"Perhaps we forget that when we talk about 'the' reformation, there have been many reformations in the Christian church, and it's nature is self-reflexive and committed to correction and renewal."
Chuck Smith, Jr. What is Emerging? Worship Leader Mar/Apr 05
Maybe it's unfair to quote only this line out of this article. I realize this doesn't cover everything Smith says about the emergent movement in his piece, but it was good enough to be the pull quote in the magazine. He also goes on to say that change comes so naturally to the church that "it's in our DNA."
I'd like to think that he's right, and in the ideal world, in the world that Brian McLaren and others are trying to encourage and bring about, this would describe the church, but come on. The church in my experience has been one of the most fiercely self-preserving bodies in existence and change comes painfully slow even when we decide it's time for a change.
I think one of two things is going on. Either, Smith doesn't have an appreciation for the size of the shift that is involved in the emerging church conversation (some people are calling for the complete dsimantling of the church as we know it and a return to the NT expression) and puts it to the side as a minor tweak in "business as usual" or he is ignoring the seismic shifts that have taken place in world culture already and that continues to progress at blistering speed--he is ignoring the need for any change at all.
Emergent is a big deal because it could impact the church and the world as much as "the " reformation, it could be a shift of 'biblical proportions.'
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2 comments:
I read the article the other day with great interest. I think most of us are caught up in one of two extremes: preservationist and survivalist. We're either trying so hard to maintain who we are by clinging to traditions or we're trying so hard to maintain who we are by clinging to 'relevant' (and sometimes relativistic) strategies. Both are, in a strange way, very similar - at their root is a misfocus and I think a lack of trust (in God and each other).
We're having an identity crisis, it seems. I don't know my history well enough to say this authoritatively, but I don't think we've ever had this much uncertainty as to who we are and what we need to be about. It's clear that we need to be about our Father's business, but no so clear how.
I think the 'emergence' of the 'emergent' church is, in its essence, a desire to return to simplicity. We've bought into the yeast of the Pharisees in so many of our traditions and forms and it's puffed us up and made us unhealthy...
I think you should send your comment in to WL magazine.
I think Phil's right about the ID crisis and I think that's the part of all of this that the Enemy is enjoying greatly. As long as the Body is focused on itself and figuring who, what, how we want to be, Satan can really get some work done. The sooner we can all get our eyes off the debates and onto the things that really matter, the sooner the church can effectively stomp Satan's head.
In other news, I did send my comments in to WL magazine and got an incredibly heartfelt and prompt response from Chuck Smith, Jr. himself. We now find ourselves in an ongoing conversation about the emergent movement.
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