Emergent Church Making Big News AND Controversy

Until a few weeks ago I had no idea what an emergent church was. And I really try to stay on top of these things. I e-mailed my brother, a more charismatic type than me. He didn't know about it either. But our church youth pastor, Josh, seemed concerned about this new direction in the church. After 6 hours of reading blogs on the web, I'm beginning to get the gist of it.

Basically, this seems to be a grassroots movement among 20 somethings in the church that are in touch with the new "postmodern" thinking coming out of our high schools and colleges. Old guys like me have heard of post modernism, but I'll bet not 1 person in 50 over 50 can define it.

Very briefly, post moderns are reacting to the modern period. Modernists believed that we could know the truth. Science would get us there, and as we came to know truth, we would solve the problems of the world.

Post moderns now see that science answered some questions and raised more. They see that science solved some problems and created many more. They now contend that we cannot know truth, that every thing is relative, and that one persons opinion of truth is as good as the next.

Emergent Church enthusiasts proclaim that we have to adjust to this new reality if we are to be relevant to the times, just as we had to adjust to modernity. My understanding would be that just as we have changed the look of our sanctuaries, and the sound of our music, we need to speak the language of the times. We don't have to buy modernism, romanticism, or post modernism, but we do have to be able to relate to it.

If you'd like to know more . . WAAAAYY more, go here
and here
To see comments by Josh and comments to those comments go here

There is much more to say, but I will leave it for another day. I also plan to keep researching. Any sources or comments that will lead to my gaining more understanding is welcomed.