I’m a boomer but I really like emergents. Really. Most of the responses to my columns are from emergents and of course all of my students fit this age group. I like emergents—perhaps too much. Recently I was asked how I’d fare if I left the classroom and had to jump into pastoring. My response: “I’d probably do OK with those under 30 but I might be ineffective with the older more traditional people.” I spend just about all of my time with emergents and I really like you a lot. Here’s what I like about you. (…and I have two cautions at the end too)
Did I mention that the year of emerging criticism is over, and (I think) another phase has begun? I think we'll start to see a move away from the Emergent (TM) label and instead, many of the things Drury mentioned will begin to go mainstream. But I could be wrong.
"2. Keep the church. You are going to be tempted to abandon the church and go off into solitary spirituality. Your crushed idealism may cause you to give up on the assembled people of God and our culture’s individualism will entice you toward your iPod rather than worship on Sunday mornings. There will be voices recruiting you to leave the church—reversing the notion of “called out ones” to being called out of the church to an individualized privatized spirituality. I pray you will not listen to these temptations. Be wary of any who claim to “love Jesus but despise the church.” Refuse to walk away from the assembly of believers into a privatized self-centered spirituality. If you are practicing privatized faith on your own apart from the assembly you are not being a Christian at all—you merely practicing spiritual masturbation. There is no such thing as a solitary Christian any more than a solitary marriage. Christians come in clusters. I hope you emergents will reinvent all kinds of new ways for the church to be the church, but none of them should include a church-less Christianity. For a church-less Christianity is essentially a Christ-less Christianity and thus not Christian at all. To be prepared for this temptation read Bonhoeffer."
Hmmm, this makes me think. I'm still struggling with the value of the assembly (I don't enjoy the extreme frustration I feel within 100 yards of a church buidling).
Rob
Maybe something that looks less like a traditional church might be a better fit for some?
Just stopping by to say "HI" and that I found your blog.
Blessings!
leah
www.joyfulsoundrecords.com
www.leahslogic.blogspot.com