Emergent Church

[Digging4Truth]

Originally Posted by George

I am not going to argue with you, but you need to do some research. Emergent Church is a doctrine. It has nothing to do with churches trying to be relevant or return to their roots. The Emerging Church movement envisions a utopia in which the oppressed of the world are free, the poor are no longer impoverished and the environment is clean. This paradise is achieved through social activism. Many emergent leaders think it is selfish folly to live for the return of Christ.

You appear to have already found sources that state that if one is part of the emerging church then they are, of necessity, tree hugging, sandal wearing, mystics & social activists...

Why don't you share the website that stated this Emergent Church Statement of Beliefs that all of those who are part of the emerging church must adhere to.

If the emerging church IS a doctrine and you know that it is then surely you can provide a website or even a snail mail address where I can get a copy of this "doctrine"

[edjen01]

Originally Posted by George

I am not going to argue with you, but you need to do some research. Emergent Church is a doctrine. It has nothing to do with churches trying to be relevant or return to their roots. The Emerging Church movement envisions a utopia in which the oppressed of the world are free, the poor are no longer impoverished and the environment is clean. This paradise is achieved through social activism. Many emergent leaders think it is selfish folly to live for the return of Christ.

i've done the research....visited the churches...read the books...met the some of the people...and trying to define the EC in a nice little package is foolish.

Yes....there are some who believe that if the only reason you are a Christian is so you can dodge hell & go in the rapture...that is selfish and does not fulfill what Christ stated He came to do and in turn wanted His follewers to do.

Regarding utopia....I believe it was Jesus who said he came to set the oppressed free, to preach the gospel to the poor, etc.... Is it wrong to believe that we are to continue His work? If you study the 1st & 2nd century believers I think you will find that they engaged in radical social activism. Why would they do this? Could it be that they believed this part of Jesus' message and life?

I am not an EC apologist...they plenty of smart people to do that. I do however....wonder why any Christ follower would oppose people who want to help other people.

[George]

Originally Posted by Digging4Truth

You appear to have already found sources that state that if one is part of the emerging church then they are, of necessity, tree hugging, sandal wearing, mystics & social activists...

Why don't you share the website that stated this Emergent Church Statement of Beliefs that all of those who are part of the emerging church must adhere to.

If the emerging church IS a doctrine and you know that it is then surely you can provide a website or even a snail mail address where I can get a copy of this "doctrine"

Go to your local Bible bookstore and you should be able to find an entire section of books devoted to "Emergent Church." At my local Bible bookstore, there are at least 75 books concerning this topic and I have read several of them. Do your own research. I'm not basing my opinions from websites, blogs, and forums.

[Withdrawn]

Originally Posted by edjen01

i've done the research....visited the churches...read the books...met the some of the people...and trying to define the EC in a nice little package is foolish.

Yes....there are some who believe that if the only reason you are a Christian is so you can dodge hell & go in the rapture...that is selfish and does not fulfill what Christ stated He came to do and in turn wanted His follewers to do.

Regarding utopia....I believe it was Jesus who said he came to set the oppressed free, to preach the gospel to the poor, etc.... Is it wrong to believe that we are to continue His work? If you study the 1st & 2nd century believers I think you will find that they engaged in radical social activism. Why would they do this? Could it be that they believed this part of Jesus' message and life?

I am not an EC apologist...they plenty of smart people to do that. I do however....wonder why any Christ follower would oppose people who want to help other people.

As someone who is new to this whole terminology, I'd have to say that this was a very well said and well placed response. I don't necessarily believe we should embrace a communal lifestyle or socialist/communist ideologies, but we are certainly given instructions by the Lord, and shown by His example, what it really means to be the "body of Christ."

[George]

Originally Posted by edjen01

i've done the research....visited the churches...read the books...met the some of the people...and trying to define the EC in a nice little package is foolish.

Yes....there are some who believe that if the only reason you are a Christian is so you can dodge hell & go in the rapture...that is selfish and does not fulfill what Christ stated He came to do and in turn wanted His follewers to do.

Regarding utopia....I believe it was Jesus who said he came to set the oppressed free, to preach the gospel to the poor, etc.... Is it wrong to believe that we are to continue His work? If you study the 1st & 2nd century believers I think you will find that they engaged in radical social activism. Why would they do this? Could it be that they believed this part of Jesus' message and life?

I am not an EC apologist...they plenty of smart people to do that. I do however....wonder why any Christ follower would oppose people who want to help other people.

Who is opposed to helping people?

[Digging4Truth]

Originally Posted by George

Go to your local Bible bookstore and you should be able to find an entire section of books devoted to "Emergent Church." At my local Bible bookstore, there are at least 75 books concerning this topic and I have read several of them. Do your own research. I'm not basing my opinions from websites, blogs, and forums.

Which are the books that you have read on the subject.

Perhaps I should start with those.

[George]

Originally Posted by Digging4Truth

Which are the books that you have read on the subject.

Perhaps I should start with those.

I cannot remember all the titles but a couple were "Vintage Jesus," and "The Organic God." The best thing is to take enough time to visit the store and review the ones that catch your attention.

P.S. I am terrible about remembering titles but one was something about loving God and hating church.

[Withdrawn]

Originally Posted by Romans 14:22

Here ya go:

http://www.mywayoflife.org/

Thanks, Bro. I checked it out.

Though the music videos on YouTube are not my taste, I can see that this could be appealing to some people and how it could minister to someone. I'm not going to judge ANYONE based on the style of their music. As long as a consistent and biblically stable Jesus message is in the lyric, and it speaks to someone, I'm okay with it.

I didn't find anything very revealing in their statements of faith on the website. I'm not sure that it needs to be there, though. IMO, the SOF is secondary to loving and discipling hurting people. The witness and explanation of the gospel should be on a more personal level once a relationship has been established. Not from a website. Even the apostle Peter didn't reveal the Acts 2.38 plan of salvation until he was asked "what shall we do?"

I was particularly impressed with this:

Originally Posted by Way of Life Community

WHAT WE BELIEVE -> our shared values
At Way of Life Community, we draw our identity from the origins of Christianity. The first groups that began to live out the teachings of Christ were known as “The Way” (Acts 9:2). This community of believers became renown by the way that they lived their lives. They were a community always meeting as one, sharing everything with those having none, experiencing natural and supernatural life together, suffering and celebrating as one. Our desire is to create and partake in a community of believers that have the same authentic and holistic values as these original believers. The values that we share are the bonds that unite us into an authentic organic community.

Live.
The creation of community is a central value to us. We believe that the experience of every Christ follower is deepened within a community of sojourners. We are all on the same pilgrimage through life. Our collective journey creates moments for us to live out our new life through the sharing of our resources, time, and energy. Through our relationship with one another, carrying the burdens of others, praying for one another, experiencing the joys and pain of life together, we find the heartbeat of Christ begin to beat within our chest, as life change occurs within us. The way of life is not a solitary journey.

Love.
The simplified mantra of Christ is the mantra of Way of Life, “Love God, Love Others.” The expansive emotions that convey the depth of our awe inspired worship of God are only the beginning. We are not content to let words be the symbol of our love for God, but we wholeheartedly live out our worship. Stripped of masks and façade, we are driven to authentic exposed worship, where our lives are open and the words we speak are honestly genuine. We love with all our life, soul, and mind. Half of our mantra can only be expressed in our relationship with others. For us, others consist of everyone, everywhere. We strive to not limit our love, but to simply love.

Be.
Centered on our beliefs that Jesus was God in flesh (John 1:14) and that the church is the continuation of Christ’s ministry on earth, we believe that our lives should mirror the life of Christ. Infused with the compassion of God, we believe that the life giving love of Christ empowers us to fight for the oppressed, forgotten, and ignored of society. We do not have a list of needs that we strive to meet. We simply want to meet needs, regardless of where or how they are presented. Tracking in the spiritual steps of sacrifice modeled by Christ, we find ourselves being the church through serving, sacrificing, and loving.

Emphasis is mine, by the way.

As a footnote, I think the use of the word "mantra" is an unfortunate choice, but I'll acknowledge that it does convey the spirit of what is being said and, I think, most people will recognize it. The word itself has been secularized enough that I doubt many will link it to any type of pagan/hindu association.

[edjen01]

Originally Posted by George

Who is opposed to helping people?

My statement was about those who oppose people who want to help other people....not about helping people directly.

George...in post #7 and #14....sorry still haven't figured out how to do the whole mulit-post quote thing yet....you state that you believe this EC to be "false doctrine". Then later you list "racial social activism" as part of their dogma...among other things...and I'm simply wondering if Jesus did these things...and asked us to follow His example...then what makes it false doctrine?

[George]

Originally Posted by edjen01

My statement was about those who oppose people who want to help other people....not about helping people directly.

George...in post #7 and #14....sorry still haven't figured out how to do the whole mulit-post quote thing yet....you state that you believe this EC to be "false doctrine". Then later you list "racial social activism" as part of their dogma...among other things...and I'm simply wondering if Jesus did these things...and asked us to follow His example...then what makes it false doctrine?

What makes it false is the acceptance of anything. Do more research and you will find those who have become Emergent Church (not emerging people) are the extreme of liberal. There is no such thing as sin. IMO, you cannot accept every way of living and be saved. It's much like The Gay Street Preacher CG. Anything goes as long as you love and give to the poor. It is good to love and give to the poor but there is more than that to living a godly, holy, sanctified, saved life.