Why I am Not Emerging by James MacDonald
Monday, August 1, 2005 at 9:33PM From Walk in the Word with Dr. James MacDonald:
Let me begin with a word of personal appreciation for the current leaders of the emerging church movement. I am deeply grateful for your courage in standing against the many shortcomings of the modern western church. Thanks for insisting that authenticity in relationship is the foundation of genuine Christian community. Thanks for standing against the formulaic/instant Gospel which fills our churches with tares and insulates the human heart from a genuine transformational encounter with the living Christ. Thanks also for daring to believe that failure is not final and that Christ yet longs for His bride to function with the health and wholeness He created it to enjoy.
In case you are wondering why my gratitude for the leaders of the emerging church does not translate into enthusiasm for their current emphasis and direction let me take a few words to explain why I am not emerging....
Thanks to Dan B. for sending me the article.
Reader Comments (5)
J. Mac. says: > Because the answer is Jesus, not cultural analysis. But it is the cultural analysis that gets one to Jesus. Simple analysis shows that the current model of church only reaches one sixth of the culture. Use the tools, don't throw them away. (And don't worship the tools, either.) Any one model of the emergent church isn't going to reach the remaining five-sixths, nor is it even likely to reach an additional sixth. But take the eighth, or twelfth that the tools present to you, and go with it in glory.
I think a better title might have been "Why I Have Decided to be Stuck in my Old Ways and Believe I Am Right All The Time"... This is not helpful. Does he not realize I could write an article with the same headings about the "Harvest franchise"? Is he not observing the bad to prove he is "good"? Is he not "sincere" about his fallible interpretations of revealed truth? Does he not have his own "style" at Harvest that he thinks promotes "substance"? Cultural analysis? Is not Harvest a "picture" of suburbia? Respectability? Is the western church ready to "be" Jesus" or just "sell" him to "hurting people in painful experiences"?? I could even write a sweet little paragraph at the start about how much I "appreciate" him....
Wow Tim, I can't interact with your opinion because I can't hardly get past your self-defeating attitude. Regardless of the issues at hand, why can't you extend the writer (your brother if you're a believer) the same courtesy you want for yourself? Are you not observing his "observing the bad to prove he is 'good'" to prove you are better? Are you not "sincere" about your fallible intepretation of his "fallible interpretations of revealed truth"? And so on... I'm not trying to offer a "sweet little paragraph" of appreciation, honest, just a loving question. Why do you seem so defensive? If his post is not helpful why is yours?
exactly. When people start this kind of "mud-slinging", it's hard to see the point. Is my post helpful? No. That's the point. I would love to read a new article called "Why I feel I need to write an article about why I'm not emerging"... I like James - but why be so negative? Why be so nasty? Why try to be so "know-it-all"? If he feels the emergers are being too harsh, why be harsh back? See my point? The "self-defeatist" attitude is there to prove the point...all his arguments do is start an argument...and he'll say "they started it" and they'll say.... Why must people define themselves by "what they aren't"? Thanks for your thoughts, though- I see your point. I am young and immature. I just get so sick of all the "why I'll never be stupid like you" articles...
Cool, I agree with everything he says. Maybe sometimes he's over the top but the more I listen to him on the radio I think he'll use hyperbole like Jesus did to highlight important points.