The Emerging Church Movement

1. The Emerging ChurchMovement Presented by Chris Reeves Third Thursday Bible Study January 21, 2010

2. Who are they? “The Emerging Church is defined over against the massive megachurch models and seeker sensitive approaches popular among baby-boomer pastors. The formative leaders of the Emerging Church Movement argue that they are trying to recover a primitive sense of Christian community that, while keenly aware of contemporary culture and deeply engaged with culture, avoids the consumerism, entertainment-centeredness, and superficiality of mainstream evangelical churches” (Mohler, 78)

3. Who are they? “Five Streams of the Emerging Church” Scot McKight Christianity Today 1/19/07 1. Prophetic – the church needs to change 2. Postmodern – we cannot know truth, or, at least we cannot know truth absolutely 3. Praxis–oriented – how faith is lived out a.) Artistic worship b. ) Orthopraxy: emphasis on right living, not right believing c.) Missional 4. Post–evangelical – the church must be reformed a.) No systematic theology b.) No “in verses out” mentality 5. Political – left, liberal Democrats

4. Who are they? • Emerging Church Movement (hereafter, ECM) leaders come from mainstream denominations and reject older forms of evangelical theology and church life • Brian McLaren and Steve Chalke are two prominent and influential ECM leaders who write books and lead seminars to produce a more “authentic” church and a “new kind of Christian” (McLaren spoke at the Abilene Christian University Summit 2008) • Emergentvillage.com is one website devoted to this movement (“conversation”)

5. What is their philosophy? “Philosophically, the Emerging Church Movement represents a repudiation of what is identified as “modernism.” While postmodernism is itself a contested category, leaders of the Emerging Church Movement clearly understand themselves to be affected by, if not fully embracing postmodernism” (Mohler, 79)

6. What is their philosophy? • The “modernism” rejected by postmodern ECM leaders is the “modernism” that says that truth is propositional, absolute, rational, certain • This “modernism” breeds arrogance, inflexibility, a lust to be right, the desire to control • Postmodernism says that what we “know” is shaped by our culture, controlled by emotions, aesthetics, heritage; and should be held without overbearing claims to be true or right

7. What is their philosophy? • Postmodernism replaces rationality with feelings, truth with experiences, exclusion with inclusion, objectivity with subjectivity, absolutism with relativism • Postmodernism promotes pluralism • all truth-claims are held under suspicion • all truth must be presented without claims of universal validity, objectivity, or absoluteness • all truth is either/or … both/and

8. What is the result? “When asked about the issue of homosexuality, McLaren insisted that there is no good and satisfactory position for Christians to take, because all positions will hurt someone … McLaren’s carefully nuanced non-answer to the question is illustrative of the Emerging Church Movement’s failure to render clear answers in the aftermath of a rejection of absolute truth” (Mohler, 82)

9. What is the result? “By denying that truth is propositional, Emerging Church theorists avoid and renounce any responsibility to defend many of the doctrines long considered essential to the Christian faith” (Mohler, 86) “Given the fact that both McLaren and Chalke deny the substitutionary nature of the atonement – indeed, rejecting virtually any notion of penal substitution…” (Mohler, 91)

10. What is the result? “Emergent Village National Coordinator (former – chr) Tony Jones says, ‘We must stop looking for some objective Truth that is available when we delve into the text of the Bible” (Sanders, 30) “Brian McLaren … said, ‘We must be continually aware that the ‘old, old story’ may not be the ‘true, true story’” (Sanders, 30)

11. What is the result? “A blogger in the emerging church movement wrote, ‘We cannot be sure that Christ ever claimed to be GOD or the Father. I personally follow Christ’s message and call myself a Christian without believing that he was GOD. He was a spiritual man who had a simple message which yet is the ultimate challenge for anyone to live by’” (Sanders, 30)

12. What is the result? “McLaren said, ‘I don’t believe making disciples must equal making adherents to the Christian religion. It may be advisable in many (not all!) circumstances to help people become followers of Jesus and remain within their Buddhist, Hindu or Jewish contexts … To help Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and everyone else experience life to the full in the way of Jesus … I would gladly become one of them whosoever they are, to whatever degree I can, to embrace them, to join them, to enter their world without judgment but with saving love…’” (Sanders, 31)

13. What is the result?

14. What is the result? “Neil Livingston, another emerging church leader, said ‘The truth of the Bible, like any truth, is not best seen ‘objectively’ … Where then can I find authority that I can be sure of? … As we said before we cannot simply ‘go to the book.’ Truth cannot properly reside as a mere proposition on a paper. Truth lives in persons and relationships” (Sanders, 31)

15. What is the result? “Chad Hall, an emergent, comments on what is common among this group: ‘As one friend puts it, we need to have a ‘Who Cares?’ theology” (Sanders, 31)

16. What is the result? “Frankly, the emerging movement loves ideas and theology. It just doesn’t have an airtight system or statement of faith. We believe the Great Tradition offers various ways for telling the truth about God’s redemption in Christ, but we don’t believe any one theology gets it absolutely right” (McKnight)

17. What is the result? “Hence, a trademark feature of the emerging movement is that we believe all theology will remain a conversation about the Truth … No systematic theology can be final. In this sense, the emerging movement is radically Reformed. It turns its chastened epistemology against itself, saying, ‘This is what I believe, but I could be wrong. What do you think? Let’s talk’” (McKnight)

18. What is the result? • Basic Bible doctrines are rejected or re-interpreted (the cross, sin, hell, holiness, homosexuality) • Sins are no longer sin; sins are no longer condemned • Members of the ECM become like the world to reach the world (one ECM leader, Mark Driscoll, is known as “the cussing pastor”) • All religions are accepted

19. What is the result? • No moral absolutes: “We no longer see things in black and white. We see them in color.” • Eastern mysticism: “Christian yoga” and “meditative prayer” is used to connect to a universal consciousness • Deemphasizes sermons and preaching

20. Why this philosophy? • It is a way to reach people who are outside of Christianity or people with diverse religious beliefs • It is a way to accept all religions alike and no religion is false or to be criticized • It is a way to justify my own lifestyle (Judges 21:25)

21. How do they worship? • Small groups, houses churches • Stations that include objects to assist in meditation (seeds, sand, vines, rosary beads), meditative prayer • Lighting candles, incense, yoga • Art stations for drawing • Liturgies, icons, chants used in other religions

22. ECM Compared and Contrasted

23. A Critique • Postmodernism embraces the philosophy that truth (epistemology = how we know things) is ultimately unknowable, unattainable, and unassailable. So, how can postmodernists know what cannot be known? • If Bible words cannot be known, how can the words in books and lectures of postmodernists be known? • Truth, in fact, can and must be known (Jn. 1:17; 8:32, 14:6; 17:17; 18:38)

24. A Critique • ECM is tolerant of all religions except the religion that advocates absolute truth • ECM rejects criticism of religion and finger-pointing, unless they are the ones doing it • ECM is a self-made religion (Isa. 41:21-24; Col. 2:23) serving a self-made god (Jer. 2:13) • ECM has chosen the broad way leading to destruction (Mt. 7:13-14)

25. A Critique • ECM is ancient subjectivism (Num. 15:39; Judg. 21:25) relativism (Isa. 5:20) and pluralism (Zeph. 1:5) in modern dress • ECM misuses 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 to justify their accommodation of culture • ECM builds upon the shifting sands of postmodernism (Mt. 7:24-27)

26. A Critique • ECM who claim to follow Jesus have to turn to the Bible (which they reject) to learn about Jesus • ECM will ultimately leave its followers spiritual and morally bankrupt and without any conviction or certainty; they will eventually turn elsewhere for fulfillment

27. A Call to Action • Know something of the times in which you live and how it affects religion (1 Chron. 12:32) • Beware of modern human philosophy that is opposed to the wisdom of Christ (Col. 2:3-8) • Don’t be afraid to assert the Truth (Jn. 8:32) and be critical with truth (Gal. 4:16)

28. Bibliography Bryant, Dewayne. “A Church for All Seasons.” Gospel Advocate, November 2008. Carson, D.A. Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications. Zondervan, 2005. McKnight, Scot. “Five Streams of the Emerging Church.” Christianity Today, 1/19/2007 Mitchell, Stan. “What is the Emerging Church?” The Spiritual Sword, April 2009. Mohler Jr., R. Albert. The Disappearance of God. Multnomah Books, 2009. Morine, Matthew. “Missional Evangelism.” Gospel Advocate, November 2008. Morris, David. “Meditative Prayer.” Gospel Advocate, November 2008. Sanders, Phil. “The Emerging Church Movement.” Gospel Advocate, July 2008. Sanders, Phil. “The Mindset of the Emerging Church.” Gospel Advocate, November 2008. Smith, R. Scott. Truth and the New Kind of Christian. Crossway Books, 2005. www.christianitytoday.com/ct/special/emergent.html