| Emerging ChurchesI just finished reading the book by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger called, “Emerging Churches: creating christian community in postmodern cultures.” What is church? What is the Gospel? What is evangelism? These are questions that the book asks and seeks to answer through interviews with over one hundred emerging church pastors between the U.S. and the U.K. Many of the ideas represented in the book are inspiring, challenging, disturbing, and interesting J. Most of the leaders come out of established church backgrounds, whether they be Anglican, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Charismatic, or other. At some point, most of them became dissatisfied with how their group was “doing church” and eventually started their own new style. Many of them have been heavily influenced through the writings of Dallas Willard, as evidenced by their testimonies at the back of the book. I’ve heard of Willard but only through quotes given by my professor during my Personal Spiritual Disciplines class last semester here at seminary. I’m curious how and why the writings of this man have so deeply influenced so many of these leaders. The leaders all crave real, authentic, community. This is wonderful. Deep down I believe that we all crave this in a huge way. I experienced it for the first time at Mizzou through a group of friends that were all involved in Campus Crusade for Christ. I had never experienced love and acceptance, truth and joy the way that this group expressed them. It changed my life. Now as I sit in my office here at school, studying away, taking breaks only to go to work, go to class, attend worship services or small group with our church family, and keep up with my extensive emails from friends and managing 2 rental homes, and oh yeah spending time with my incredibly wonderful beautiful sweet wife Sasha, I crave community too, but cry out…when is their TIME for this awesome community? I console myself by remembering that seminary will be over eventually…but then I’ll be employed full-time somewhere, and it will probably most definitely require even more time that seminary does, whatever and wherever my position might be. One of the topics that is possibly most controversial about the book, is that it basically substitutes community and social justice for evangelism, telling others the good news about Jesus Christ. I think that one of the biggest problems is that people look at this as an EITHER OR situation, when it should be a BOTH AND one. Does God want people to be freed from modern-day slavery? YES! Does God want children to be saved out of child-sex-trafficking? YES! Does God want people to hear the INCREDIBLE news that Jesus Christ lived a perfect sinless life, died on the cross for their sins, rose again on the third day conquering death, and that if they will repent from the sins, trust in Jesus for their forgiveness and choose to follow Him as their Savior He will save them eternally? YES! To quote Jesus, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” Matthew 10:28. If anything, Christ is about saving people from hell. He has prepared a place in heaven for those who will turn from themselves and their idolatrous gods and cling to Him. Hebrews 11 is all about people who lived on earth, “not receiving the promises in THIS LIFE” but rather looked to a greater inheritance in heaven. To quote these amazing Scriptures, “They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that part from us they would not be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:37-40). This is radical commitment to God, despite circumstances in this life. So CHURCH…It is not bricks and mortar, though the “church” may gather there. It is not programs and videos, though those may be things that the church participates in. It is not a website, though the church may use the website to communicate the gospel and increase fellowship and idea sharing among believers. So what do you guys & gals think, what is “church” supposed to look like? What do you want it to look like? What do you feel Scripture tells us it should look like? What are you willing to give up in pursuit of God’s plan for His Church? Are you prepared to follow Jesus’ example of seeking and saving the lost? Am I? He humbled Himself to the point of death (Philippians 2), what are we willing to do?
Matthew 24:14 “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” àIf you can spare the time, I really would be interested in your responses to the above questions…yes, you J. |
