How Emergent Are You?
A good conversation with a great old friend recently turned to the subject of the emergent conversation/movement/church/whatever-you-want-to-call-it. We didn't stay there long because we had too many other things to catch up on, but he told me one of these days I'd have bring him up to speed on what I think about the whole thing. If forced to sum up my thoughts on all things emergent I think I'd have to say I'm passionately ambivalent. I'm am at once strongly attracted to certain elements of the emergent ethos, yet, at the same time, remain somewhat skeptical and critical. A full explanation of both my sympathies and my critiques will have to wait for another day. I think I can say however, that more than anything, I fear that what is good about the conversation/movement may simply be co-opted by those church entrepreneurs looking for the latest gimmick.
The folks at Leadership Journal have recently started a blog of their own (haven't we all?) called "Out of Ur" ( http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/). Their most recent entry is "How Emergent Are You? McLaren's Seven Layers of the Emergent Conversation." It certainly isn't the most profound thing out there regarding "emergent stuff" but you might get a chuckle out of Layer One the way I did:
"Layer 1: Style
Seeker Community Church realizes they're ineffective at reaching the coveted 18-32 year old demographic. They send a few staff members to a conference and they come back with goatees and candles."
They forgot to mention the Persian rugs, but you get the point.
McLaren's 'Layer Seven' undoubtedly represents what I appreciate the most about the emergent ethos and is what I hope will last even if the trend we're now calling emergent doesn't.
"Layer 7: World
Maybe the mission of the church isn't simply to become a bigger church? Maybe, like Jesus, the church is to engage the larger world to reveal that the kingdom of God has drawn near? To their amazement, Seeker Community Church discovers significant swaths of the Bible (such as the Pentateuch, prophets, gospels, and epistles) talk about justice, poverty, and compassion. The church begins to speak about social issues and participates in efforts to combat poverty, AIDS, and global injustice."
It's nice to know that this is indeed about more than just facial hair, candles and Persian rugs.
The folks at Leadership Journal have recently started a blog of their own (haven't we all?) called "Out of Ur" ( http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/). Their most recent entry is "How Emergent Are You? McLaren's Seven Layers of the Emergent Conversation." It certainly isn't the most profound thing out there regarding "emergent stuff" but you might get a chuckle out of Layer One the way I did:
"Layer 1: Style
Seeker Community Church realizes they're ineffective at reaching the coveted 18-32 year old demographic. They send a few staff members to a conference and they come back with goatees and candles."
They forgot to mention the Persian rugs, but you get the point.
McLaren's 'Layer Seven' undoubtedly represents what I appreciate the most about the emergent ethos and is what I hope will last even if the trend we're now calling emergent doesn't.
"Layer 7: World
Maybe the mission of the church isn't simply to become a bigger church? Maybe, like Jesus, the church is to engage the larger world to reveal that the kingdom of God has drawn near? To their amazement, Seeker Community Church discovers significant swaths of the Bible (such as the Pentateuch, prophets, gospels, and epistles) talk about justice, poverty, and compassion. The church begins to speak about social issues and participates in efforts to combat poverty, AIDS, and global injustice."
It's nice to know that this is indeed about more than just facial hair, candles and Persian rugs.
