2.7 Reflection

One positive aspect, clearly influenced by postmodernism, is the Emerging Churches’ concern with being relevant in whatever indigenous community they are present. Within missionary circles this issue has been dealt with for a long time, but it’s quite a new thing to approach the Western world as a diverse entity, that requires different strategies
Regarding epistemology I have to restrict myself. Again, this thesis is not trying to assess the philosophical foundations of the movement, rather it wants to look at the current status of their conversation and assess their church practice and its theological and biblical implications. Also, if there is one place where I have to stress the diversity of the movement, it would be here. The opinions of many within the Emerging Church differ hugely. I do think however that for the movement in its entirety a warning is in place. Their tendency is not so much to deny the existence of truth, but they do question our ability to say much about that truth, sometimes to such an extent that their claims to faith become rather shaky, a lot shakier than the resolute faith statements in scripture. In fact the early church was persecuted for this very reason: they did not worship any other gods and claimed to have the one true faith.
Along similar lines I think their tolerance towards other religions as described by Gibbs and Bolger is being put in a rather stunning and unbiblical way. I already mentioned one example from Spencer Burke’s community in California, but the book continues:

With a focus on the kingdom rather than on church, people find that their relationship with other faiths changes. “As someone who was a Buddhist for twenty years, I have a deep respect for other people’s faiths,” says Dave Sutton (…) “My understanding is that if the kingdom is what God is about, then God might be involved in other faiths…. We very much see our work in relation to the unique person and work of Christ. If other religions are involved in that work, that is fine.”(…) Ben Edson reports, “We had a guy from the Manchester Buddhist center come to Sanctus1 a couple weeks ago and talk about Buddhist approaches to prayer. We didn’t talk about the differences between our faiths. We didn’t try to convert him. He was welcomed and fully included and was really pleased to have been invited…”[1]

This is a view that approaches universalism. More will be said about this in the next chapter.
Luckily there are also more balanced views on this issue, Ray Anderson:

We must take care that emerging churches do not become just another form of spirituality but a movement of God’s Spirit on the creative edge of the kingdom of God breaking into the various cultures of the present age, often in conflict with existing forms of spirituality.[2]

If there is one thing that has been particularly frustrating in studying the Emerging Church and especially their understanding of postmodernism, it’s their tendency to redefine words. Thinking and working from a deconstructionist point of view words are to them nothing but a cultural expression that refer ‘to other words, which in turn refer to other words, and so on…’[3] As a result they use words in a very subjective way, not conforming to existing definitions but using the words in whatever way they find helpful. Steve Taylor’s book for example, The Out of Bounds Church, tries to be so hip and trendy that it’s filled with buzz-words that hardly capture the intended meaning. It talks about ‘Koru Theology’, ‘Creativity Downloaded’, ‘Redemptive Portals’ and ‘Missional Interface’. In my opinion it is very unhelpful to, whilst talking about the same subject, use different words and different (sometimes altogether opposite) definitions, especially if it’s being done with such consistency and apparent carelessness. After all they admit there are contradictions within their writings. Such deliberate attempts to come up with inconsistent ideas, to me, speak of neglect of intellect and in this way they take the discussion to a totally new (lower) level. After all, how can one criticize, make suggestions or give feedback to a writer who refuses to have one point of view?

Overall I would say the movement in its entirety finds more congruence with the term ‘postmodernity’ than with ‘postmodernism’, the latter being the philosophical ideas behind the current paradigm. Their understanding of postmodernity as a cultural phenomenon in the Western world is good. In books like A is for Abductive and
The Out of Bounds Church they deal quite exhaustively with the diversity of the western culture. What I really do miss though, is just about any critical remarks about postmodernity. It’s always portrait as a new, radically better time than any other time before (‘there is no better time to be in ministry than now’[4], ‘we believe that the postmodern condition, rather than being a threat to Christian theology, can actually return us to the roots of our faith and reinforce many of Christianity’s primary concerns.’[5] ) McLaren does mention both sides, but immediately chooses to stress the positive side of postmodernism:

Many see postmodernism as a threat while others see it as an exciting opportunity. Both are right. (…) Because others, like Carson, have warned us of the “ugly face”, I will focus here on the brighter side.[6]

Overall I get the impression that the Emerging Churches’ applauding for the postmodern era is hardly realistic. Or as Carson puts it: ‘the cheerleading for the idea that we have entered a radically new era, a utopia of unprecedented opportunity, fails to move me…because I just don’t believe this hype.’[7]

[1] Eddie Gibbs, Ryan K. Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.132-133
[2] R.S. Anderson, An Emergent Theology for Emerging Churches, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006) p.64
[3] Leonard Sweet, Brian D. McLaren, Jerry Haselmayer, A Is for Abductive p.88
[4] Leonard Sweet, Brian D. McLaren, Jerry Haselmayer, A Is for Abductive p.19
[5] Leonard Sweet, Brian D. McLaren, Jerry Haselmayer, A Is for Abductive p.23
[6] B.D. McLaren, The Church on the Other Side p.171
[7] D.A. Carson, Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church p.83