“Emergent” seems to be a buzz word.
Do you think it serves as a label for the un-label-able?

And by “we call”, I mean I just made it up.

I so identify with your last post.

The last preseidential election was like the elephant in the room when it never came up (or perhaps very briefly) with our conservative (and I guess unwilling to dialogue) friends. Let’s just say they don’t quote “The Daily Show” to each other.

My husband would so identify with your post that he subscribed to Sojourners magazine. Now we get all kinds of mail from the ACLU, Jimmy Carter, etc. along with mail from MOPS, Focus on the Family, etc.

Maybe our friends are as confused by us as our mail. But reading your thoughts I feel more understood.

Perhaps there’s a stronger tendency towards political (or pop socio-political) action with today’s christian youth, but is that a function of the emergent philosophy or an extension of the new, hip, our-president-(or, the Man)-sucks party line from the pages of Rolling Stone?

Thanks for the explanation, Chad. I always appreciate yer thoughts.

Well… it’s basically the same stuff that most people who are struggling with the Emerging thing are dealing with.

Do I have to be a social conservative to be a Christian? I think I am a social moderate, which puts me way left of most evangelicals, so much so that they have started questioning the integrity of my thought process.

Why do we have to bolster our correctness with the slamming of other people outside the “holy huddle?” Why is there such a distinction between clergy and lay leaders, thus setting up clergy (and their kids) for false and unreasonable expectations?

Why can’t we be respectful of science? Why have we allowed the study of God’s world to be something that is used as a weapon against us, rather then the other way around… what are we afraid of?

Why are unborn babies the only babies we’re willing to sacrifice to save? Why are there certain social and justice issues that are popular within the church, but we don’t have to bother being careful of this earth, cause… you know… Jesus is coming next Thursday.

Why is sin such a difficult and shameful problem to address… everyone has it and has to deal with it! Why is guilt and shame still in our toolbox of teaching?

So… that’s a start.

But given that, what are emergents actually trying to do with music. Where I live (in Australia) there has been a long running debate over the purpose of music in church. Is it worship – primarily a vertical thing between me and God? Is it a community expression of faith – kind of like saying a creed together, but more fun? Is it essentially a teaching tool? Or a meeting vibe-creator?

So is the repertoire you select mostly love songs, theologically dense hymns, memory verses with a beat behind them …

Or are these questions totally missing the point of the whole emerging church thing. Perhaps what you sing is a very secondary issue and the main thing is identifying with the local culture…

Another thing to consider is that, of the four of us who contribute, none of us actually attend an emerging church, for reasons of employment. We’re very much in the discussion… but we’re not actually in the thick of it yet, with the possoble exception of Aly and Ash and their stack of MacLaren books that they give away… :)

I can’t speak for the others, but I think if I were not employed by a traditional evangelical church, I would be in an Emerging Church. I am ready to bail… There are some things happening that are simply in the DNA of the Evangelical movement that I cannot reconsile with who I think Jesus Christ needs me to be.

This is not to say that every worshipping community who claims to be “emergent” is getting this right, or that every worshipping community who equates “emerging” with “apostate” is getting it wrong.

Does that help?

But, if they do Shine Jesus Shine, it’s really slow and meaninful, with acoustic guitar, cajon, shaker, and some guy that looks like a model singing. (just kidding… Shine Jesus Shine needs to go away forever).

Jesse, I know exactly what you mean. Usually my distraction/judgement comes when I hear people singing obnoxiously. Not people singing off-key, loudly – that I enjoy as authentic and joyful. It’s people singing louder than everyone else and really well. Really pretty. That drives me bonkers.

Those of you who know me will know that this is the severest kind of hypocrisy on my part, but there it is.

And for the record, the church I go to really isn’t at all “Emergent”, though I bet a lot of the people have had experiences in their past like my A of G nonesense, Morphea’s “Saved” chapel, and everything from “let’s all get along libralism” to “my God is a Fundy” which have caused them grief to be lumped in as “one of those Christians”.