Welcome!

Hello Everyone! My name is Steve, and as the title suggests, this blog is about the Emerging Church (EC) movement. Specifically, I will be focusing on introducing, analyzing, and discussing with you the origins, construct, theology, and future of the EC. Before explaining the format of this blog, let me take a moment to introduce myself and explain how I got involved with the EC.

I am a pastor of eighteen years serving in the SBC. Prior to vocational ministry, I was a truck stop chaplain. One day, two years ago, I decided to find out about this thing called the EC, because it is my duty as a minister to be informed about anything on the horizon that I may need to warn my congregation about.

IS THE EC DOCTRINALLY ORTHODOX
My initial inquiry led me to conclude that the EC was just another in a long line of attempts at making the gospel relevant. Relevant is good, as long as the Gospel message is not changed in the process. As the saying goes: “Change the methods, as long you don't change the message.” My research project revealed that while emergents were defintely changing methods, the message being proclaimed was orthodox. I read and dialogued with emergents who, among other doctrines, proclaimed Jesus alone is the “way of salvation” and ”Scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…(2Timothy 3:16)

However, my opinion of the EC began to change as I read the writings of Brian McLaren. McLaren is criticized for being overly vague about his theology, which is certainly true in his book, A Generous Orthodoxy. While McLaren did discuss doctrines, appropriate Christian behavior, and Christ-like attitudes, he did so in such a way as to leave himself a degree of plausible deniability against criticism from both conservative and liberal theologians; a “plausible deniability” that he employed whenever conservative theologians like Albert Mohler and D.A. Carson challenged his doctrine. However, accusing McLaren of doctrinal ambiguity is understating the situation; for he is not guilty of simple doctrinal ambiguity, I believe the evidence will demonstrate that McLaren is engaging in willful deception.

DECEPTION
Having spent much time in the land of the LDS church - that is Salt Lake City - I have had many conversations with Mormons that taught me some valuable lessons about how people communicate. Mormons use Christian terminology, i.e. ”trinity” and “born again” but they infuse them with different meaning. If you pay attention to how people communicate, you might notice how they assume that others mean the same thing as they do when using shared terminology, i.e. saved. These assumptions allow groups like the Mormons to mislead people into thinking they are saying something they are not. Familiar with this practice, many Christians in Utah have learned to allow people to define their own terms, which they will do if you listen long enough. It is this art of “self-defining terminology” that protected me from assuming McLaren was using Christian terms the same way I, and my fellow evangelicals, use them.

While I am convinced that many emergents are not intentionally deceptive, I realized that Brian McLaren has turned this "rhetorical deception" into an art form. He couches his doctrine in terms that he can safely assume will be interpreted differently than he is using them. Stated as simply as I can, Emergents mean something quite different than most Christians when citing phrases like Jesus being the ”only way” or when quoting verses such as 2Timothy 3:16. Additionally, McLaren and a few of his friends have engaged in historical revisionism and slanderous portrayals of the traditional church. All for the purpose of justifying the need for a new and more authentic version of Christianity that emergents propose is found in the EC.

Another troubling realization was the fact that most Christians, including a majority of pastors and teachers are unaware of what the EC teaches (conclusions are derived from personal surveys, and are not meant to be interpreted as the product of anything even remotely resembling a scientific inquiry). Worse, many of those that do know something about the EC are the recipients of mis-representations; hearsay, and outright fabrications. As a result they believe things about the EC that simply are not true. This mis-information has led them to the conclusion that the EC is, at worst harmless, and at best, the future of the church. Almost as troubling, I discovered that even though they participate in the EC community, many practicing emergents are woefully uninformed about the doctrines and goals of their own movement.

WARNING THE CHURCH
For all these reasons, I decided to commit myself to learning everything I could about the EC, in order to both provide Christians with an accurate description of the EC, and warn the church about any dangerous teachings or practices of this movement. To accomplish this task, I resigned my pastorate and spent the two years in full time research (still ongoing) that includes reading numerous books, articles, and essays authored by emergents; participating in blog and web forum conversations with emergents (one such conversation went on for three months), and visiting emergent congregations.

This blog is one of the fruits of that research. It is my intent to write brief, thorough and accurate, descriptions of the various elements of EC thought and practice.Some commentators use bitter tones, insulting characterizations, and exaggerations in their discussions of the EC. If you have been offended by this behavior in the past, let me assure you that not all commentators ignore the command of 2Timothy 2:25 to teach with gentleness. I give you my word that I will present the information with compassion, gentleness, and a commitment to the truth.

So, if you have heard about the EC, but don’t know anything about the movement; if you even went so far as to begin researching the EC, but soon became overwhelmed by the constant references to philosophical theory, history, and the undefinable nature of the EC, then this blog is for you. I will discuss all these issues, but in plain and simple english, not the technical jargon of the academy.

METHODOLOGY
The articles will be filed under traditional theological categories, e.g. Bible, Soteriology (salvation); the church; God; ect. The present post is the first and only post at this time. Please be patient, I will try and add at least one article a week; more frequently when I have time. The next article…the first article on the EC itself will be up in a day or two. You are invited to respond with any questions, comments, or challenges to anything I, or others post here. I only ask that you observe two simple rules:

1-always communicate in a respectful manner.
2-provide references to support anything you cite from or about someone other than yourself.

I intend to interract with respondents each day, but the articles will require more planning and time, thus they must be spaced further apart. That said, let me conclude this fist post, with this: “I not only invite you to respond, but I am looking forward to us all being challenged by one another; learn from one another; and sharpening our conclusions on our interraction with one another!"

May God bless you today and every day!

Steve