Friday, September 19, 2008

Am I Emergent?


I'm almost done reading Tony Jones' most recent book. In it, Tony suggests that being a little emergent is similar to being a little pregnant. He suggests either you are or you aren't. Generally I'm pretty uncomfortable with the labels I wear, and as far as those emergent go I have been rather content to be the kind, understanding, but not ready to buy in, eavesdropper. My friends inside the conversation reassure me that I deffinently am emergent while my more traditional friends reassure me that I'm not. I found this tongue in cheek article by Sarah Bessey at www.theooze.com and it felt pretty condemning. I pretty much fit the bill except except for the liberal politics, clunky glasses and having an accent.
Tony's book is insightful and informative; a very fair insiders view of this enigma that is the emerging church. I like most of the dispatches (there are twenty). Yet some I would like to understand better - before I embrace or reject them. Perhaps I could just be a little emergent.
The most difficult one for me as a church planter, besides the one describing truth, was #17...
Emergents start new churchs to save their own faith, not necessarily as an outreach strategy.
I have a hard time describing church planting and excluding the concept of church planting as an outreach strategy... yet I identify with the idea that my faith needed some saving and doing church different has been part of that. How do I reach out to others... whose faith needs saving?
I am still not sure... What is an emergent? Am I one? How do we do church different?

1 comment:

Nicholas A. Love said...

good questions. I have some of the same.