Emerging Church
In parallel with our church re-evaluating our activities and direction recently, I’ve been reading a bit more about the “emerging church“.
Some characteristics of the emerging church really appeal to me:
- Outward-facing. The technical term for this is “missional”, which really means that everyone in the church has an active part to play in their communities, culture and world.
- Authentic. What we do should be real and honest, and should encompass all of our lives. There is no room for “Sunday Christianity”. Church should not be a rigid structure, but willing to change to accommodate the needs of people.
- Open. There should be respect for and dialogue with people who don’t share our views, in an honest and open environment. The church should explore and
- Respect for the old and the new. Contemporary Christianity can often be a bit like “that song was written in the 1990s, so last decade…”, whereas emerging Christianity realises that traditions through time can speak to us. The emerging
As you would expect from a movement that has grown out of 21st century culture, the emerging church has a very strong presence on the web. There are a lot of blogs, and I particularly like:
Tall Skinny Kiwi - Andrew Jones from Orkney.
The Rubicon - well thought-out discussion on a wide range of topics, with it’s roots in the Salvation Army.
Brian McLaren - one of the main thinkers in the emerging movement.