Emergent New Comers: An Open Question
As the interest in Emergent/Emerging Church grows, many people are coming into the journey with little to no experience or understanding of the increasingly complex nature of the movement. It occurred to me that there exists plenty of resources recommended to those who are interested in exploring the Emerging Movement, but this can often be like throwing someone into the deep end (while holding a stack of books). Too little time is spent on cautioning new comers what to expect from the journey- good, bad and ugly.
So here is my question to all of you:
What advice would you offer newcomers, beyond books to read & blogs to visit, that would best prepare them for the realities of the emergent journey?
Please add your input into the comment section. I look forward to what we can all learn together.
Posted by in 05:19:12
Advice- come in with an attitude of understanding in which you realize that many are locked into a modern world-view, and for some that might not be bad at all. The postmodern view speaks best to me, but I doubt it does to my Grandma. I need to understand that, and realize that for someone who has lived 99% of their life in the modern mind-set and their view of faith has worked well for them, they have no reason to change.
Postmodern is not better than modern; it’s simply different, and yes, that’s probably the way the world is moving. But that matters more to me (25) than some of our elders (60-?). If their modern faith works as well for them and their friends as my faith works for me and my friends, my view is not better. It is equivalent and different.
I’ve got some advice for that poor, soon-to-be-2-dimensional dog… run for the hills, little dude.
For the newcomers: Don’t get caught up in the arguing back and forth. Don’t make it about finding the latest craze or "where God is REALLY moving". Make it about being the most loving, truth-filled christian you can be, and if emergent still is the plac for you, don’t look back.
Having learnt this the hard way, from experience, this would be my best advice…
Spend a great deal of time with your community talking about change, sort of the 5 W’s ( who, what, where, why. when ). Put in into the Biblical story, put it into the culture of today. Don’t be in a hurry, talk, share and more talk. The community has to come to a place where fear, is replaced by excitement and anticipation of a new journey. The reality is we like comfort more than change…so the community has to come to a place of understanding. There is nothing worse than being in the desert, in transition and no one know what’s going on on. The other reality is …it will take a special leader…I suspect few will want to venture here.
My most important advice…talk about change and transition.
Great stuff so far. Keep it coming.
I would add that, whenever possible (and it isn’t always possible) avoid the catch phrases and terms like "The Emergent Church" or even "postmodernism". Most things can be discussed using more familiar terms. Do so whenever possible, as people tend to react to the extremes of what some of these words mean.
One way of doing it is to make it personal. Where are you at in the journey?
Peace,
Jamie
No advice, but a warning in the words of Mordacai Richler, "This generation has ignorance as its armour… Somebody will yet emerge from a commune having discovered the wheel."
Humility and suffering logos are the foundational pillars of the global Church.
Jamie, I wondered if you intended any symbolism with the picture. If so, what? Does the behind represent mega-church? the chair inadequate structures? and if so, who is the dog?
My advice would be to keep in mind that emerging is a journey and a process rather than a movement or destination.
I think that exploration and flexibility are important. Also avoiding polarization and the tendency to villianize those who don’t agree with you is helpful.
Great question.
And I am also a guy that quit a ministry job a month ago because of too much travel. A modern construct of ministry had me on more than 100 flights and away from my family for even more days.
I also host a house church in my home every thursday evening tied to http://www.epicmx.com here in Calgary.
I am five weeks unemployed in kingdom ministry and very poor. I read ferociously in many schools, the more I read the more I don’t know a thing about anything. And I spend a whole lot more time thinking about Jesus and speaking directly to Him than I do thinking about and speaking to His Chruch.
My christology eclipses my ecclesiology. I will not move boundary stones set up by my forefathers. I would rather be a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city. I would rather suffer with the elderly saints than go and make war with the young ones. Yet, I am called to waging peace which stretches me between both generations of the body, and there I am crucified with Christ – to wax a bit too Pauline, but its how I feel half the time…
Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles, and was the most qualified academically of the Jewish leaders. I am not an academic, and not comparing myself to Paul. Yet, I do think Paul understands the plight of all things "emergent" – whatever that nebulous idea is becoming. It’s no longer a word. It’s a revolutionary idea. And Paul knew that Jews and Gentiles would become one people of God. Just like the heart of whoever is emerging know that the Church in the World is one people of God.
That’s where I am at.
The emerging church? I take it to be a growing uneasiness of doing church-as-usual locus imperii.
hi there
as intrigued as I am to read your comments and interesting posts, I’m still a long way behind the debate.
Would it be possible to post maybe a small emergent 101 crashcourse bulletpoint list for joe laymans like myself?!!
Id love to get into it…
cheers!