Entries in Where Do I Fit? (5)
Later: Where I'm Going
So what’s next? Am I going to stay in this emergent conversation, stick with my reformed roots, or go somewhere else?
I know you are all waiting for this answer with baited breath.
The truth is, I don’t know.
If emergent starts to define more of their non-negotiables and come up with a theology of their own, then I don’t know. Maybe I will stick around, maybe I won’t.
If emergent continues as a conversation across denominational lines, then maybe I’ll stick around & try to learn from what’s going on, maybe I won’t.
My guess is they will do something in-between these two. There could be a separation between the “emergent church” and the “emergent conversation”, or “emergent” and “emerging”…or something like that. In that case I may stick around the conversation, then again, maybe I won’t.
I’ve been accused by someone of labeling during this series, of categorizing groups of Christians and focusing on semantics. That’s not my intent. I’m just trying to find some sort of reference point. It’s hard to see where we are going without some sort of landmarks & references along the way. The road to Christ is narrow, it’s easy to wander off the path without reference points to keep us going right. To me, this whole “emergent” thing is a reference point. I’m no longer in the Presbyterian church, or the reformed episcopal church, and I feel that the folks in the emergent conversation are those that I most closely relate to at this point in my Christian walk.
But this kind of theological thinking is not what I’m called to. It’s just a stop along the road. A time that God has given me to rediscover what I believe, to rediscover Him, and to rediscover His calling in my life. Ultimately, I know that He is calling me back to ministry in a local church.
But where will that be? A Presbyterian church? A Baptist church? An emergent church?
I don’t really care as long as it’s a church that follows Christ.
So we come full circle, back to the conclusion from before. I’m tired of labels, I’m ready to follow Christ. Where I end up depends on where He leads me.
Jenny & I are waiting for Adam to move up. Waiting to be a part of this new Baptist affiliated Church that God is leading him to plant. Not because it’s going to be perfect, but because it’s where we believe God is calling us to serve. We’re not going to agree with Adam on everything. We’re not going to agree with the Baptists on everything. But if we get to follow His leading in our lives and in our church, then we’re there.
Just my $.02
mo
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Now: Why I Don't Fit With Emergent
Even though there are some ways that I feel I really fit with those in the emergent discussion, there are also a bunch of ways that I don’t. I could make a really exhaustive list, but it would probably be way to much for you to read and for me to write, so I’ve pared it down to three things.
1. My Non-Negotiables: The problem with having a conversation across denominational lines is that there are some things that I feel very strongly are non-negotiable about my faith, that others within emergent do not.
Christ is THE Way- I hold to Jesus’ teachings that “He is the way the truth and the live and that NO ONE gets to the Father except through Him.” There are those in the conversation that feel this is a limited way of thinking…that my God is too small. More of my thoughts on the subject are here.
Authority of Scripture - I firmly believe that the Bible is the primary way that God uses to reveal Himself, His plan, and the Salvation that Christ offers to us. I believe that God does reveal himself to us, and through other peoples teachings and writing, but it all needs to be checked back through scripture. Others will tell you that other sources that reveal God to us are just as authoritative as scripture. But what if they clash with scripture? What if parts of the Bible are not Truth to them?
I could keep going, but I think you get the point. These are a couple examples of things that I wish the “leaders” of emergent would take a stand on. I understand that they don’t because they want the conversation to be as inclusive as possible, but there comes a point where I feel the need to make a stand on some of these issues. I guess that’s why I wouldn’t be a good leader for emergent.
2. Their Non-Negotiables: On the other hand, there are a couple issues that some of the leaders of the emergent discussion have taken a stand on, that other Christians either see as negotiable, or disagree about.
Women in Leadership - Some leaders in Emergent want to establish that Emergent supports women in leadership. I assume from this article that they also mean women pastors and elders.
Anti-War - Other leaders like Brian McClaren, protest against war, especially the war in Iraq.
I’m not saying I agree or disagree with them, it just seems odd to me that they would be willing to make stands on these topics, while not making a stand on the other topics above. The whole reason I enjoy this conversation is that it focuses on the non-negotiables that are the most important to Christians across the board. Why are they then singling out these couple “negotiables”. Is this the beginning of an “emergent” theology?
I know some will say that this is the beginning of the line being drawn between Emergent and Emerging, or the Emergent Conversation and the Emergent Church. This may be true, but I think that for now the line is blurred enough that they are still one in the same…Although, if leaders keep making a stand on issues like those above the line could become more clear very soon.
3. The Bandwagon Factor: “Emergent” seems to be a term that is becoming used very liberally to market any new program out there that is focused on “postmodern” ministry. It’s replacing “cutting edge” as the term that means new and fresh. I always threw out ads for ministry materials that claimed to be cutting edge. I don’t want something that’s cutting edge, I want something that draws people closer to Christ. There’s only one way to do that, and it’s not some program, it’s responding to the Holy Spirit.
So that, in a nutshell, is why I don’t fit with emergent. I know I’m making some blanket statements based on the beliefs of a few, but I wanted to point out some things that are red flags to me. There is a lot of good stuff going on in the conversation, and I don’t want to throw out the baby with the bath water.
Just my $.02
Now: Why I Fit With Emergent
In my experiences with different churches and denominations I came to see a common theme: American churches are bad at sharing the gospel with people who have never heard it before. We are good, or at least decent, at attracting those who don’t go to church but have grown up in the church or with some sort of Christian background. We are also good at attracting people from different churches. In fact, one church that I went to has pretty much stated that their church “growth” model is to be there for people who are leaving a couple of denominations that are presently in disarray. To me, that’s not a Church growth model (no new people are coming into the Church) it’s a Church restructuring model. So the question I began asking was, “how do we spread the gospel to NEW people in a culture that is no longer “Christian”?
As I explored this question I discovered this group of folks around the world who call themselves “emergent” and I found a kinship.
Coming from varied denominational experiences I’ve come to realize that there are a lot of “negotiables” about our faith. For example, Episcopals structure their church leadership one way, Presbyterians do it a different way. I think that there are three main non-negotiables to those within emergent: 1. Love God, 2. Love People, and 3. Create New Disciples — Three of the most important commands given to us by our Lord Jesus. The thing I find refreshing about the emergent conversation is that they bring people together across “negotiable” boundaries and say, “let’s focus on these three things and figure out how to do them in a way that is consistent with the teachings of Jesus and relevant to people today — let’s build the kingdom with NEW people!”
This whole thing is scary because we are throwing away the old model of institutional church that, I believe, has become a sort of security blanket to the American church. Instead we are trying out a new missional model of doing church. It’s scary because we are going out and engaging people in their own places, instead of asking them to come to us. This kind of approach to ministry is very uncomfortable to those of us who have been brought up in the institutional church. However, it helps us to grow. It stretches us, even forges us into stronger people, stronger missionaries, and stronger followers of Christ.
This is what I find so exciting and encouraging about emergent. This is why I fit with emergent.
Just my $.02
Before
As I try to figure out where I fit, I’ve been thinking more about where I’ve come from.
I was born and raised in a Reformed Episcopal church. It’s a small denomination, but theologically is (or at least was) pretty close to presbyterian. They keep the liturgical tradition of the Episcopal church, which I love. They also keep the the church leadership structure of the episcopal church, which I’m not crazy about. Otherwise it’s very “reformed” in the same sort of calvanistic way as the Presbyterian church (in fact, they were so close that when my churches pastor retired when I was in high school a presbyterian pastor was hired as our interim).
In college I became very active in leadership with InterVarsity christian fellowship, an interdenominational group. I had lots of friends with all sorts of theological backgrounds. Through that group I learned a lot respecting differing views throughout christendom and focusing on what is really important, what one of my pastors would later describe to me as the “non-negotiables”, of our faith.
Later I went to work as an intern at a Presbyterian church, a church in the more traditional PCA. I agreed with a lot of their theology, some not so much. After that I worked for three years in another presbyterian church, this time a church in the more liberal PCUSA. Once again, I agreed with a lot of their beliefs, and found some things that I didn’t agree with.
Now I’m considering joining a Baptist church, and I’m really enjoying the “emergent church” conversations that are going one throughout the area/country/world.
I must seem VERY confused. After all, I don’t think there is any group/denomination out there that I theologically agree with 100%. So, if that’s the case where do I fit? Am I presbyterian, reformed episcopal, am I reformed at all? Am I interdenominational, non-denominational, baptist, emergent?
In the end I have come to view it very similarly to how I view my cultural heritage. Americans have a fascination with “what” we are. Almost everyone I know can tell you what country or countries their ancestors came from, even if it’s been a hundred years or more since their family lived there. I’m no different, I know that I’m on quarter British, one quarter German, one quarter Norwegian and one quarter Ukrainian. However, somewhere around High School I realized that while it’s important to know where we come from it’s not who I am, I AM American.
I view my theological background much the same way. I’m some strange mix of reformed episcopal and presbyterian calvanism with emerging tendencies, but I AM a Christian. I’m tired of being labeled, and I’m tired of trying to label myself, I just want to follow Christ.
Just my $.02
Where do I fit?
This is something I’ve been thinking of a lot lately. Where do I fit theologically? Who do I connect with and relate to? Who, or what groups have belief structures similar to mine.
Maybe these questions started because of the questions I’ve been exploring as I look at working with Adam in the new church plant. Maybe it’s because I’ve been reading a lot more blogs from folks who believe things that are different than what I believe. Maybe it’s because I’m about to become a parent, and am just doing some inner reflection in preparation. Maybe it’s all of these things.
So, I figured I’d put some of my thoughts in a short, 4-part series (five if you include this post). It’s not about WHAT I believe, we already covered that in my Ministry Philosophy series. It will be more about how I came to these beliefs, where I fit now, especially with respect to the whole emergent thing, and where God is leading me.
We’ll start tomorrow & since there is no time crunch on this series like there was on the last one I’ll take some time getting it done. I look forward to sharing with you & hearing your thoughts.
Just my $.02
