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Emerging Church

What is the Emerging Church?

This is hard to define, and perhaps even impossible to pin down precisely. It is like saying "what is a regular church?" In a nutshell, it is seeking to communicate the Gospel of Christ to an ever-changing culture. Usually, it is applied to a new style of church atmosphere and service that seeks out young people and the disenfranchised of our culture to share the impacting Gospel with them. Francis Schaffer was keenly interested in this movement and now we seek to reform it. This is a movement with many voices, faces, and plans; from conservative God-honoring to the ultra liberal anything goes theology—all with the same label. Usually, it is a form of outreach including contemporary worship with a more creative bent.

Every generation of Christians has this problem of learning how to speak meaningfully to its own age. It cannot be solved without an understanding of the changing existential situation which it faces. If we are to communicate the Christian faith effectively, therefore, we must know and understand the thought forms of our own generation.--Francis A. Schaeffer (Escape From Reason, Introduction)

This emergent or postmodern or Emerging Church is fairly new as a movement, yet is has shadows all through church history as everything has been new at one point including the Church itself. Perhaps this emergent church is a spinoff of the "Jesus Movement" in the 70's, an inspirational application of Schaffer's influence, a journey to new things in order to catch others for the faith, or all of the above. It is a "youth church" or a "Gen X Church. It is as different as any church in any denomination is with the same name on its sign. Perhaps a definition would be this: "providing new wineskins" for His Wine. Our Wine, Who Christ is, His work, role, purpose, and precepts remain the same. But sometimes we need new "skins," a new container to display His Wonder to a confused, searching generation who feels betrayed by the mainline and conventional, religious, institutional church.

The Call to the Emerging Church

Since I have been in this emergent ministry, training emerging leaders, and being one myself for thirty years, I picked up some pointers mainly from my failures. It was my uncle, Francis Schaffer, who was keenly interested in this movement and pushed me into this; I was a part of it even when I would not admit it.

Reforming the Emerging Church

Are you willing to do unto others what Christ has done for you? What about others you fear or do not like? What is your call in this? The call during the Reformer's day was to point the Church back to Christ and His Word and away from bad traditions, false teachings, bureaucracy, pride, and apostasy. Now...

Building an Emerging Church

Building any successful church is not about seeking some fad or trend. It is all about seeking Him first, finding His Truth First, and then finding a way to communicate that effectively in life with passion—being creative without disrespecting Christ. Remember, He is Holy!

Building a Church of Hope

This is about the legacy we leave when we pass on, into heaven and God's wonders, rest, and rewards—how we live and then hand down hope by the way we lived and how we touched others. As this is also about building a successful church with a legacy of hope that impacts His people in the world in which we live...

The Church of Perfidy

The slope upon which we slip into a Church of Perfidy is the hill of compromise, where we weaken our beliefs and doctrines, and fail to love. This can easily happen if we fail to apply Christ and His guidelines to our lives.
 
 
How to Succeed in Building an Emerging Church
 
 
Building your Emerging Church from Matthew 16: 13-20
 
 
Building your Emerging Church from Matthew 14: 22-36
 
 
Building your Emerging Church from 2 Peter 1:12-21
 
 
Building your Emerging Church from 2 Peter 3: 1-9
 
 
Building your Emerging Church from Matthew 5: 13-16
 
 
Building your Emerging Church from 2 Peter 3: 14-18
 
 
Building your Emerging Church from Revelation 2: 12-17
 
 
Insights into the mindsets of Postmodernism, Modernism, and Premodernism Thinking
 
 
The bottom line is that most people do not want to be bothered by religious things or be under conviction; yet, the purpose of our existence is to be reconciled to Him. We have to come under conviction in order to receive His Grace. The Spirit is the One who convicts; it is our...
 
 
To build an effective Emerging Church we have to understand the mindsets that infiltrate the thinking of most people these days. There are three predominate mindsets, rooted in history, that define individuals as well as generations. They are called Postmodernism, Modernism, and Premodernism.
 
Are you willing to do unto others what Christ has done for you? What about others you fear or do not like? What is your call in this?

Remember, this is not just about new ways of origination and structure or how to tell His story. It is about bringing Christ to people in a real way without concession of His Truth and precepts. Our God is timeless! Our culture is ever changing. The Gospel is the same and our Lord is the same; the only difference is how people see and perceive. People's experience of the Truth of our Lord may change—Its application is flexible—but He remains the same. Thus, we are to communicate His Treasures and create a new package for His Truth without compromising the Contents so others can see it.

Do not be a stingy church; rather have your heart in Christ and things will go well for you!

More articles and thoughts on this are on their way…
 
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