In general, the ECM is marked by its uncertainty about Scripture, its lack of clarity surrounding Scripture and meaning, its unwillingness to accept the clear teaching of Scripture, and its overall ambivalence towards absolute truth statements as found in Scripture and formalized doctrinal statements as articulated from Scripture. This attitude regarding the Word of God is the prevalent one throughout the history of the church as it has battled attacks from within.
"The entrapment of the gospel by the culture is not a relatively new phenomena in the history of the church. It is much older than the capitulation of confessional churches that went on during the Enlightenment."1 The early church fathers have fought these battles to preserve the integrity of the gospel and a right understanding of the person and work of Christ in the face of internal pressures to accommodate the truth for the sake of cultural appeasement and unity at the expense of truth. Thus, we have preserved for us the majesty of the creedal statements as produced by the great church councils of the past.
Robert Shindler, a minister and friend of C. H. Spurgeon noted a similar pattern of apathy to apostasy starting with the early Reformation. It begins the same when solid men with good intentions grow careless in defending the faith. They begin to stress moral principles and minimize the central tenets of the gospel. When this happens the next steps are predictable and always dangerous. "The next steps always involve questioning or redefining the atonement, softening the difficult parts of the gospel, balking at the exclusivity of Christ—and ultimately putting every vital truth of Christian orthodoxy up for grabs."2
1Gary L. W. Johnson and Ronald N. Gleason, Reforming or Conforming (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2008), 221.
2Ibid., 223.
About Me
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Conversing with the Emerging-part 2
The Emergent Church Movement (ECM) theologically speaking is an amorphous collection of loosely held beliefs that are in general anti-creedal, anti-doctrinal, and anti-historically Christian. Given their disdain for objective truths and concrete statements of faith it is difficult to nail down the ECM with respect to a system of beliefs. I will try to articulate some of these beliefs later. We can characterize them with certain themes such as: prophetic rhetoric which is intentionally provocative, postmodern in that they do not believe absolute truth can be known sufficiently and a collapse of inherited meta narratives, praxis-oriented which places ecclesiology ahead of soteriology, post-evangelical as a protest against current evangelicalism and systematic theology, and political and clearly left leaning placing importance upon care of the poor ahead of moral issues such as abortion and homosexuality.
Perhaps the best description of ECM’s ambiguity comes from Brian McLaren, one of the main leaders of the movement who has said, "Right now Emergent is a conversation, not a movement…We don’t have a program. We don’t have a model. I think we must begin as a conversation, then grow as a friendship, and see if a movement comes of it."1
In spite of McLaren’s insistence that the ECM is not a movement, Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger, in their book, Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures define emerging as:
"Emerging churches are communities that practice the way of Jesus within postmodern
cultures. This definition encompasses nine practices. Emerging churches (1) identify with
the life of Jesus, (2) transform the secular realm, and (3) live highly communal lives.
Because of these three activities, they (4) welcome the stranger, (5) serve with generosity,
(6) participate as producers, (7) create as created beings, (8) lead as a body, and (9) take
part in spiritual activities."2
According to Justin Taylor "all of this can be boiled down to one sentence: ‘Emerging Churches are communities who practice the way of Jesus within the postmodern culture.’"3
As a movement that is trying to be culturally relevant with the postmodern culture ECM is trying to be all things to all people and in doing so have compromised the message for the sake of diversity, tolerance, ambiguity, and mystery. Scot McKnight, a leader in the ECM stated "Emerging catches into one term the global reshaping of how to ‘do church’ in postmodern culture."4 Its emphasis on the church being culturally relevant has been tried and has failed in modernity and post-modernity.
"Given the emergent conversation’s characteristics (emphasis on community but not on doctrine; a highly ambiguous handling of God’s truth, including non-Christian religions; disdain for Christian tradition; and being highly sympathetic to Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy), there appears to be historical precedence for the emphasis on community at the expense of doctrine. In other words, there is nothing new under the sun; this has all been done before in another time and in another place. In the history of the church, various theological methodologies have come and gone"5 In the not-too-distant future the ECM and its theological method will be find its resting place in the theological cemetery as a fade just like those other movements have which went before it.
1Scot McKnight, "Five Streams of the Emerging Church" Christianity Today Magazine (2008); accessed 19 December 2008; available from http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/february/html; Internet.
2Ibid.
3Justin Taylor, "An Emerging Church Primer"; accessed 19 December 2008; available from http://www.9marks.org/CC/article.html; Internet.
4 McKnight, "Five Streams of the Emerging Church,"
5Gary L. W. Johnson and Ronald N. Gleason, Reforming or Conforming (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2008), 178.
Perhaps the best description of ECM’s ambiguity comes from Brian McLaren, one of the main leaders of the movement who has said, "Right now Emergent is a conversation, not a movement…We don’t have a program. We don’t have a model. I think we must begin as a conversation, then grow as a friendship, and see if a movement comes of it."1
In spite of McLaren’s insistence that the ECM is not a movement, Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger, in their book, Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures define emerging as:
"Emerging churches are communities that practice the way of Jesus within postmodern
cultures. This definition encompasses nine practices. Emerging churches (1) identify with
the life of Jesus, (2) transform the secular realm, and (3) live highly communal lives.
Because of these three activities, they (4) welcome the stranger, (5) serve with generosity,
(6) participate as producers, (7) create as created beings, (8) lead as a body, and (9) take
part in spiritual activities."2
According to Justin Taylor "all of this can be boiled down to one sentence: ‘Emerging Churches are communities who practice the way of Jesus within the postmodern culture.’"3
As a movement that is trying to be culturally relevant with the postmodern culture ECM is trying to be all things to all people and in doing so have compromised the message for the sake of diversity, tolerance, ambiguity, and mystery. Scot McKnight, a leader in the ECM stated "Emerging catches into one term the global reshaping of how to ‘do church’ in postmodern culture."4 Its emphasis on the church being culturally relevant has been tried and has failed in modernity and post-modernity.
"Given the emergent conversation’s characteristics (emphasis on community but not on doctrine; a highly ambiguous handling of God’s truth, including non-Christian religions; disdain for Christian tradition; and being highly sympathetic to Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy), there appears to be historical precedence for the emphasis on community at the expense of doctrine. In other words, there is nothing new under the sun; this has all been done before in another time and in another place. In the history of the church, various theological methodologies have come and gone"5 In the not-too-distant future the ECM and its theological method will be find its resting place in the theological cemetery as a fade just like those other movements have which went before it.
1Scot McKnight, "Five Streams of the Emerging Church" Christianity Today Magazine (2008); accessed 19 December 2008; available from http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/february/html; Internet.
2Ibid.
3Justin Taylor, "An Emerging Church Primer"; accessed 19 December 2008; available from http://www.9marks.org/CC/article.html; Internet.
4 McKnight, "Five Streams of the Emerging Church,"
5Gary L. W. Johnson and Ronald N. Gleason, Reforming or Conforming (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2008), 178.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Conversing with the Emerging- part 1
There is no new thing under the sun.
Gnosticism came and went with various iterations of it continuing to morph and rise before disappearing again.
The seeker-sensitive movement has been a failure—producing very little in the way of Christ-like disciples. Its felt need sermons and glitzy productions was more culturally embracing than culturally engaging with gospel power.
The Emerging Church movement (ECM) is another movement that has come down the theological trail of attempting to be culturally relevant in order to make the gospel more presentable. It deserves some credit for attempting to deal with serious deficiencies that it has observed in both the seeker-sensitive movement, as well as in evangelicalism Protestantism.
However, in its attempt to deal with the postmodern mindset of today’s culture and the observable deficiencies it has largely rightly observed it has in general presented a gospel of a different kind.
From the beginning of the church age until now the critical issue is almost always focused on a right understanding of who Christ is in His humanity and deity.
The following is a multiple-part series on the ECM. It is certainly not exhaustive in nature. It does not reflect the various strains of the movement, but seeks to attempt to capture its overall theological and philosophical bent.
"The saying of Bernard is commonly known: ‘Some desire to know merely for the sake of knowing, and that is shameful curiosity. Some desire to know that they may sell their knowledge, and that too is shameful. Some desire to know for their reputation’s sake, and that is shameful vanity. But there are some who desire to know that they may edify others, and that is praiseworthy; and there are some who desire to know that they themselves may be edified, and that is wise.’" Richard Baxter
I hope that these next few blog entries, as simple as they may be will be edifying to all.
Gnosticism came and went with various iterations of it continuing to morph and rise before disappearing again.
The seeker-sensitive movement has been a failure—producing very little in the way of Christ-like disciples. Its felt need sermons and glitzy productions was more culturally embracing than culturally engaging with gospel power.
The Emerging Church movement (ECM) is another movement that has come down the theological trail of attempting to be culturally relevant in order to make the gospel more presentable. It deserves some credit for attempting to deal with serious deficiencies that it has observed in both the seeker-sensitive movement, as well as in evangelicalism Protestantism.
However, in its attempt to deal with the postmodern mindset of today’s culture and the observable deficiencies it has largely rightly observed it has in general presented a gospel of a different kind.
From the beginning of the church age until now the critical issue is almost always focused on a right understanding of who Christ is in His humanity and deity.
The following is a multiple-part series on the ECM. It is certainly not exhaustive in nature. It does not reflect the various strains of the movement, but seeks to attempt to capture its overall theological and philosophical bent.
"The saying of Bernard is commonly known: ‘Some desire to know merely for the sake of knowing, and that is shameful curiosity. Some desire to know that they may sell their knowledge, and that too is shameful. Some desire to know for their reputation’s sake, and that is shameful vanity. But there are some who desire to know that they may edify others, and that is praiseworthy; and there are some who desire to know that they themselves may be edified, and that is wise.’" Richard Baxter
I hope that these next few blog entries, as simple as they may be will be edifying to all.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Christmas and the O.T.
Tears of Barrenness Leads to the Birth of Triumph
-Perhaps you have lost the wonder and majesty of the Christmas story. I want to share with you the wonder of the Christmas story from the O.T. I want you to see that from the perspective of time, it had its beginning in the garden of Genesis.
Genesis 3:15
-Here we have the genesis of the Christmas story—the general promise of the coming of the seed. We see the first gospel here in the garden. It is general in nature, but we have the rest of the O.T. to see it fleshed out.
Genesis 17:17-18, 21
-God had made a covenant with Abraham back in Genesis 12. All the nations of the world would be blessed through Abraham’s seed. He reaffirmed it in chapter 15 and again in chapter 17. The general promise of Genesis 3 begins to narrow in focus.
Genesis 18:1-3, 9-15
-Sarah was past child bearing age. Sarah was too old. Sarah was barren. Sarah was physically incapable of giving birth. But, Sarah had a promise.
Genesis 30:22-24
-Now what does Rachel have to do with all of this? Well, she is married to Jacob, who is a son of Isaac, who is the son of promise from Abraham and Sarah. And, what does Joseph have to do with all of this?
Genesis 45:7-8; 50:19-20
-In the midst of a great famine God sent Joseph ahead to preserve the remnant from whom the promised seed would come.
-You see the sovereignty of God here. God was preserving and saving and preparing.
I Samuel 1:4-6, 12-20; 2:21
-Hannah’s womb was closed. It was closed by divine providence as was Sarah and Rachel.
-Look at the beauty of her praying and explanation of 1:13, 15. It serves as a model for you to pray to God with passion and emotion and realness.
-But, who cares about Hannah? So what that she gave birth to Samuel?
I Samuel 16:6-7, 11-13
-Don’t qualify or disqualify based on appearance. Do not underestimate what God can and will do in your life. God is interested in the heart, and from there He equips to do the impossible.
-Do not think that you are too young to take your faith seriously, or too inexperienced to make an impact. Do not think that it is ok to waste your time until you live a bit, and then one day in the future you will settle down and get serious.
-Samuel becomes the one to anoint a young David to be the next King.
-Now, you may say, "so what?" What does this have to do with the Christmas story? Who cares about a dead guy named David?
II Samuel 7:16
-God had made a covenant with David. Your house…your kingdom…your throne will be established forever—young David, inexperienced, the runt of the litter at the time.
-Echoing from here forward in the background are the words of Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel."
-So what?
Luke 1:26-38
-Elizabeth would give birth to John the Baptist. John the Baptist would break God’s silence after 400 plus years and speak as the last of the O.T. prophets.
-God would call him to say, "Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."
-A garden, a promise, a barren Sarah, a barren Rachel, a barren Hannah, a barren Elizabeth, a virgin Mary…the Messiah!
-Human improbability often sets up in contradiction to the divine promise.
-Be careful to not let the objections of the senses stand in contradiction to the promises of faith.
-This is no ordinary story. This is no random act in history. This is no reaction or plan ‘B’ from God. This was planned from the beginning. It had purpose, and intention, and intrigue, and miracle, and mystery, and anticipation, and splendor, and majesty, and love.
-Don’t let it become ordinary. Let it remain extraordinary in your heart, and share the majesty and wonder of it all with anyone who would care to listen.
God is the God of the impossible, and this is to magnify His sovereign grace and to keep us in our humble place (John Piper).
-Is anything too difficult for our God?
-Perhaps you have lost the wonder and majesty of the Christmas story. I want to share with you the wonder of the Christmas story from the O.T. I want you to see that from the perspective of time, it had its beginning in the garden of Genesis.
Genesis 3:15
-Here we have the genesis of the Christmas story—the general promise of the coming of the seed. We see the first gospel here in the garden. It is general in nature, but we have the rest of the O.T. to see it fleshed out.
Genesis 17:17-18, 21
-God had made a covenant with Abraham back in Genesis 12. All the nations of the world would be blessed through Abraham’s seed. He reaffirmed it in chapter 15 and again in chapter 17. The general promise of Genesis 3 begins to narrow in focus.
Genesis 18:1-3, 9-15
-Sarah was past child bearing age. Sarah was too old. Sarah was barren. Sarah was physically incapable of giving birth. But, Sarah had a promise.
Genesis 30:22-24
-Now what does Rachel have to do with all of this? Well, she is married to Jacob, who is a son of Isaac, who is the son of promise from Abraham and Sarah. And, what does Joseph have to do with all of this?
Genesis 45:7-8; 50:19-20
-In the midst of a great famine God sent Joseph ahead to preserve the remnant from whom the promised seed would come.
-You see the sovereignty of God here. God was preserving and saving and preparing.
I Samuel 1:4-6, 12-20; 2:21
-Hannah’s womb was closed. It was closed by divine providence as was Sarah and Rachel.
-Look at the beauty of her praying and explanation of 1:13, 15. It serves as a model for you to pray to God with passion and emotion and realness.
-But, who cares about Hannah? So what that she gave birth to Samuel?
I Samuel 16:6-7, 11-13
-Don’t qualify or disqualify based on appearance. Do not underestimate what God can and will do in your life. God is interested in the heart, and from there He equips to do the impossible.
-Do not think that you are too young to take your faith seriously, or too inexperienced to make an impact. Do not think that it is ok to waste your time until you live a bit, and then one day in the future you will settle down and get serious.
-Samuel becomes the one to anoint a young David to be the next King.
-Now, you may say, "so what?" What does this have to do with the Christmas story? Who cares about a dead guy named David?
II Samuel 7:16
-God had made a covenant with David. Your house…your kingdom…your throne will be established forever—young David, inexperienced, the runt of the litter at the time.
-Echoing from here forward in the background are the words of Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel."
-So what?
Luke 1:26-38
-Elizabeth would give birth to John the Baptist. John the Baptist would break God’s silence after 400 plus years and speak as the last of the O.T. prophets.
-God would call him to say, "Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."
-A garden, a promise, a barren Sarah, a barren Rachel, a barren Hannah, a barren Elizabeth, a virgin Mary…the Messiah!
-Human improbability often sets up in contradiction to the divine promise.
-Be careful to not let the objections of the senses stand in contradiction to the promises of faith.
-This is no ordinary story. This is no random act in history. This is no reaction or plan ‘B’ from God. This was planned from the beginning. It had purpose, and intention, and intrigue, and miracle, and mystery, and anticipation, and splendor, and majesty, and love.
-Don’t let it become ordinary. Let it remain extraordinary in your heart, and share the majesty and wonder of it all with anyone who would care to listen.
God is the God of the impossible, and this is to magnify His sovereign grace and to keep us in our humble place (John Piper).
-Is anything too difficult for our God?
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Starting Off.
I have reluctantly entered the 21'ST century world of technology kicking and screaming.
My intention is to share Puritan thoughts of the past in order to engage in conversation regarding the sharing of the gospel in today' culture. I hope to engage folks to think deeply about the Scriptures, Puritan theology and thought, the gospel, and this rapidly changing culture.
My concern is that we are in a post modern world where truth is no longer absolute. We are dealing with the church in the west that "will not endure sound teaching...accumulat[ing] for themselves teachers to suit their own passions." (2 Timothy 4:3) We are faced with increasing pressure to market the church so that it is culture friendly.
How do we present the gospel in today's world that no longer believes in absolutes, and where the church no longer lives out the richness of the truths of Scripture following in the footsteps of those spiritual giants that went before us?
For those of us who are engaged in ministry, whether from the platform or pew, I offer these words in this initial blog. From Richard Baxter, "Your study of physics and other sciences is not worth a rush, if it be not God that you seek after in them. To see and admire, to reverence and adore, to love and delight in God, as exhibited in his works--this is the true and only philosophy; the contrary is mere foolery, and is so called again and again by God himself. This is the sanctification of your studies, when they are devoted to God, and when he is the end, the object, and the life of them all."
My intention is to share Puritan thoughts of the past in order to engage in conversation regarding the sharing of the gospel in today' culture. I hope to engage folks to think deeply about the Scriptures, Puritan theology and thought, the gospel, and this rapidly changing culture.
My concern is that we are in a post modern world where truth is no longer absolute. We are dealing with the church in the west that "will not endure sound teaching...accumulat[ing] for themselves teachers to suit their own passions." (2 Timothy 4:3) We are faced with increasing pressure to market the church so that it is culture friendly.
How do we present the gospel in today's world that no longer believes in absolutes, and where the church no longer lives out the richness of the truths of Scripture following in the footsteps of those spiritual giants that went before us?
For those of us who are engaged in ministry, whether from the platform or pew, I offer these words in this initial blog. From Richard Baxter, "Your study of physics and other sciences is not worth a rush, if it be not God that you seek after in them. To see and admire, to reverence and adore, to love and delight in God, as exhibited in his works--this is the true and only philosophy; the contrary is mere foolery, and is so called again and again by God himself. This is the sanctification of your studies, when they are devoted to God, and when he is the end, the object, and the life of them all."
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