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Emerging ... What?

By Andy Goodliff.

I am not sure when I first heard the words ‘emerging church’, but it immediately caught my interest.  I guess the word ‘emerging’ gave the impression of something new and not quite formed and, in a church culture which seems to fall too easily into uniformity and blandness, this word suggested something different.  The last few years have seen something called ‘the emerging church’ appear in UK church life.  The words have become part of church vocabulary without ever saying what it is.  Is the emerging church a new movement? What is it emerging from? How is it different from other kinds of church?  My short answers to these questions are:

• the emerging church is very difficult to describe;
• it is not a movement, certainly in the UK;
<>the word ‘emerging’ generally signifies an emerging from, and also in places an emerging within, mainstream evangelicalism; like the first answer to the first question, this is very hard to reduce to a number of characteristics. 

Stuart Murray has written that the emerging church is ‘remarkably diverse’[1] and that currently ‘most are too new and too fluid to classify.’[2] He goes on to say that ‘there are trends and patterns, shared values and common features, but emerging churches espouse diverse convictions, are motivated by different concerns, and assess their development by varying criteria.’[3]  This means that the ‘emerging church’ is not one definite phenomenon, but new and plural expressions of church, which have some things in common and other things which are unique to the place where they are emerging.  That is, if you asked a number of different people, you are almost guaranteed to get a varied response to what is meant by the words ‘emerging church.’  What can we say? First, the phrase ‘emerging church’ is being used simultaneously in the UK and USA, although the meaning is not entirely synonymous. It is my observation that in the UK, the emerging church is essentially an ecclesiological issue (the who, what and how of church). The emerging church is a group of people who are both having a conversation about, and experimenting with, church predominantly in urban settings.  This group tend to view the mainstream (and predominantly this is the evangelical churches[4]) as being out of touch with wider culture. They are both deconstructing how church is or has been traditionally expressed within evangelicalism, and, conversely, they are reconstructing something which they believe is more culturally connected.  For this reason, the question of worship is very important to those in the emerging church and there are strong links with the alternative worship movement.[5]  Another recent and common feature in UK emerging churches is a renewed interest in monasticism.  This reflects a desire to see church connect with the whole of life and a building of communities which have more in common than simply being a group of people who all attend the same building on a Sunday. In the USA, the emerging church seems to be more of a theological issue; they are wrestling with a different set of questions.  So instead of primarily being concerned about how we do church, those in the USA are deconstructing the church/state relationship.[6] The church is too colluded with the state and needs to become more distinctive: the work of Walter Brueggemann about Israel in exile is an important point of reference. This is not to say that the ‘how’ of church is not also important.  In the USA the emerging church has also found a theological voice in Brian McLaren, who through a number of books has begun to develop a theology for a postmodern culture.[7] Another major difference, is that in the UK, although there are some key names involved, the ‘emerging church’ is very much a loose group of people having a conversation through blogs[8] and websites, and occasional meetings.  The emerging church is not a planned initiative, but rather groups of people just starting churches ‘without central planning, coordination or consultation. Loose networking, shared stories, ‘blogging’ on websites and developing friendships were all that connected otherwise isolated initiatives.’[9]  If you talk with those involved in the emerging church in the UK you will find a strong resistance to the conversation becoming a movement or an organisation.  The loose nature of emerging church is something of a virtue that is cherished.[10]  Alternatively, in the USA it appears to be or have become more organised, at least in some parts.  There is an organisation called ‘Emergent’ which publishes books and runs conferences and has recently appointed a national co-ordinator. It is also important to recognise the place of theology within the ‘emerging church.’  Although you won’t always hear a sermon in the traditional sense in many emerging churches, this does not mean the Bible and theology are not important.  There is a great interest in theology and a view that the minister should not be the sole theologian.  Theologians like Walter Brueggemann, Tom Wright, Jürgen Moltmann, the late Stanley Grenz and others are influential voices with which the emerging church interacts.[11]  I draw attention to this, because I think the emerging church (at its best) is more than a concern with being culturally relevant; it is also wanting to discover a theological depth, seen in their desire to interact with the best theologians of the day. The emerging church can be connected with everything post-.  It is post-modern, post-Christendom, post-denominational, post-evangelical, but it is also for many about recovering the early church traditions of being church.[12] This is not to be confused with the new churches of the late 1970s and 1980s who claimed to be returning back to being New Testament churches. In my opinion, those in the emerging church do not have such a naïve reading of scripture.

A Critique of the Emerging Church

It is too early to give any kind of real critique of the emerging church; it is still emerging!  However, there are some questions which we can ask of it, perhaps chiefly whether the emerging church is just groups of Christians bored of mainstream church who want to play at doing church in their own image?[13] Is the emerging church simply a Christian expression of the postmodern idea of ‘doing my own thing’. In other words, can the emerging church claim in fact to be church at all? Is it too inward looking and, despite wanting to connect with culture, is the emerging church interested in mission? Is the emerging church exclusive to the 30-year old white middle-class man or woman with an Apple Mac, who likes ambient music and runs a blog?  My experience is sometimes it can certainly appear than way.  At its worst the emerging church consists simply of disgruntled evangelicals who are fed up with singing for 20mins and sitting listening to a sermon for 20mins.  There can be a strong negativity towards more mainstream church, which is sometimes warranted and sometimes not.

Is the Emerging Church the Future of the Church?

Again this is not an easy question to answer because it is far too early to say.  To quote from Stuart Murray, ‘[emerging churches have] generated huge interest, but the numbers involved are limited … some disappear as quickly as they appear. Some struggle on, making little impact beyond their core group. Some much-lauded models have very limited appeal ...’[14]  What this suggests is that, although everyone may be using the ‘emerging church’ lingo, there are in fact very few emerging churches and their viability are far from certain. It is my belief, which I would imagine is shared by many, that the emerging church is perhaps not the sole future of the church, but that they are playing a significant role in helping the church connect with today’s culture and also as creating homes for those who would have otherwise left the church.  The emerging church tends to attract the artistic who have found the arts sorely lacking in the mainstream and also those who have moved beyond the traditional evangelical boundaries and want to explore faith and theology at a greater depth.  The publication last year of the Church of England report Mission-Shaped Church, also shows that there are those who are recognising the need for the church to express itself in new and emerging ways. Stuart Murray wonders whether we will find that emerging churches are the ‘forerunners of a missional movement that will negotiate the transition into post-Christendom.[15]

6 Examples of Emerging Church

Nearly all the examples can be found in big cities - Grace, Moot (London), Sanctus (Manchester), Revive (Leeds) and MayBe, Home (Oxford).  They all seem, apart from perhaps Grace, to have a very urban mission.  I’ve footnoted their websites, which are the best way to find out more about them. 

Grace[16] says they are ‘about adding a new dimension to worship, engaging the mind and the senses in an encounter between God and ourselves. By combining ancient and freshly created rituals, liturgy, music and visuals we experiment to find new connections between our worship and our everyday lives.’  They meet twice a month, some are part of their host church and for others this is their only church.

Moot[17] says they are ‘a developing community of spiritual travellers who are seeking to find a means of living a life that is honest to god and honest to now. Moot seeks to make connections and find inspirations in the meeting of faith, life and culture.’

Sanctus[18] says they are ‘an emerging church based in the city centre of Manchester. We are engaged in a journey of creative exploration into faith, worship, spirituality, friendship and lifestyle.’ 

Revive[19] says ‘we meet together and with God to work out what a life of love and peace really looks like. We are active in our communities and in local and national issues. We are trying to be a ‘de-centred’ community, which just means that things happen when we make them happen, rather than because they’re part of some “master plan” from on high.’  Where most of the other examples have emerged within the Church of England, Revive was initially a church plant from a Baptist church.

MayBe[20] says they are ‘A community exploring creative, simple, engaged and playful living in the way of Jesus Christ.’  MayBe is funded by and supported by the Church of England.

Home[21] describe themselves ‘as a community exists to embody God's invitation in Jesus to all who are tired and lonely, all who have lost their way, to come home.’ 

A Personal Note

I am not member of an emerging church.  I belong to a traditional mainstream Baptist Church in Stevenage.  However, I would like to think of myself as both an observer and a participant in the emerging church conversation.  I have certainly found ideas and have been encourage to try them out in different services and projects. It is my opinion that emerging church will not only be about setting up lots of new churches.  Instead, I think there is room for many of our existing churches to experiment at their edges with different kinds of worship services and ways of living.  From the emerging church I have learnt a lot about creativity in worship and in discipleship and to take more seriously what it means to be community.  I do not think we will ever see large emerging churches: their value and achievement lie in being small groups of Christians committed to one another and to the church and its mission.  I am of the firm belief that the emerging church has the ability to bring much life and fresh ideas to our churches, which have the potential to help them become more distinctive in their mission.    

Further Reading:

Brueggeman, Walter (2001) The Prophetic Imagination, Minneapolis: Fortress

Press.

Kimball, Dan (2003) Emerging Church, Zondervan.

McLaren, Brian (2004) A Generous Orthodoxy, Zondervan.

Murray, Stuart (2004) Post-Christendom: Church and Mission in a Strange

New World, Carlisle: Paternoster Press.

_____ (2005) Church After Christendom, Carlisle, Paternoster Press.

Pagitt, Doug (2005) Church Re-Imagined: The Spiritual Formation of People

in Communities of Faith, Zondervan. 

Ward, Pete (2002) Liquid Church, Carlisle, Paternoster Press.

Wright, N. T. (2000) The Challenge of Jesus, London: SPCK.

 

See also:

www.emergingchurch.info

[1] Murray, 2005, 70

[2] Murray, 2005, 73.

[3] Murray, 2005, 73.

[4] The Post-evangelical (1995), by Dave Tomlinson, articulated a lot of what those in the emerging church feel about the evangelical church.

[5] The alternative worship movement began in the early 1990s as people began to become more innovative in worship. See Alternative Worship (2003) by Jonny Baker and Doug Gay, London, SPCK.

[6] In the UK the church is effectively divorced from the state.  We live in a more secular society in which the last few decades have seen the church become increasingly marginalised. (See Stuart Murray’s Post-Christendom)

[7] A Generous Orthodoxy (2004) is a good place to start reading McLaren. See also his trilogy A New Kind of Christian (2002), The Story We Find Ourselves In (2003) and The Last Word and the Word after That (2005), which tell a fictional story of a church pastor dealing with theology and postmodern culture.

[8] A blog is on an online journal or diary. The word blog comes from ‘web log’. Many of those involved in the emerging church use their blogs to share stories and ideas, discuss theology and whatever else they care about.

[9] Murray, 2005, 69-70.

[10] However, this has perhaps also hindered the wider church in supporting financially and giving recognition to those churches which are emerging. I know this has been the case in some emerging churches in London.

[11] In 2004 there was a conference in the UK called The Future of the People of God, which was attended by many in the emerging church and where Tom Wright was the chief speaker.  Also in 2004 Emergent held a theological conversation with Brueggemann and are a planning another one this year with the theologian Miroslav Volf.

[12] See the series of Ancient-Future books by Robert Webber: Ancient-Future Faith, Ancient-Future Evangelism, Ancient-Future Worship.

[13] Stuart Murray states plainly: emerging churches may be self-indulgent, introverted experiments catering primarily for bored middle-class churchgoers unsatisfied with naïve theology and banal liturgy …’, 2005, 94-95.

[14] Murray, 2005, 93.

[15] Murray, 2005, 95.

[16] http://www.freshworship.org/

[17] http://moot.uk.net/

[18] http://www.sanctus1.co.uk/home_01.php

[19] http://www.revive.org.uk

[20] http://www.maybe.org.uk/

[21] http://www.home-online.org/