MattGlover.com

I was chatting with a mate the other day about how frustrated many in the emerging church scene are becoming as the EC becomes more mainstream.

This frustration seems a bit odd to me. Firstly because nothing the EC does is particulalry new and thus no ownershp can be claimed. But secondly, the call to a renewed sense of mission is being heard - surely that is something to celebrate rather than get upset about!

Anyway, another sign that misisonal churches are becoming more the ‘norm’ is the amount of publicity they get. In the paper today, there is an articel on some of the missional communities in Melbourne. Of church, the article says:

There are two distinct strands: mainstream churches trying new variations and a much more radical reinvention of what it means to be Christian. This second group, a loose post-modern movement aimed at gen X and Y, is called the emerging church.

In the words of a US leader, Brian McLaren, the emerging church aims to “go back and get reconnected to Jesus with all of his radical, profound, far-reaching message of the kingdom of God” without the institutional trappings and without the doctrine.

I agree with much of what is said, but would change things slightly. The EC hasn’t removed insitutional trappings and doctrines, but replaced them with their own, updated versions.

Like I said in this post, I still think you’re either church or your not, and loosing sleep about whether your emerging, missional, institutional or whatever is a waste of energy. Let’s just get on with telling the story, eh?

Read the full article here.