Learning to dance

From Emergesque:

I have no doubt that the emerging church and mainstream evangelicalism have something to learn reciprocally. I do doubt that this conversation will occur without pain. Unfortunately, when we are at our worst, we might have a tendency to absolutize and "demonize". But the conversation does not have to be a fight; it can be a dance - a beautiful dance of thesis/antithesis working its way toward a greater grasp of truth, a more profound experience of community, and even a closer relationship with the One Who knows all truth. This can occur when those who disagree: -remember that a gentle answer turns away wrath, -lean toward the other rather than away, -seek very hard to listen, -ask non-rhetorical and genuinely curious questions, -do the very difficult spadework of working to understand the presuppositions of the other, -believe the best about the other rather than the worst, -and, most importantly, be willing to provisionally consider that the other may be saying something of value - that they might even be able to correct. If these things are done, the coming storm might yield a beautiful harvest.

Right on.

Comments

[ryan]

Having grown up in conservative evalgelicalism and now being involved in something that almost loathingly refers to itself as emerging I actually find this very conflict going on within my own head. I haven't been burned by modernity as much as coming to a spot in my life where I find it lacking. Yet there are aspects that I am not willing to throw out completely. Despite recent events it has been my goal to try to coax our emerging community to not completely forsake all of evangelicalism/modernity but it is not an easy task.

[zippy]

I love your page. Interesting, pertinent stuff every time I come by -- it's obvious that your research team has been reading my mind. Thanks for doing the work. P.