The Emergent Paradox

Posted by Jonathan Brink
August 3, 2009

tree2

What if Emergent Christianity is creating a paradox for people?  What if those who see black recognize that white is the only thing that will work?

Brian McLaren recently posted the following quote from a conversation he had with someone he recently met.  And I can’t help but recognize the tension so many have with Emergence.

“Ah, McLaren. I don’t like your work and I disagree with you on almost every point. But I hope you succeed …”

They know they don’t agree with it but they can recognize that it has value.  That is a paradox if I ever heard one.    The man went on to end the sentence with:

“because my sons are far from God and far from the church. They can’t stand the kind of Christianity I represent, but they really like you. If they have a future in the church, it will be through people like you.”

Think about what this man is saying.  Whether we like it or not, something is working within Emergent Christianity that is speaking to a generation who are not being reached by their forefathers.  And some are recognizing this is quite possibly the only way a generation will be reached.

The underlying ethos of Emergence Christianity that is working, to me at least, is a return to an unmitigated grace.  It’s this amazing space that allows people to arrive just as they are to the conversation of faith and know they don’t have to have it all together.  Some would say it’s a belong to believe, where the man’s circles would say believe to belong.  To me, that latter is more powerful because it’s based in trust.  It’s released control.  And at that moment, when we get out of the way, we allow the Holy Spirit to do wonders we could never have imagined.  We allow creativity to manifest in the chaos.

Interested in your thoughts.

Share and Enjoy:
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Technorati
  • Reddit
  • Google Bookmarks
Christianity, Emerging Church, Quotes

If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.

  • chris
    Yeah, and some are still trying to hold on to the Omish thing. It's too bad, and kind of sad really that after experiencing the break away of the "Christian" church from the "Jewish" church, and then the Protestant Reformation, and then of course the complete change in doctrinal views even from the time of Martin Luther..... that we still try and hold on so close to our cultural ideas of what faith and god are. Do people really not understand that even going back 100 years, not to mention characters like Abraham and the like, that our view of God. It has been evolving for ever, and will continue to evolve. The only constant is that our belief systems will keep solidifying and then be smashed into pieces by the next generation, more advanced in thought that we are.

    The other sad thing is that "the world" (pardon the phrase) feels the guilt that "the church" lays on, like a heavy yoke. It shouldn't be that way. It should be that the things that weigh on people are their lack of forgiveness for others and other things that violate their conscience and so on. Not a guilt for not being in the christian club.
  • chris
    sorry for the messed up thought there in the middle, the point was that how we think today and how people thought even 100 years ago, is totally different.

    The old dudes in the old testemant were completely nomadic warrior like people, why do you think that is the view we get of god? So imagine having a theological conversation with one of them. I will save you the suspense it wouldn't work. :)
  • What is Emergent Christianity? I know about the Emergent Conversation, but now do we have a new religion as well?

    It seems to me that all the same things are developing outside these labels, whether in emerging, missional, or no-name groups of people. The final product is not a new religion, or brand, but something real God is doing.

    What I like most about this post is your reference to unmitigated grace. I think grace, or love, is the common element shaping and reshaping things across the board. This awareness of grace has been changing everything for me. My impression is that the more organized and personality driven forms of this emerging work of God (Emergent, movement oriented groups, etc.) are the conservative trailing edge.
  • andrewshepherd
    In a way, emergence is interesting because at the same time that it preachings unmitigated grace, and apost modern theology, it is itself an example of the need for itself. I had a conversation with some a few weeks ago, who though that the emergent church, and post modern theology was an attack on the very gospel itself. I feel like I was a short step from being declared a heretic. It is this attitude, the holding onto truths, that has lead to the need for a new way of thinking. If the eternal truths are no longer held by the greater culture, then church will cease to be, and that is what I think we are seeing. It is not just a change it truth, but a realization that all truth is relative to the experience of the believer. Emergence, then, is offering a new view of truth which is that there is no discernable truth. Talk about paradox... (sorry for the redundant use of the word "truth")

    It's an interesting movement, and I think Phyllis Tickles The Great Emergence offers a great historical outline of the roots of the movement.
  • Andrew, I don't know if I would say there is no discernable truth. I think what we're beginning to see is a cognitive understanding of how our own brokenness affects our view of truth. And those are two different things.

    What I think we are wrestling with as a greater body is what grace really means. Is grace really true in the sense that nothing can truly separate us from the love of God. It's no longer about morality, which is what I think the truth war is really about, but about owning our own freedom. It's moving from codependence in the traditional sense and moving to owning our own faith. That's scary for a lot of people.
  • davidmorris
    Good post Jonathan. Thank you. Is the emergence merely something for a new generation, or something for us all? Actually, I prefer to think it's both. Grace, yes. We certainly could use a little more of that in the way we practice faith. We certainly have new ways to discover it all over again. Thanks again.
  • David, thanks for your kind words. I'd like to think Emergence is for everyone because if the central theme is grace then it applies to everyone. But unfortunately not everyone will receive that.
blog comments powered by Disqus