The Emerging Church Stigma

One of two common charges made about the "Emerging Church" movement, articulated by writers such as Brian McLaren and Leonard Sweet, is that it is deconstructionist in its nature, without any reconstruction as a counter-balance. I agree with this. It is true that it is in vogue today to deconstruct the modern church, criticize, and recommend a renovation. But while many do this - there is an increasing chorus of voices in this choir - the alternative has been quiet. If we do not want the modern church, what is it that we do want? There are a few who attempt to answer this question in varying degrees of depth. But how many churches do we see practicing an alternative model to the modern church? Michael Frost, in his Shaping of Things to Come, provides a much needed theological and philosophical foundation to the movement. But a holistic practical manifestation of this framework, is still yet to be seen. I am making a statement, that, while many neo-churches out there contain elements of a cohesive Missional church, there are none to my knowledge that incorporate what can be said as a holistic philosophy of ministry. For any out there reading, if you have some recommendations to counter this statement, please mention them in a reply.

I would like to differentiate between "emerging church," and a "missional church." I feel that the Emerging church now has associations and conjures up assumptions that I no longer wish to deal with. Either people write them off as rebellious, or lacking in a theological framework for their statements. That is an argument that I no longer wish to engage in, not because I'm lazy, but because I'm not sure I can - it would take a lot of work that I don't want to do! What I have found, is that many of the popular Christian criticizers express opinion on these Emerging church writers, without actually doing an in-depth reading of their works. How can we express opinions on something without reading it? It is nothing short of literary gossip, just as ignorant, and I come across it on almost a daily basis.

One of the philosophies that does come out clear in these writings is the idea that information can no longer be delivered in large chunks of objective thought. Commentaries and Christian books, therefore, must be taken as "fodder," or loose material to be sifted through, picking out the tasty parts, while barely noticing the distasteful. I have turned that advice against writers such as McLaren. There are many things that are "tasty" in what he says. There are many parts that are not, for many people. Take what is tasty. Leave the rest. Surely if you love olives, but hate the salad, you're not going to throw the whole salad out. Pick out the olives. Leave the rest.

When I say "missional" I believe I am talking about a rising (because I can no longer use the word emerging) ecclesiastical philosophy that may, for the first time in an era, be a serious challenger to the modern church movement. By the modern church movement, I mean something perhaps more broad than you think:

1. philosophies that began with the renaissance era
2. are trans-denominational
3. are linked back to a time when church and state were closely intertwined, and therefore retain structures that mirror government and its value systems (denominations that behave like political parties towards each other, or, "them over there")
4. have morphed and varied over the centuries of the modern era, but nonetheless maintained the true, inner core of the philosophy
5. is ending with the American (and Canadian) Evangelical Religious Right movement, and the Mega Church / Purpose Driven model for ministry.

When I say "beginning" and "ending," I mean all things loosely. Surely there is no fault-line between the Reformed Church and the Medieval Church, but there is a smudge. One color is the Medieval church, while the other color is the Reformation. Surely there are traces of each color in the other. Therefore, I am talking generally. It is the same now. There is no fault line between the missional church and the Mega church. But they are two different colors.