes -- sadly. However, for those interested in scratching the surface there is more.

Kimball does a nice job of summarizing the shift in worldviews, especially as it pertains to the issue of authority. In the ancient world (2500 BCE to 500 CE), authority was in the revelation given through the oracles, poets, kings, and prophets. In the Medieval World (500-1500 CE), at least in the West, authority was in the Bible but only to be understood as taught through the church. In the Modern World (1500-2000 CE), authority was in reason, science, and logic and for Christians was in the reasonable interpretation of the Bible. In the Post-Modern World (2000+ CE), authority is suspect and purported authoritative texts like the Bible are open to many interpretations as are all religious writings.

So, how is the church to be the church in a post-modern era? Excellent question. There are scores of answers. Kimball does not so much offer an answer as he does a series of observations that will hopefully help each of us along as we make our way toward answers we can call our own. As you can see, he is very post-modern an emergent. Kimball notes:

1. We cannot assume that everyone is going to learn, relate, and think the same way.
2. We cannot blame emerging generations for believing what they believe.
3. We should not expect post-moderns to one day "grow up" and become modern. (This has been my secret fantasy for a number of years now. Hello, my name is Dan M. and I am a modern.)
4. Modern leaders may have a difficult time understanding post-Christianity. You're telling me! Kimball has some words of compassion here. He writes: "This doesn't mean you're not hip or contemporary, and by no means does it mean you are outdated (Thanks). It simply means you have been born and raised with a modern viewpoint. God will continue to use you in great ways to reach those who think like you do (Does this mean I am going to either bore or annoy those who do not?). But there are other ways to think."

Kimball quotes Mahatma Gandhi: "I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

I could obviously go on. I think I will end, however, with Kimball's close listening to how the word 'church' is used. Church is where we go or attend or belong. It's a place where things happen -- worship, education, fellowship. Grammatically speaking, church is a 'place-where.' It's a place-where, like a store, one goes. It's a place-where, like a theater, one attends. It's a place-where, like civic club, one belongs.

Kimball distinguishes between the 'consumer church' and the 'missional church.' The consumer church is seen as a dispenser of religious goods and services. People come to church to be fed, to have their needs met through quality programs, and to have the professionals teach them and their children about God. The missional church is seen as a body of people sent on a mission who gather in community for worship, encouragement, and teaching from the Bible that supplements what they are feeding themselves throughout the week. As you can see, there is quite a difference between the two understandings.

To those who have posted comments on my blog, thank you. Also, many of you have spoken to me while I have been in the community the past several weeks and have told me you are reading my blog. Thanks. You have also told me that you have not left a comment because you didn't want to bother registering a username and password with Google. I understand.

I am enjoying the 'thinking aloud' aspect of my blog. I am toying with maintaining another blog upon my return. The task requires time and discipline. I can see countless benefits for enhancing preaching, teaching, Disciple classes, etc.

That's it for the moment. Peace.