Posted June 8, 2009 by Charles
A "Hopeful Skeptic" is what I'll be regarding Nick's book, if I ever dare read it.
Apparently Emergent died while I was busy with other things for the last few months. I can’t believe it! I guess I’ll do my best to keep up with the post-mortem. Well, it’s post-mortem for a few, and in the opinion of Paul Glavic, those few should “get over it”:
I don’t think Emergent Village – or general emergence, for that matter – is fizzling out. I think it’s becoming more mainstream (not to be confused with mainline), and thus has lost its subversive feel. I imagine this annoys some who had followed the emerging conversation because it was subversive and not because of its theological and ecclesial implications. To that I say, “Get over it.”
Since I graduated from college I’ve been curious as to where all of the young, passionate emergents were. I didn’t see any in Dallas or Tulsa. Sure, it’s the Bible Belt, but for a movement so explosive, it wasn’t making much impact anywhere around me.
Eventually I met Mark Riddle during an interview process. It was nice to talk to a prominent name in the movement a bit (we didn’t really hit on any real emergent topics, but it was an undercurrent of our conversation), but I wasn’t really moved. Mark’s a smart guy, but there’s no meat to the philosophy…it’s empty calories.
Read more
Posted May 26, 2009 by Charles
How could you hate a guy who wear's Mickey t-shirts?
Mark Driscoll has a good piece out in response to the recent Newsweek cover story, “The End of Christian America”. It’s not so much a response as another perspective on the data – that the percentage of Americans claiming no religious affiliation has doubled, while the percentage claiming Christian affiliation has shrunk - from that offered by Al Mohler.
Rather than “despair” at the survey results, Driscoll rejoices, much as I did when I read it. I wasn’t excited about there being more athiests or fewer Christians, because I don’t think there are. I just think there are fewer people who feel the need to lie about it to pollsters.
Here’s what Driscoll has to say:
The confusion is that it was common in Christendom for people who did not practice Christianity to profess Christianity. This was often done for social reasons, such as living in a culture that expected church affiliation, being born into a religious tradition and assuming it was simply part of one’s identity (like a cultural or racial connection), or personally, socially, and vocationally benefitting from being connected, even loosely, to a church or denomination. Researchers such as George Barna have documented the fact that, as Jesus himself said, not everyone who says he or she is a Christian is in fact one. [...]
With the social benefits of professing to be a Christian no longer in place and the social stigma of not professing to be a Christian now lifted, those who were part of Christendom America are simply no longer pretending to be part of Christian America.
Read more
Posted April 14, 2009 by Charles
I’ve been chewing on a question. There seems to be this constant question of “proselytizing”. I’ve heard it quite often lately, and always in the negative. In the last couple of days I heard it in reference to the actions of a teacher at a Christian college, and it got me thinking.
If you set out to a task – homeless shelter, afterschool program, teaching, construction – in service to others, what is your evangelistic responsibility when you encounter a non-believer? Should we follow the overused Francis quote and preach the gospel without words, or do we verbally “proselytize”?
Read more
Posted April 6, 2009 by Charles
Whenever I hear an emergent or progressive believer describe something they dislike about conservative or “traditional” theology, I find they they accurately describe the theology and attitude of absolutely no one that I’ve actually encountered, in person or online. Unless you count those KJVO folk and Slice of Laodicea. But I have seriously never encountered these people.
And yet, the descriptions go on. Is it just me, or is this a common thing?
I got into a long discussion online recently, and the descriptions were just outlandish. Apparently the writer has met people who believe that God changed to be reconciled to us, that we justify the death penalty by referring to the Cross, and that leprochaun moved the stone. Ok, I added that last one in there. But it almost fits.
Do these people exist? And if they do, can we shut them up?
Posted January 12, 2009 by Charles
A list of cool people I met at CTC : Dallas -
- John Dyer, Web Develper, Dallas Theological Seminary (I already knew him, but he belongs on the list): @johndyer, donteatthefruit.com
- John Saddington, Web Creative Director, North Point Community Church: @human3rror, churchcrunch.com, human3rror.com
- Rhett Smith, Pastoral Care Mentor/Trainer, Highland Park Presbyterian: @rhetter, rhettsmith.com
- Rick Smith: @rick_smith, rickonline.us
- Tony Steward, Pastor, Lifechurch.tv Onine Campus: @tonysteward, tonystewardblog.com
- Greg Atkinson: @gregatkinson, gregatkinson.com
- Scott McClellan, Editor, COLLIDE Magazine: @scottmclellan, COLLIDE Blog
Each of these guys is a great resource for ideas and vision about the church-present and the church-future. They’re figuring out ways to use technology to further our mission, and ways to keep it from obstructing our mission. Follow them on twitter, subscribe to their blogs, and get involved with the next phase of church emergence. And subscribe here while you’re at it…my feedburner numbers are just sad.
