Stories of Emergence

This post is from the defunct blog "Dying Church"

Just got Stories of Emergence in the mail today. I'm being assaulted with more questions and insights, and I'm finding out that many are far ahead of me on this journey away from the modern church. Take Yaconelli's introduction to the book:

I noticed the changes first in my attitude toward the institutional church. I realized "the church of doing" was not the Church. I realized how life-smothering the modern church had become. I began to embrace my own illegitimacy. I realized the modern-institutional-denominational church was permeated by values that are contradictory to the Church of Scripture. The very secular humanism that the institutional church criticized pervaded the church structure, language, methodology, process, priorities, values, and vision. The "legitimate" church, the one that convinced me of my illegitimacy, was becoming the illegitimate church, fully embracing the values of modernity.

Yaconelli goes on to describe some of these values: efficiency (polished, orchestrated), pretending, and doing ("Church is the resovoir of the uncomplicated...Jesus is the Chief Doer whose purpose is to do stuff for us.") I'll probably post more as I get into the book. It's humbling to see how much sooner others started out on this journey. I also want to think that this won't just be the latest trend. More from this book later.

Comments

[Mike]

That's another great book, Darryl. You realize, of course, that there's no going back for you now!

[availablelight]

"I'm finding out that many are far ahead of me on this journey away from the modern church." Very true, very true

[ed]

Many times I feel like I too, want to move forward but have pretty contaminated by the system...remember...I'm a Christian, are you a Christian? There's got to be hope, but I believe it doesn't come without fighting the person I've become after years of living in this place.