What Is Emergent? Who Is Emergent? – Part 1

I recently received an email from a fellow pastor posing some interesting questions. With his permission I’m using his initial questions and my reply for this post. I don’t attempt to answer everything … this is just to get the ball rolling.

The Question:

I am assuming that you have an emergent church outlook. If this is a correct assumption, then could you tell me what the goal of the Emergent Church is? Specifically is there a reformation being sought or simply a separation from the present Church?

My Reply:

I wouldn’t say I have an emergent movement outlook toward the Church and ministry. Yet, I am sympathetic to much in the emergent movement.

That said, there are separatists in the movement. I do not identify with the separatists.

I do believe the Church should always be in the reform process. Much in the emergent movement helps in that endeavor. The difficulty with any spiritual movement is that it tends to become a religious institution. Look at the Protestant Reformation. A great move of the Spirit that resulted in more denominations than I can count or am even aware of … each with its own “manual� or governing policy. As I read Luther, I am convinced that’s not what he had in mind when he nailed the 95 to the door.

In our own movement (yet another “split� in Protestantism that emerged about 100 years ago), some spiritual leaders wanted to identify with the disenfranchised in society. 50 years later there is an emphasis in the heartland and southeast on holiness defined by what an individual does not do. Only in recent decades have we begun to remember and rehearse what began the movement titled “Church of the Nazarene.� In so doing, we are beginning to live a renewed and reformed faith.

Any good “emerging� perspective will make a half-turn toward orthodoxy while keeping a steady pace toward the future.

SO TELL ME:
Do you discern a difference between “emergent perspective” and “Emergent Church?”

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Related Posts:

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Category: Christianity, Emergent, Ministry, Mission, Pastoring, Progressive, The Church 3 comments »

3 Responses to “What Is Emergent? Who Is Emergent? – Part 1”

  1. Monte Asbury
    May 3rd, 2007 at 11:07 am

    Brian – wonderful blog, lovely post. I’m a Nazarene pastor in Iowa who has benefited hugely from a re-focus on Jesus Christ himself that has been partly fueled by preaching from the lectionary and writings of emergent church thinkers. It appears to me, as well, that we are re-discovering the essence of the beginning of the Church of the Nazarene (and, no doubt, of many groups): it is a passion to know, to have, to be like Jesus in our world.
    Thanks for the links – I’ll be subscribing!
    Monte
  2. Ken Silva
    May 8th, 2007 at 7:20 pm

    My answer is, no. The truth is that the emerging church movement grew out of the Terranova Project of Leadership Network in 1997. I planted a mission church on 1994 and there was no such thing as any emerging church movement or I would have been in it. I tried the whole man-centered “missional” deal long before those guys were put together.

    Call it “emerging” or “Emergent” it still comes from the same semi-pelagian new evangelical root in the Church Growth movement. It is not a reform of God but of man.
  3. Brian Niece
    May 16th, 2007 at 3:38 pm

    Ken–

    If you happen across this, I’m wondering why you don’t allow comments on your site. I’d love to continue the discussion.

    I have much to dialogue with you about. I find that doing so in the public sphere gives us better perspective.

    We can dialogue here if you’d like.

Leave a Reply



↑ Back to top