Bible Question:
Does anyone have an opinion on the so called, "Emergent Church?" I ask because I happen to attend a church that when I join was simply another church which happened to grow very fast, had a gifted teacher, etc... But nothing spectacular. Since then, over the past few years, the gifted teacher has become very well know, almost an icon in the so called "Emergent Church" movement, although he has never claimed that our church was an "Emergent Church." Needless to say (unfortunately) he has been attacked by several Pastors around the country. My stance among those I meet is that I am not responsible for defending my pastor or church against comments. I will talk and listen, but I am not ever going to get "defensive" and try to argue for a point. I will clarify and ask why they think what they think, but I won't get drawn into an argument. It has bothered me, however, to see that so far every critic I have read or heard has gone to the level of revering to my pastor as "Satan’s agent" or "a clear Heretic" etc... Not one critic I have read so far has refrained from using such vitriolic statements which I interpret as meaning they are so afraid that their critic isn't strong enough on content that they have to use stupid statements to try and reinforce their ideas. One pastor even stated that since my pastor's following was so large, he obviously was not of God and used the same argument to refute Rev. Billy Graham. I’d love to discuss this topic with some of you, since I have anonymity here, and I would like to know what gifted people like you all think. MJH |
Bible Answer: Hi MJH, I fellowship in a congregation that is an offshoot of a congregation that shares a similar history as yours. The senior pastor stepped into a church of about 25 people, around 40 years ago. The attendance quickly numbered in the thousands, and now approximately 30,000 people call that congregation their home church. Somewhere between 1400 and 1500 congregations currently exist around the world, in nearly every country and corner of the planet, pastored by those that have come out of that congregation, or it's offshoots. There have been started numerous Bible colleges. Millions of Bibles have been distributed within "closed" countries, and I can't begin to imagine how many people have come to know Christ through this movement. I have heard much criticism of this senior pastor, of the movement, of the doctrines, and such. Much of it is vitriolic, and some of it is exceedingly vile. But no matter. Christianity is not a popularity contest. Remember, the one's who crucified Jesus did so on the claim that He spoke falsely. But you need to judge for yourself if your congregation and your pastor are correctly handling and teaching Scripture. It's really as simple as that. There is much about the "emergent church" that is simply revising the cultural trappings of Christianity. People like to do that from time to time. Some like to worship with organ music, some with chiors, and some with electric guitars. Far be it from us to judge and divide over whether we sing with instruments or not, or if we recite liturgy. The "emergent church", in many ways, is simply the pendulum swinging back the other way again for a while. Should the Lord tarry, I am certain it will swing yet again. Meanwhile, if it serves to draw more to Christ, praise to Him! But in many ways, the emergent church is changing the gospel, and exchanging the requirements of holiness for that of worldly, temporal pursuits. Not so much of blatant sinfulness, but in some of this movement, there is more of a concern for people's property, or stomachs, or bank accounts than there is for their salvation, and the doctrine of Christ Alone. I do not know where in the spectrum your church falls, but I know you are intelligent and well studied, and as you seek to do God's will, I do not doubt that He will reveal to you such as what you should know. Many times people will do just as you have postulated, resorting to insults when they are short on facts. This is very common. There was another post in which I believe you stated, correctly, something to the effect of that just because the claim is made by an impeachable source does not affect whether the claim is correct or not. I do not believe that we are to ever treat anyone with anything less than love, but we must be clear and strong on doctrine. The doctrinal issues within the emergent church vary greatly depending on who exactly we are talking about. Some of them trouble me greatly. I am not asking you to name names, I do not know that doing so would enhance the discussion. But I would like to ask you, are there particular doctrines being taught by your pastor that his detractors claim to be false? Are there doctrines that you yourself question? Love in Christ, Mark |