On Emerging in Canada
For the last two days I attended the “Summon To Lead” conference hosted by the PAOC with Leonard Sweet as the keynote speaker. This afternoon, there was a panel discussion, which included Leonard Sweet, the infamous Brother Maynard (a self-described “ecclesiological vagrant”), Pastor Gerry Michalski and myself. It was a great conversation, part of an even better conference. One of the questions that was of particular interest to me was on how the emerging church in Canada might differ from the US. Bro Maynard & I had been discussing Canada’s unique voice (or potential thereof), so I thought I would weigh in here. (For those of you haven’t followed my blog for very long, I would encourage you to read my previous posts on the topic: Emergent Canada and More on Emergent Canada)
Much could be said on this topic (not to mention the inevitable difference of understanding from other Canadians), so understand that these are my own observations and should not be taken to represent any more than that. Additionally, over the next week, I will go into more detail on some of the points that I introduce here. The core issues where Canada does/could stand out are:
-Cultural Mosaic
-Less Protest
-More Naturally Postmodern
Following these, I will explore the question of where we go from here.
-Cultural Mosaic: The idea of a mosaic was developed in direct opposition to previous concepts of assimilation, such as the American concept of the melting pot. While the US concept has slowly broadened their understanding to be more multicultural, this concept is a key difference between these two nations. Cultural mosaic has a stronger emphasis on immigrant citizens maintain strong cultural and historical ties to their countries and cultures of origin. It is far more common, therefore, to hear Canadians refer to their cultural identities of their origin before they refer to being Canadian. This does not reflect a lack of patriotism to Canada, but rather is one of the truest expressions of Canadian patriotism. I believe that Canadian concepts of multiculturalism offer promising models for the emergent conversation in the United States. (*from my previous post, A Study In Contrast)
-Less Protest: While there is still elements of protest within the emerging church in Canada, our experience differs, in part, because we are free of some of the influences so prominent in American Christianity, specifically Evangelicalism. Because of the historical roots of religious nationalism in the US, linking political agendas (indiscriminately) with religious beliefs, the resulting polarization makes exploring emerging faith more sensitive, too often push both sides to unnecessary extremes. Canada has a great degree of freedom to engage in dialogue with traditional or (what Len Sweet calls) the “inherited” church without the same degree of division and conflict. (See more at my post Emerging Church & Nationalism)
-More Naturally Postmodern: Out of a complex dynamic of cultural development, Canada has naturally developed as a postmodern & pluralistic society. This has contributed, in part, to the statistical trend of the Canadian church shrinking. However, as a result, the remaining churches have been pushed by necessity into relationship with each other, thus creating space for dialogue. Combine this with other factors, including the lack of religious nationalism (and the resulting civil religion), and you have an environment well suited for the emerging dialogue.
Again, these are brief exploration of generalizations from my (limited) perspective. However, I believe they represent some of the more important strengths that Canada (potentially) brings into the conversation. However, all of this begs the question “Where do we go from here?”
I believe it is extremely important that those of us on the emerging journey here in Canada step out intentionally in this regards. However, while I think this needs to happen sooner rather than later, I believe that part of that intentionality includes a bold, but cautious consideration of how that is done- a “tempered radicalism”, if you will. We need to resist the impulse to over organize or formalize, especially given our national tendency to (intentionally or otherwise) mimic our good neighbours to the south, often lured by their “success”.
I imagine there will be very different perspectives as this unfolds, perhaps even a heated debate or two. I am not convinced that would entirely unhealthy. However, my hope is that wisdom (not just numbers) be the guiding influence as this plays itself out. Look forward to more on this topic in the days to come.
