tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post8812496089208208210..comments2024-01-20T07:17:13.678-05:00Comments on Phil Wyman's Square No More: Emerging Church: What is it?Pastor Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07344719487413688550noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-42423621400261395442010-03-06T09:33:24.968-05:002010-03-06T09:33:24.968-05:00IMHO, The problem with tradition addressing emerge...IMHO, The problem with tradition addressing emergences is that those who are "emerging" do not actually actually know what they believe (as an organization) and do not have something by which they define themselves. Emergent and non-emergent peoples have to get past a discussion of what emergence even IS and what it BELIEVES before it's merits can be discussed. I think that the problem is that tradition is trying to regard the emergent movement as an emerging denomination. The problem, I think, is that emergence is para-denominational. In other words, I think emergent peoples as a whole share this one commonality: They believe that good or bad, there is something that can be learned from every denomination and tradition of christianity. There is an element of reactionary truth to each successive moment and denomination and perhaps if we can learn their mistakes, and their successes, we can keep from repeating the mistakes. In that sense, I think beyond this, it is impossible to define what the emergent church believes.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03989262007438051503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-62762753822483906952010-03-03T16:15:20.578-05:002010-03-03T16:15:20.578-05:00Hi George,
It is good to connect with you again. ...Hi George,<br /><br />It is good to connect with you again. Of course, being rejected can bring about becoming reactionary and/or revolutionary - which may not be all that bad.Pastor Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07344719487413688550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-64186734165082334302010-03-03T16:13:53.205-05:002010-03-03T16:13:53.205-05:00Mike,
Your observations on Christianity as an out...Mike,<br /><br />Your observations on Christianity as an outside observer continue to be enlightening. It is good to know how we look to those who are peering in through the stained glass.Pastor Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07344719487413688550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-4447755009060189072010-03-03T13:02:27.797-05:002010-03-03T13:02:27.797-05:00Emergent seems to have many flavors, all the way f...Emergent seems to have many flavors, all the way from reactionary to truly wanting to find a new, outside the traditional box, expression for living out the Kingdom of God. Since I have been rejected by the establishment I perfer the latter. If the Lord Jesus is truly kept at the center of however you are living it out it is worth looking at, but there are "different strokes for different folks."<br />G. RudesillAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-67421835355300606502010-03-03T12:21:15.004-05:002010-03-03T12:21:15.004-05:00Ok, well in the wider Christian community I'm ...Ok, well in the wider Christian community I'm not sure if my understanding of 'the' emergent church would be of any great interest. But from what I've seen of people who have been identified as 'emerging church/ emergent church', I understand it to be a very varied entity... and rightly so. It appears to me to be a movement to explore what it really means to be a Christians, taking early church accounts as a starting point at least in part to avoid being tied down by all the dogmatic tradition that has become glued to Christianity and painted as if it has always been there or was always meant to be there. The emerging/emergent churches try to facilitate this exploration for those who gather with them without dictating to them. So if someone within such a church begins to discover that one/some of those traditions that have become glued to Christianity is/are actually useful then that isn't a problem. That tradition wouldn't be employed for the sake of tradition, but for its usefulness. :)<br /><br />So emerging/emergent church, for me suggests a group of people who are seeking the core of their christian faith. :)<br /><br />BB<br /><br />Mikecernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06159048983588703450noreply@blogger.com