This morning I had a comment from a gal I know back in the church in which I grew up in Grand Rapids, MI. She commented in my “Emerging Church and Capitol Hill” post, because she was curious (and maybe a bit concerned…) why I was identifying with a movement that created a mini firestorm back home because of Rob Bell and the emerging church Mars Hill. I thought it was such a good question I thought I would put it in a post along with my response. It was important I answered it in the community at large, because I am about to apply several of the observations and concepts of the “emerging church” to my ministry on Capitol Hill, DC, and I wanted to put fears aside that I was launching out on this heretical raft down the river of Christianity!

Anyway, here is the original comment with response:

I’m a bit curious …

In this area, the term “emerging church” refers to a movement that is promoting the idea that the meaning of Scripture changes over time.

I’m seeing this concept undermining the solidity of the Word of God.

So it puzzles me, knowing you, to see you using the term in a positive light.

I’m curious …

Trinka

Thanks Trinka for your comment and desire for clarification! I can fully appreciate your concern for the “emerging church” (EC), because I remember several concerns with Rob Bell at Mars Hill in Grandville about 5 years ago (and probably even more so now with his book…) so let me try and clarify without insulting your intelligence 🙂

First, let me say I fully trust and believe that Scripture is God-breathed and Truth, it is the expression of who God is and what He desires, and is fully relevant and transcendent to any time and culture. GOD speaks to US about Himself, His reality, His Truth, and His desires for the world through the Scriptures, not the other way around. And this belief and understanding is what I see in the emerging church, as well.

When it comes to knowing Truth and understanding Truth, the EC recognizes it exists and is God-centric. “God revealed, therefore I can know” is the foundation and starting point in our pursuit of His Truth. We can know and understand Truth, because God has revealed it; Truth is from God and revealed by Him, not simply discovered or decided by ourselves. But they also recognize our understanding of Truth is limited to our context and culture, and has been articulated this way in times past.

This is where it gets a little dicey and seemingly heretical 🙂 From the twenty some EC thinkers I have read so far, I have never gotten the impression that Truth itself is simply relative to or decided by the culture. But what many have come to understand is that our current version of Christianity has been handed down to us over the last 500 years; the current version of Christianity is the Modern version (philosophical, not technological). And many of the EC concepts are in reaction to several aspects of the Modern articulation of Truth.

Please understand, I (and others within EC) certainly believe there is only ONE version, God’s version. God is Truth and by HIM all reality is oriented and must bow. But because we are not absolute or infinite like God, our understanding of that True Version is very finite and influenced by our context (whether that context is 12th century France, 16th century Germany, 19th century England, or 21st century America). Does that make sense? Again, Truth exists, but we are limited in our articulation and understanding of the fullest extent of that Truth. So because many have reacted to the Modern version of Christianity and called for a reunderstanding of Christianity in light this realization, I can perfectly understand how it can seem like the EC thinks Truth and the meaning of Scripture changes with time and culture, which would certainly undermine the Word of God if that was the case!

While this may sound like relativistic mush, and a bit scary no doubt, I think it is a good thing to recognize. In saying this, we are approaching the Holy Breath of God in a posture of humility and listening, which forces us to do several things: 1) pray far more often than most people do (including myself) for wisdom, discernment, and understanding God’s Word and desires; 2) strive to be a workman approved who handles the Word of Truth correctly and effectively; 3) spend far more time studying and unpackaging the Word to correctly handle and understand it; 4) immerse ourselves in a community (both corporate church and smaller community) that will truly converse and wrestle with what God is speaking through His Word; and 5) depend upon the Spirit of the Living God to guide us in our understanding of Truth, rather than man, doctrine, theology, or institutions.

One author who has been very instructive to me is Scot McKnight, a professor at North Park University in Illinois. On his blog, he has written quite a bit about the emerging church and the changing landscape of Christianity in general. I’ve included two links below that I hope will help you and others understand more what EC is about and how it views and handles Scripture. Also, I will post an explanation of the EC to lay a foundation to this series, so maybe that will help clarify what I mean, too. Sorry if this response left you wanting, but it is difficult to handle such a topic in a post, not to mention a comment!

I hope these ramblings helped answer your questions 🙂
-jeremy

Emergent Reaction

Biblical and Spiritual