Emerging to... ongoing thoughts on emerging church and deep church [part 3]

This is part 3 of my limited exploration of emerging church and why I see its engagement with Deep church as a vital part of  our ongoing growth and mission as Christians [For more on-going conversation on Deep Church see here]. 

Just to have even more fun I'm going to look at this part over 2 posts - this one on emerging church contribution to deep church and the next one on how deep church can help us in the emerging church find sustainability as we mature.

By way of recap:

Part 1: looked at why reports of the death of the institutional church have been greatly exaggerated – that in the emerging church we have often been reactive and reactionary driven, sometimes we in self denial of;

Part 2: built on this to look at how the emerging church shares much in common with the Pentecostal-charismatic movement as highlighted by the essay by Luke Bretherton in Remembering our Future;

Part 3 will therefore explore why I think Deep church offers the emerging church a hope for engaging with the ongoing work of the Spirit in an experiential reality but also providing a the historic context and critique of practice that will help us mature rather than burn out or fade away.

Experiential truth - contributions of emerging church to deep church

We in the emerging church may be shaped both by the sociology/philosophy of the age, our church incubator (PCM) and by our reactions against the (evangelical) church of modernity but that does not mean that such origins are not part of the ongoing new work of Jesus and the Spirit in the church.  In many ways the emerging church reflects the wave of so much of what is new in the same way that in their time new churches, charismatic renewal and before that Pentecostalism were in the van guard of  waves of change that have impacted and washed over the church. 

There is no particular need for us to get big headed or consider ourselves better than others, indeed as many people have acknowledged being involved in the vortex of emerging church can be both a very painful and a very hopeful process.  I lay out a number of key areas of contribution that I see the emerging church pioneering/exploring which will have wider benefit for the church at large:

1. Conversation - an openness and opportunities to engage with Christians from a variety of traditions.  If it is more focussed on those who agree with us then with our critics that is perhaps our evidence of our flawed human nature.  However, the fact that we are practicing conversation, listening to each other and learning both from across traditions/denominations and across history is a skill that I think will be essential in a Deep Church reality.

2. Co-operation – out of the openness comes a spirit of cooperation that is allowing a consensus to form around the particular key emphasises of emerging conversation – such as:

• Community – both as a gathering of people who recognise Jesus as Lord and in participating in our wider communities to live out that reality.  This is closely linked to:
    o Image - Imago Dei - a growing understanding that we are image bearers – a people called and created in the image of the tri-une God who is in eternal other centred communion as Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and
    o Mission – missio dei- that the tri-une God is engaged in calling a people to bear his image and to make himself known.  As cracked image bearers we are following  cruciform way of Jesus in this mission, through the power of the Holy Spirit in obedience to the Father.

• Language – talking and thinking in ways that we understand – stories, image, questions

• Invitation – allowing people to experience through us and for themselves, recognising that there are practices that keep us open to the daily invitation ‘to pick up our cross and follow Christ.’

3. Remembering – at its best the emerging church conversation has let us draw on the bible, Christian tradition, practice to be shaped by and recognition that forms of Christianity can be responses to our place in history.  This can help us be open to trying out new forms and incorporating from the wider Christian tradition to do so – recognising that there are many ways to express/do/be church as part of the culture/context we find ourselves in.  The conversation then becomes not so much that my way is THE right way but that it is one way of many.  At its worst we can be guilty of reacting against our past and seeing the solution as removing the practice i.e. preaching is monologue/irrelevant therefore jettison it rather than how can we reimagine preaching to be a process that helps spiritual formation for our own context.

4. Reconnecting – the conversation at its best places an emphasis on reconnecting, of recognising that polarity is not necessarily constructive – within the Christian tradition there is plenty of scope to disagree, express difference and look/be different – a generous orthodoxy.  However the conversation has also put an emphasis on reconnecting, rather than either/or the catch phrase has become both/and - for example, emphasising right belief AND right practice, faith AND works etc.

5. Character – finally there has been an aspiration that our faith should be less about being right and more about being good – being generous, thinking the best of each other, a recognition that we all have our blind spots, faults and flaws and trying to own [and be open] about  our ones of these.  At its best the emerging church compares its worst to others worst and its best to others best – welcomes critique [both of itself and the wider church from within and without of the church] and learns from the experience of such bench marking.  This attitude of generous humility is for me the stand out characteristic of the best of the conversation.

Concluding thoughts on emerging church contribtion to deep church...

I have taken a positive approach to both the “emerging” and “church” in emerging church and the conversation that has sprung up – in part this reflects my own +ive bias and belief that church is a needed ongoing institution to both transmit and deepen my faith.  It is not a comprehensive survey and I would welcome your own thoughts on the best of the emerging conversation.   Whilst there is much to welcome in the emerging church conversation I think there is much that embracing a deep church perspective can enrich our conversation, perspective and practice and this is what I turn to in the next part.

Before I do, any thoughts/observations that you would like to make?

Comments

[Johnny Laird]

Hi Paul

...just stumbled into your blog after googling "Luke Bretherton". I'm not a stalker(! ;-), but I'd heard Luke speak this week, so was interested to do some detective work on his work. Your blog looks interesting, so I guess I'll be passing by often.

Peace & Blessings

J

[David]

Hey Paul,
Good summation of a conversation that really has no definition. :-)

I would say that althought there a similarities with emergent to other movements in the past (pentecostalism, holiness, etc), there are differences.

The major one being that emergent is in response to post-modern culture and thought so it's influence is farther reaching, becuase it's in response to a new era of Western Civilization, not just within Christian culture.

Also, where other movements in the past centered more on theology, this centers more on practice of theology.

But that's a pretty broad brush stroke. :-)

[Paul]

Thanks Jonny feel free to stop by anytime. I've only read Luke's chapter in the book but he sounds like a top bloke. What was the talk about?

[Paul]

Thanks David - i'm not sure it is a particularly comprehensive summary but more a stable of my emerging church hobby horses :)

You are right there are a number of similarities and of course in practice there will be differences at the micro level - we might sound different and look different but at the marco level I would argue are differences are small.

You highlight this by pointing out the emerging church is a movement that it is in reaction to post-modernity, which i agree with you it is. In the same way the new church movt, the charismatic movt and even pente are movts in reaction too - as reactionary/revolutionary movements we have a lot in common.

The question which my next post explores is ok what happens when the reaction is over - when post-modernity is embraced by most in the west and is a no brainer. Does that mean the emerging church is then emerged - no longer on the exciting transition of experiential faith but maturing? how do you sustain reactionary movements in the long term? how can we grow older gracefully? For one day we will hopefully be an old church...

[Johnny Laird]

Hi again Paul,

Luke was speaking on "Hospitality as Holiness", which is also the title of another book he's written.

He was a guest speaker at a Salvation Army event I attend called "The Supper Club*". At some point they will post the content of Luke's presentation at a site called TheRubicon(http://www.therubicon.org)

*The Rubicon rather grandly describes The Supper Club as "...an eclectic group of thinking individuals who are either active Salvation Army members or with some connection and/or history with the movement. “Contemplative activists”, might be a good description of the group." I have trouble resonating with that description, but it's a good bunch of folks, who like to think, chat, meet & eat!

J :-)

[David]

Good insight. Yeah, even Tony Jones, says that someday emergent will be something people will consider old and outdated.

Hopefully, this conversation (as emergent leaders put it) will progress forward and not get stagnant and rigid; boxed up, like God Moves in the past.

Hopefully emergents response to post-modernity will allow the church to see through new eyes the wonders of God that propels us forward and not keeps us stuck in our 'old emerging ways'.

Only time will tell I suppose...

[Paul]

thanks Jonny - folk who like to meet, chat and eat I can always resonate with :)

[Paul]

thanks David, that tony jones is a wise fellow, a bit like you clearly :)

Yes one day we will grow old and the next new thang will be here - which is why i find deep church exciting in helping us mature and connect both with the 'new spirit inspired' past and future in the here and now :)