The dialogue discussion, argument, discourse, position of the Emerging/Emergent Church is an interesting one. It is one to some degree I am involved in. Many consider what we do here in Seattle (in the running of a nonprofit, community coffee house) as emergent. We call it faithful.
I’m not much of a proponent of placing arbitrary labels on things. As there is much discussion of what Emergent entails, I tend to not verbally identify… however, many of my actions might speak differently. As I am involved in a ministry where we actively seek ways to be in the neighborhood, we don’t shy away from social justice and seeing God’s social implications throughout the Scripture. I regularly read books by pastors/ministers/followers of Christ who many (as well as themselves) align with the Emergent Church.
Perhaps my theological heritage (within the Church of the Nazarene – and the Wesleyan Holiness tradition) provides me with a sense of comfort within the writings of the emergent church… as many emergent church thinkers fall more on the side of Free-will and grace.
Emergent or not, I believe we must continually be in the Scriptures and applying it to our lives. I believe the church must always be an active living body – not stagnant – but seeking ways to connect God’s reconciliation to the disenfranchised of our world. And so, in many ways – I believe the church must always be emerging… as our culture changes – we must be willing to evaluate our current systems and emerge with new authentic ways of sharing God’s love, his ways, as we invite others into his Kingdom.
I believe we must always be faithful to God’s call to our lives. If it means stepping outside our traditional boxes – then we must do so with new practices (or ancient ones) of faith!
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