Introduction: The Emerging Church

What is the Emerging Church?

Wikipedia gives a fairly comprehensive, yet concise definition:

The emerging church or emergent church is a diverse movement within Christianity that arose in the late 20th century as a reaction to the influence of modernism in Western Christianity. The movement is usually called a "conversation" by its proponents to emphasize its diffuse nature with contributions from many people and no explicitly defined leadership or direction. The emerging church seeks to deconstruct and reconstruct Christianity as its mainly Western members live in a postmodern culture.

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Rochester College's Assembly Presentations on the Emerging Church

From October 17th to November 28th, faculty members of Rochester College and other guest speakers gave a series of assembly presentations on the "Emerging Church." Here is the basic outline of the assemblies:

October 17th - Dr. Keith Huey: History of the Emerging Church

October 24th - Dr. Rubel Shelly: The Emerging Church as a Holistic Movement

October 31st - Chris Lindsey: The Emerging Church and Worship as a Lifestyle

November 7th - Josh Graves: Authentic Discipleship and the Emerging Church

November 14th - Klint Pleasant: Mission and Hospitality with the Emerging Church

November 21st - Todd and Kara Tipton: Missionizing and the Emerging Church Globally

November 28th - Eric Magnusson: Scripture as Story and Conclusion

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Quick Summaries

Dr. Keith Huey's presentation sought to give a balanced view of the Emerging Church from a historical perspective. He noted the movement's stance against focusing on propositional truths and doctrines traditionally studied by Christian churches. He also gave importance to the idea of the Emerging Church as a "conversation" and mentioned the movement's connection to Post-Modernism and Post-Modernist culture. On other beliefs of the Emerging Church, Dr. Huey presented the popular Emergent idea that Christians and the Bible "do(es) not have a monopoly on truth."

Dr. Rubel Shelly's presentation discussed the Emerging Church as a holistic movement. "Christian Holism" can often be described as the opposite of Reductionism. In other words, as it relates to Christianity and the Emerging Church, "holism" is the rejection of the view that there are two separate worlds - the "Spiritual World" and the "Secular World." The Emerging Church, as Shelly explains it, stresses experience over theological doctrines and objects to the idea of propositional truths and creeds being deduced from scripture.

Chris Lindsey's presentation discussed the idea of worship in the Emerging Church. Lindsey practiced several ancient Catholic worship activities during the assembly, including the Lectio Divina. In addition to the Lectio Divina, he commented favorably on the practice of Taize. Lindsey supported the idea of "worship as lifestyle" and describing worship as an experience. Explaining a criticism of the traditional view of Bible study (I.E. a Christian reading and meditating on scriptures), Lindsey offered the analogy of a Baseball card and a Professional Baseball player; one can collect the player's sports cards and memorize his statistics, but that does not mean the person actually knows the player.

Josh Graves's presentation featured his take on the Emerging Church, including criticisms. The assembly also presented an "Emerging" group that showcased their unconventional style of Emergent ministry, including a Christian coffee shop and tattoo parlor. "Bar Twelve," a musical band, performed for the student audience.

Klint Pleasant's presentation discussed the need for churches and Christians to be accepting of all people, regardless of their current situation or issues. He recalled the story of a young student that had problems with drugs, looked rough, and behaved strangely. Pleasant admitted that he was wary about the course of action he would take with the student, but Pleasant eventually decided that accepting the young man and helping him get involved in the school's basketball program was the right thing to do.

Todd and Kara Tipton's presentation displayed the missional side of the Emerging Church. Kara Tipton talked about some of her experiences on the mission field. Above all, she urged Christians to be united.

Eric Magnusson's presentation highlighted his call for students to read the Bible as "story" instead of studying it and finding doctrines and propositional truths. Echoing the sentiments of Dr. Rubel Shelly, Magnusson argued for a more holistic interpretation of the Bible. Magnusson expressed a desire for Christians to read the Bible similar to how they did when they were children.

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We hope this introductory article has made it easier for interested students to find convienent information about the Emerging Church and Rochester College's presentations on it. Here are some more helpful and relevant links on the Emerging Church:

The Emerging Village: www.emergentvillage.com

More Information on the Emerging Church: http://emergingchurch.info

An Emerging Site With Focus on Progressive Culture: www.theooze.com

Thanks for reading,

Tacitus