An Emerging & Affirming Critic From Within
Lately I have been indulging in a very unhelpful and unhealthy passtime. No, this isn’t an internet porn confession. Rather, I have been frequent a few of the more… extreme emerging church “critics”. I will not name them here, because I would as likely link to above mentioned internet porn. Over stated? In this case, no. They are hateful and hurtful, and anything redemptive that one might discover in them is not worth the price one would have to pay to swallow their poison.
This is not to say there are not excellent critics out there. In my own life, I have a large network of very honest, wise and humble friends who would not identify themselves are engaging or even interested in the church in this emerging culture. There are many leaders within the established church who believe that the conversation/movement goes too far, but are willing to cautiously add guidance, temperance and discernment to this engaged within it. We need them- I need them very much.
However, the critics we could perhaps learn the most from are those within this emerging community itself. The value of affirming critics from within cannot be overstated, as who better knows the dynamics, intentions and convictions better than those who share them. This should never exclude the other critiques from without, but if we can embrace the necessary humility and patience, we have a wealth of wisdom that could help us move towards maturity.
That is where I hope my future lies on this journey- to be an affirming critic from within the emerging culture. I have been deeply moved and encouraged by all that I have discovered on the way. I am thrilled by a exciting hope for what the future holds for the whole Body of Christ, in part because of the contributions of this young movement. However, unless we are real about our own weaknesses, tendencies, biases, over-reactions, compromises, immaturities, limitaions and pride, we will become that which we seek to change- a narrow, misguided group of well-intentioned, but distracted Christians.
I ask myself if I am qualified to such a critic and, frankly, I don’t know. One thing I do know is that I love God and I love His Church. My life is deeply invested in the “established church”, and it deeply invested in mine. It has laid the rich foundation upon which my faith has been built. I want to do my part to serve God more faithfully every day. I do not want to reject it, nor arrogantly point out its flaws. I am a part of it. There is only one Church, one Body, one Faith. And that is a truth – an Absolute Truth that I will never reject.
