Steve Taylor, author of “The Out of Bounds Church,” wrote a wonderful article in early 2004 that was suppose to be included in the book, but fell victim to the editorial cutting board. “A to Z of the Emerging Church” is an attempt to use language to bring defintition to an often undefined “movement”.
I wanted to highlite the article not only because it will help you understand the emerging church, but also me and my journey. I’ve take some of the letter and posted them here to help you understand a bit where I am now and where I am heading. Hopefully it will give you a little more context to this blog, too.
B = blogging, and so the emerging tell stories and learns from the stories of others. We listen, we ask, we grow through the wires of the internet.
C = culturally sensitive, atune to the rationalising tendencies of modernity, we speak of a new landscape, a new missionary terrain in which God wants to be enfleshed as the Body of Christ
D=DJing, and so we are re:mixing God in a postmodern world, learning to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land
I=intuitive, and so we don’t know where we’re going and we don’t like where we’ve been, but we’re sure it’s not logical and it definitely has no 5 year plan. But it is a journey and it will embrace mystery and contingency
J=journey. That word again. We are emerging, partial, tentative and that’s OK. God is here.
K= (I don’t know, this is written in a spirit of partiality)
N=new map. No-one before us has had to incarnate God in a video culture, or speak of faith in a world of post-……
O=open ended. We don’t even want to define ourselves. We’re not even sure we are a movement. Let’s keep things … open.
P=participatory. Gone is the pulpit and in is the discussion. Comments are essential to websites, to teaching and to preaching.
Q=questioning. Got lots of those. Faith is mixed with ambiguity and juxtaposed with inconsistency.
S=seeking. We still haven’t found what we’re looking for, although some of us seem to know what we’re reacting against.
T=textual. The Bible. A mission manifesto for our future.
