What's emerging? A look at the Emergent Church
Fads come and go with the seasons these days in the church, and Christian blogs have fanned the flame to new heights. There's so much to wade through that it's never been more important to know your bible; without God's Word we're easy prey for error.
I realize that many might take my song, "Nice Little Church", to be a call to join the Emerging Church. I speak about the boredom, lack of life, and the fact that many are unsaved in our churches, and so I suppose you might think I've joined the emerging movement? While I do believe the church needs to radically come in line with scripture, and that means change, my call is rather for the "returning church", not so much an emerging one, and there's a big difference.
I think the Church needs to REPENT and RETURN.
This is the call I see in the scriptures. Take a look at what "the Spirit says to the churches" in Revelation chapters 2-3. Before we read any man's books, blogs, or opinions on the church, God has something to say, and that has to be the starting point.
It's very obvious great changes are taking place in the church right now. I believe some of it's from God, and much of it isn't. The best tool we have to discern correctly is God's Word. It is that very Word that is being brought into question by many who claim to be ushering change into the Church.
New wine, new words?
There is an increasing trend by those in the Emerging Church Movement to be suspicious of those who claim that there are absolutes, and a glut of new language to describe the changes that need to happen in the church that bears little resemblance to anything I've ever read in the bible.
I hear talk of reaching future generations and needing to find new ways and terms with which to do that. (Apparently if you're 15-30 years old we need to find new ways to reach you, the old ways just won't work for your generation.)
Do we understand that when we talk like this we're basically saying that God's Word is not enough? We imply that in order to reach the world, we need to embrace the culture and ways of the world, or else they'll never be interested! And more than that, we're saying God is not enough. Much of the Emerging Church has shifted it's focus from being God centered, to being man centered. Are we really so arrogant to believe that God's Hand is shortened, that He cannot save without our sprucing things up a bit to make it attractive to this lost world? Do you not see that salvation comes down from heaven and needs no earthly adornment to do it's work?
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him..." (John 6:44)
The current cultural church vibe
I was born again when I was 24. It wasn't a cool gospel for 24 year olds that saved me. It wasn't a certain style of Christian music that moved me. It wasn't a new cultural church vibe that drew me. All it took was the Holy Spirit showing me I needed Jesus.
That was 1984 and the church was even then going down the seeker sensitive, emergent road. Many were convinced at that time that we needed to make music more relevant to attract younger people. The big thing at the time was that, "Christians can have fun too!" What do we have 24 years later? We have a ton of Christian music that sounds just like any other secular song you might hear, and the church has proved it can have "fun", but are we any closer to Jesus for it?
The path to Jesus is not found in this world, and it doesn't need this world's culture to validate it. The church has bought into a lie. People do not come to Jesus because we have dressed Him up to look appealing, or to be cool, fun or current. There has only ever been one way to enter into LIFE. We don't need to emerge, we need desperately to repent and return.
Again, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him..." (John 6.44)
Only the Spirit of God is able to open our eyes and move our heart, and draw people to Christ. It's the Father's work, not ours. This is true for every generation. This is true for every age group. It holds true for every people group and culture.
So much of the Emerging Church seems hung up on itself and it's own relevance to culture. When I talk about "church" being lifeless in my song, "Nice Little Church", and speak about the church being irrelevant, do you think I'm issuing a call for the church to be like the culture around me? No, my call is to return "to the old paths".
The reason we are not relevant is because we are not focused on the eternal. God's Word is always relevant because it never passes away like the world's fads do.
When we seek to be like the world we cease to be truly relevant. The church exists to reveal heaven, to point to Jesus and eternity, and when we fail to do that we make ourselves utterly irrelevant.
The heavenly call
The call of His Spirit is not an earthly call, but a heavenly one. In Revelation, chapters 2-3, does God tell the churches to emerge and be like the surrounding culture? No, He calls them to return. He calls them to repent and come back to Him.
The Emerging Church is worried how it will reach future generations. I'm worried for future generations if this generation fails to stand for God's truth. Paul, the Apostle, laid down his life to defend the faith so that all who came after him would be able to have the purity and truth of the gospel.
Many today appear more interested in having a dialogue or conversation about what the truth is, than being messengers of the Lord. A messenger represents the one who sent him. We are to carry heaven's torch to light a dark world. This will bring us into sharp contrast with the culture around us. What does light have to do with darkness? The absolutes of God's Word will bring the church into sharp contrast with the relativism of the world. This is how it should be! When we try to blunt that effect we're hurting, not helping the gospel.
The death of doctrine
Much of what I read on Emergent blogs puts down doctrine and dogma. "We shouldn't be so dogmatic, so absolute!" But the Word of God tells me that the church is supposed to be "the pillar and foundation of the truth." If we won't stand for absolutes, for truth, who will? Jesus put the truth plainly:
"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." (John 3:19-21)
The reason people refuse Jesus is simply because they love darkness and refuse to walk into the light. What favor do we do the world by blunting this truth? To a world drowning in relativism we need to hold out the absolutes of God's Word. Who will stand and say, "Thus saith the Lord"?
A distaste for "preaching"
In reading the blogs of many who tag themselves "emergent", I've come to notice they often seem apologetic about the church "preaching".
Why is it that many who promote change in the church seem to have a disdain for "preaching"? They would rather have a conversation, a discussion. Preaching is bad, discussions are good?
Tell that to George Whitefield. The church would be blessed to have 10,000 George Whitefield's to herald the gospel. The guy preached to 20,000 people in open air meetings without a microphone! (The year was 1742!) Any account of Whitefield I've ever read describes the man as quite direct and dramatic. Have you ever read what he spoke? He preached absolutes and made declarations, and oh how God used him!
The point of preaching is not only instructive, but declarative. I think many Christians are afraid of that today. They're afraid to say, "Thus saith the Lord". Whitefield wasn't having a dialogue or discussion! Nor was Stephen in the book of Acts, when he preached with such fire and truth that they stoned him to death! His message made his listeners so furious that the bible says they "gnashed their teeth at him". He suddenly became very unpopular for telling the truth, but the bible has this to say about Stephen...
"But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." (Acts 7:55)
We should not expect to see the glory of God if we refuse to stand up for the truth of God.
There's a place for conversation and a place for proclamation. Where are the Elijah's of God? Where are the men of Acts like Stephen, or Paul, or Peter? Where are the messengers of God who when they speak, speak as one who speaks the very oracles of God? (1 Peter 4:11)
You see, it's not an "emergent church" that we need... comfortable with the surrounding culture, and the culture quite comfortable with it. We need to be crying out in this wilderness, "Prepare the way of the Lord!" (Isaiah 40:3-5)
A voice of one calling:
"In the desert prepare
the way for the LORD;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Yes, these words mark the first appearing of our Lord; but the message holds true- Jesus is coming back! And not to have a cup of coffee! The time is short- How dare we embrace this world instead of warning it! It's time to repent and return:
"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
Does this sound like a good time to be cozy with the culture around us?
"Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding..." (Jeremiah 3:22)