Whatever it is, the ‘emerging church’ is turning heads
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A UMC.org photo An
artistic display focuses on Jesus' last seven words as part of a Holy
Week worship experience at Antioch United Methodist Church.
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An
artistic display focuses on Jesus' last seven words as part of a Holy
Week worship experience at Antioch United Methodist Church. The exhibit
is an example of 'emergent' worship and was designed to encourage
contemplative examination of each word. Leaders of the emerging church
say such efforts seek to make church more relevant in today's culture
and ultimately help Christians live and worship more authentically.
UMNS photo #05-431. Accompanies UMNS story #353. 6/15/05 |
June 15, 2005 A UMC.org Feature By Amy Green* Ask anyone to define the “emerging church,” and they'll likely hesitate. “Good
luck,” jokes the Rev. Jay Voorhees of Antioch United Methodist Church
in Nashville, Tenn., who describes his congregation as an “emerging
church.” A
grassroots initiative that is not associated with any particular church
denomination, the emerging church is a concept that’s hard to define
and full of paradox. For
example, it is rooted in evangelism but – in a rare crossing of today's
cultural divide – is steeped in social justice values often associated
with liberalism. It welcomes innovation in worship but also holds to
traditional Christian beliefs. To a growing number of young Christians,
this ambiguity is the allure to what some call a movement but others
call a “conversation.” Either way, the emerging church has set out to
transform churchgoing from the inside out by questioning some of its
most basic traditions. Leaders
say the emerging church – so named because it is still emerging and
evolving – is the beginning of a transition to a new era of churchgoing.
They say churches have not kept up with the evolution of art and
culture from a modern era of empirical analysis to a postmodern era of
questioning and searching. The reason? They blame, in part, the church’s
reluctance to question the sacred. The emerging church, they say,
welcomes questions. It seeks to make church more relevant in today's
culture and ultimately help Christians live and worship authentically.
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A UMC.org photo Musicians lead worship at the Emergent Convention in May 2005 in Nashville, Tenn.
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Musicians
lead worship at the Emergent Convention in May 2005 in Nashville, Tenn.
The event brought together 650 religious leaders, pastors and
Christians for four days of discussion and worship. UMNS photo #05-432.
Accompanies UMNS story #352. 6/15/05 |
Whatever the
emerging church is, it’s grabbing attention. In only a few years, the
dialogue has spread across the Web through chat rooms and “blogs,”
spawned a variety of books and resources and pushed congregations and
denominations to rethink their traditions and curricula. The United
Methodist Publishing House in March authorized spending $62,000 to
research the emerging church as the publisher searches for new markets.
An “emerging church” conference in May drew 650 religious leaders,
pastors and Christians to Nashville for four days of discussion and
worship. The
emerging church is gaining ground because Christians have a deep desire
for a stripped-down, more authentic time of worship, says Brian
McLaren, leader of the loose network known as the Emergent Village. A
theologian and author of the 2001 book A New Kind of Christian, McLaren
was named in February by Time magazine as one of the nation's 25 most
influential evangelicals. “It
feels like the church community in our society today is about a lot of
things, but it feels like we're too often far away from the essential
message of Jesus, of compassion for yourself and your fellow neighbor,”
McLaren said in an interview with UMC.org. The
emerging church is led especially by young adults who relish its
non-institutional nature and innovative worship but hold to traditional
Christian beliefs. At the conference in Nashville, the dress was casual,
worship services included harps and a masseuse worked the hallway with
other vendors. The discussion included “Preaching Without Sounding
Preachy” and “The Sacred Way: Ancient Spirituality for Life, Ministry
and the Church.”
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A UMC.org photo Brian McLaren is considered a founding leader of the 'emerging church.'
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Brian
McLaren, named by Time magazine as one of the nation's most influential
evangelicals in 2005, is considered a founding leader of the 'emerging
church.' An author and speaker, he developed many 'emergent' ideas as
founding pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church, a nondenominational
church in the Baltimore-Washington area. UMNS photo #05-433.
Accompanies UMNS story #352. 6/1/05 |
These emerging
church evangelists are serious about winning new followers by adapting
church for a new era. Innovative worship such as praise services alone
won't do, they say. Christians are searching for real change, something
deeper, something more contemplative. “I
see it as ... a thirst for a genuine relationship with God,” says
Lillian Smith of the United Methodist Division on Ministries with Young
People. “Young people want to be in a community where they can ask
questions, ... where they can wrestle with the angel themselves.” Browsing
the conference bookstore, 23-year-old Matt Wilson, a youth and
associate pastor of the 200-member Cedars Church of Christ in
Wilmington, Del., talked of how “emergent” ideas have changed his view
of evangelism. It's no longer about just saving people, he says, but
about getting to know them, listening to them and learning from their
divergent views. His church is considering an “emergent” service that
would be more casual and contemplative. Is
the emerging church merely a fad? McLaren describes it as a
“conversation”; he says it’s too early to call it movement. But Voorhees
sees something more. “I
think those of us who are deeply involved in this conversation really
understand this is how we are authentically following Christ ... and
then really deconstructing how much of that really came out of Scripture
and how much was really based on the assumptions of modern society,” he
says. “We would understand the story of faith is an ongoing story.” *Green is a freelance journalist in Nashville, Tenn. News media contact: Matt Carlisle, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5153 or newsdesk@umcom.org. This feature was developed by UMC.org, the official online ministry of The United Methodist Church.
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