Session 5 – The Emergent Church

1. Session 5 – The Emergent Church The Emerging Church is a movement that claims to be Christian.  The term 'Emerging Church' is used to describe a broad, controversial movement that seeks to use culturally sensitive approaches to reach the postmodern, un-churched population with the Christian message. Some Emerging Churches might use props such as candles, statues, and incense along with poems, open mics, and videos, etc.  EC services are sometimes extremely informal, while others are more formal.

2. Some Emerging Churches are environmentally focused, while others concentrate on local issues.  Some downplay doctrine, reinterpret creeds, and de-emphasize tradition, while others hold to them. Many emergent churches have these things in common (but not all) An awareness of and attempt to reach those in the changing postmodern culture.

3. An attempt to use technology, i.e., video, slide shows, internet. A broader approach to worship using candles, icons, images, sounds, smells, etc. An inclusive approach to various, sometimes contradictory belief systems. An emphasis on experience and feelings over absolutes.

4. Concentration on relationship-building over proclamation of the gospel. Shunning stale traditionalism in worship, church seating, music, etc. A de-emphasis on absolutes and doctrinal creeds A re-evaluation of the place of the Christian church in society. A re-examination of the Bible and its teachings.

5. Again, not every emergent church holds to every point on this list, there are emergent churches that do not compromise the doctrinal and theological areas that we mentioned While we don’t have defined doctrines from the emergent church (as with other denominations) we do have MANY writings from people within the movement talking about it What do they say about themselves?

6. "...the Emerging Church movement is characterized by a fair bit of protest against traditional evangelicalism and, more broadly, against all that it understands by modernism." "They [the emerging generations] are disillusioned with institutionalism and see the church itself as an obstacle to faith." "the Emerging Church is a place where people have felt the freedom to explore questions and experiment with new forms of lifestyle and corporate practice."

7. What do many of the emergent followers believe about the traditional church? "Sit down here next to me in this little restaurant and ask me if Christianity (my version of it, yours, the Pope's, whoever's) is orthodox, meaning true, and here's my honest answer: a little, but not yet.  Assuming by Christianity you mean the Christian understanding of the world and God, Christian opinions on soul, text, and culture... I'd have to say that we probably have a couple of things right, but a lot of things wrong, and even more sprints before is unseen and unimagined.“ (Brian McLaren)

8. What is the Emergent Church emerging from?  In short, it is emerging from the established, modernistic (rational), traditional church that appears to be stuck in bland traditionalism and is out of touch with the post-modern society.  Much of what we see in the emergent church is the idea of drive thru theology

9. "May I take your order?""Yes, I'd like a religious experience, please, with extra feelings, but no absolute doctrine.""Alright.  That'll be one emotional trip, stripped.  Would you like anything else with that?"Uh, well, yes, can I have a side of candles, non judgmentalism, and some theological deconstruction?""Alright, so you want a light, free, decon.  Is that all?""Yeah.""Alright, that...""No wait, I just remembered.  Can I have a truth slushy?  I want it really slushy!"Very good, that'll cost you biblical truth and eternal life at the window.""Okay, thanks."

10. At the drive-through theology window, those who are raised in a society that has largely rejected absolutes feel at home with the convenience of a "have it your way" belief system.  They have "emerged" from stringent absolutes and prefer relativity in both truth and morals. The emergent church is trying to emerge from doctrinal and denominational differences that often withhold Christianity from being effective, which is fine, accept that they sacrifice absolute truth and doctrines with it

11. Salvation means us saving the planet according to Brian McLaren John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Is that really what John intended by this passage? Other passages don’t make much sense this way: 1 John 2:15: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

12. Emergent Church Leaders questions core doctrines of the Christian faith such as penal substitutionary atonement "The other thread of just criticism addresses the suggestion implicit in the cross that Jesus' sacrifice was to appease an angry God.  Penal substitution was the name of this vile doctrine.“ (Jones, Alan, Reimagining Christianity, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2005, p. 168.) But what does the Bible say about this?

13. 1 Peter 2:24: Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” Romans 4:25: “who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.” Matthew 20:28: “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

14. Isaiah 53:7-10: “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

15. God is in us all? "I see the world through the images of Christianity, which teaches me that I encounter God in everyone I meet regardless of what they believe.“ (Ibid., p. 64. Jones, Alan) What does the Bible say? 1 Corinthians 6:19: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”

16. John 7:37-39: “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the HolySpirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” The Bible is clear that only those who are believers are indwelt by God (the Holy Spirit)

17. "I must add, though, that I don't believe making disciples must equal making adherence 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.  This will be hard, you say, and I agree.  But frankly, it's not at all easy to be a follower of Jesus in many "Christian" religious context, either.“ (McLaren, Brian, A Generous Orthodoxy, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004, p. 296, italics in the original.)

18. "The church has been preoccupied with the question, 'What happens to your soul after you die?' As if the reason for Jesus coming can be summed up in, 'Jesus is trying to help get more souls into heaven, as opposed to hell, after they die.' I just think a fair reading of the Gospels blows that out of the water. I don't think that the entire message and life of Jesus can be boiled down to that bottom line." - Brian McLaren, from a July 2005 PBS special on the Emerging Church. That wasn’t Jesus’ Purpose in coming?

19. Luke 19:10: “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” John 20:31: ”but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” 1 Timothy 1:15: “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”

20. Romans 6:22: “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.” Hebrews 5:9: “And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 1 John 5:11-12: “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

21. "Repentance is not turning from sin. It is a 'celebration' of life in Christ. Anyone who tells you that you need to repent is not talking about Christianity." - Rob Bell, "The 'gods' Aren't Angry Tour," Nov. 16, 2007, Dallas, TX 2 Chronicles 7:14: “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

22. 1 John 1:9: ”If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Acts 3:19: “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,” Luke 13:3: “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

23. Love wins? Rob Bell’s popular book gives an idea of universalism, and that everyone ends up in heaven Revelation 20:10: “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

24. Doug Pagitt, Emerging Leader, author and pastor of Solomon's Porch in Minneapolis, was asked "Is homosexuality incompatible with Christian faith?" Pagitt simply replied:  "NO. Being Gay and Christian is not a contradiction in any way." - Quoted by Mark Driscoll in "Why I Left the Emerging Church" at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fall 200 Homosexuality is compatible with the Bible and Christian faith?

25. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” Leviticus 20:13 If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination.

26. Romans 1:26-28: “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.”

27. "Missional Christian faith asserts that Jesus did not come to make some people saved and others condemned. Jesus did not come to help some people be right while leaving everyone else to be wrong. Jesus did not come to create another exclusive religion (based on beliefs)."- Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy, p.120 John 14:6: “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

28. Brian McLaren said he likes Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. And says he likes their book “The Last Week” Marcus Borg and Dominic Crossan are part of the Jesus Seminar They don’t believe the Bible is a divine product, they don’t believe Jesus was born of a virgin, and they don’t think Jesus rose from the dead… These are the types of authors that are recommended by emergent leaders

29. "Emergent doesn't have a position on absolute truth, or on anything for that matter." - Tony Jones, at the 2005 National Youth Workers Convention John 16:13: ”However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” John 8:32: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

30. The Bible says many things like “Thus Saith the Lord” that show things are absolute

31. "(This is) part of the problem with continually insisting that one of the absolutes of the Christian faith must be a belief that "Scripture alone" is our guide. It sounds nice, but it is not true...When people say that all we need is the Bible, it is simply not true." - Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis, p.68 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,”

32. Rob Bell stated, "This is not just the same old message with new methods. We're rediscovering Christianity as an Eastern religion, as a way of life."(Christianity Today, November, 2004, pp.36-41) This is truly what is behind the Emergent Church, it’s making the church more “eastern” in its ways and practices and more “new age” like They promote things like yoga inside the church, the idea of “Christian Yoga” is popular in emergent churches

33. Rick Warren On January 27, 2008, Rick Warren stated, "I think we need a second Reformation in the church about how we behave. The first Reformation was about creeds. I think the second Reformation needs to be about deeds..."  That day he even told Dean Samuel Lloyd of Washington's National Cathedral that "the future of the world is not secularism, it's religious pluralism."

34. “Now the word "fundamentalist" actually comes from a document in the 1920s called the Five Fundamentals of the Faith. And it is a very legalistic, narrow view of Christianity...” The literal inerrancy of the autographs of scripture. The virgin birth and deity of Christ. The substitutionary view of the atonement . The bodily resurrection of Christ. The imminent return of Christ.

35. Is it okay to give up these fundamentals doctrines within Christianity This summarizes the problem with the emergent church, they have some good goals (reaching to world in ways that are effective) but they sacrifice doctrine in order to achieve it Memory Verse John 8:32: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”