By ANDY HOGUE, Register Staff Writer
March 10, 2008 12:05 pm
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“... I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” --Paul, I Corinthians 9:22.
By ANDY HOGUE
Register Staff Writer
An otherwise empty bar is full of singing and lively conversation on a Sunday morning.
Those inside are sipping cups of coffee on covered sofas as a band of electric guitars, bongo drums and various woodwind instruments performs a new twist on an old hymn.
A minister preaches, but tells a tale rather than persuades sinners to repent. A woman paints on the stage behind him as he speaks. A casually-dressed congregation nod their heads rather than shout “amen.”
Though a far cry from a traditional Sunday morning, a new, “Emerging” movement in Christianity claims to be restoring the simplicity of the New Testament church while custom-tailoring its message to reach a generation not used to sitting in a pew or singing from a hymnal.
Is it a fad or a lasting movement, asked Jim Denison, pastor of Park Cities Baptist Church of Dallas and brother of Gainesville First Baptist Church pastor Mark Denison, at an event Monday.
His topic was on the Emerging Church, sometimes called the Emergent movement.
Denison told the audience gathered for the monthly Men’s Power Lunch program at the First Baptist Church Activities Building that with a growing number of persons who do not attend church in the U.S. and a pervasive belief that morals are personal rather than societal obligations, some Christian congregations are experimenting with ways to reach them.
Denison said many are calling this the “postmodern era,” and that the Emerging church is attempting to reach them.
“It’s a strange word,” Denison said. “How can anything be ‘after modern?’ But that’s what the age we’re in right now is being called — we just don’t have a better name for it.”
Emerging churches, Denison said, employ lots of visual imagery in their service, though valuing overall simplicity. Their ministers attempt to come off as storytellers and philosophers, and not so much as straightforward preachers.
Emerging churches encourage interaction in their services and make efforts to make visitors feel comfortable and at home — such as using couches instead of pews or chairs. Some meet in bars, coffee shops and personal residences rather than specific church buildings. Most use video presentations in their worship and teachings.
In addition to missions work, Emerging churches often champion causes which attempt to alleviate starvation in Africa, bring running water to third-world nations or provide care to those afflicted with HIV. Many make it a point to take that compassion to their neighborhoods — a strategy referred to as “missional living.”
Some Emerging churches deny the separation between clergy and laity, and most Emerging ministers dress like anyone else in the congregation, sometimes intentionally leaving a shirt untucked or hair slightly uncombed. Speaking from a pulpit is out of the question.
Familiar names of Emergent leaders include Brian McLaren, Tony Campolo and Rob Bell. Best-selling books by Emergent authors include “Blue Like Jazz” by Donald Miller and “Velvet Elvis” by Bell. Eugene Peterson, often called a leader in the Emerging movement, offered a loose, modern translation of the Bible called “The Message.”
Trends and ministry methods in Christianity often change, Denison said, using the stage he was on as an example.
“There was a time when I wouldn’t imagine being on the same stage surrounded by electric guitars and drums,” Denison said, pointing to the instruments on a stage used for Contemporary Christian worship. “So things do change.”
Denison said his own congregation was considered strange a few decades ago for building a gymnasium on its property.
Some trends have declined, Denison said, noting plummeting Sunday School attendance in his denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention. Denison also said “mega-churches” with thousands of members have grown at the expense of small congregations and neighborhood churches. He said the Southern Baptists and the Assemblies of God are the only two Protestant denominations growing, where non-denominational churches seem to be on the rise.
Denison said while he is cautious about what he considers to be liberalism stemming from Emerging churches, he said Protestants can benefit from adopting some Emerging church methods. “Ethos,” an Emergent-like service at his Dallas church, is a non-programmed, laid-back alternative for young adults, which he said has seen some growth.
He predicted churches in the near future may adopt “Emerging services” in addition to Contemporary and Traditional worship times.
Whether or not the Emerging movement is a temporary fad in churches or a lasting change in the way churches conduct themselves, Denison said elements of this movement are beginning to take hold in churches across the country. Emerging movement leaders say they are simply trying to be “relevant” to the postmodern culture and to provide “authentic” worship to a culture that does not view the importance of religion as it once did.
Denison said it is strange to some “non-churched” people for a Christian to say that non-Christians will end up in hell if they do not put their faith in Jesus Christ. It would be like a member of a Kiwanis Club, for example, to tell a prospective member he would suffer painful, eternal consequences for not joining, he said.
“That’s how people who don’t go to church in Gainesville feel about you when you say that,” he said. “They don’t know the difference between what you’re doing and what other organizations are doing.”
Though Denison agreed its important for Evangelical Christians to think carefully about their message and relate to non-Christians, sometimes in an effort to reach the world the gospel message can be lost.
Denison said many Emerging churches, though not all, espouse relativism (the idea that truth cannot be certain), syncretism (the concept that all or many religions and philosophies can co-exist and do not contradict each other) and universalism (a theology which asserts that there is no hell and everyone will end up in heaven). Some Emergent leaders prefer to call liberal-leaning philosophy “a generous orthodoxy,” which allows for differences of opinion between denominations (and sometimes religions).
Denison said he is grateful for the challenge to Christianity’s “conventional response” to the American culture, and said that Evangelicals, in particular, have been too separate.
“‘Christ transforming the culture’ is the biblical model,” Denison added. “It’s not just about getting people to pray the Sinner’s Prayer.”
(Note: The Sinner’s Prayer is any of several, pre-written prayers suggested by evangelist for a non-Christian to recite in order to begin a Christian life).
Denison said the Emerging movement’s focus on charitable relief efforts speak to non-Christians and other Christians alike. He said Jesus and his disciples made compassion an integral part of their outreach efforts.
“When you’ve met their physical need, you’ve earned the right to address their spiritual need,” Denison said.
Jerry Elliot, pastor of First Assembly of God of Gainesville, said he did not attend Monday’s program but is aware of the Emerging movement. He said he agrees that “relevance” is crucial to being effective in reaching people.
“The topic of relevance is one of the things we’re trying to approach in our church,” Elliot said in an interview Friday. “The saddest thing to be on Highway 82 and have 20,000 cars pass through a day -- and have people look at our building and wonder why we exist.”
Elliot said one of the goals of his pastorate is to “break out of a rigid, traditional approach to worship” and to put responsibility on people to “connect” with God. He said he teaches that one should not separate music from prayer and preaching from the rest of the service — they all come together.
Elliot said he attempts to incorporate illustrations in the sermons, using many examples out of newspapers, magazines, etc. — a practice many Emerging churches employ in teaching.
Jordan Johnson, 20, is pastor of Harvey Street Baptist Church in Gainesville. Though he dons a pair of dress slacks and sometimes a tie at the pulpit, he said he prefers to be called “just Jordan” rather than “pastor” or “reverend,” and often accuses himself of the sins he preaches on.
He said he has not studied the Emerging movement, but prior to an interview Friday had just watched a video featuring Mark Driscoll, an Emergent music minister. He said he predicts the Emergent trends will affect many Gainesville churches at some point.
His congregation, a growing neighborhood church located on a residential street, has a wide age range. He said it’s often a challenge for him to “bridge the gap” between, as two examples, 75-year-old lifetime church-goers and 15-to-25 year olds who may not have a strong church background.
“In your attempt to be relevant, you sometimes become irrelevant to the traditional people you’re ministering to,” Johnson said.
He said he has some concerns that in attempting to reach a postmodern audience that some churches often place the gospel message to the side, or tone down the message as not to run off non-Christians.
“I don’t mean be so straightforward that we alienate people,” Johnson said. “We have to relevant in our approach to the culture, but not by compromising the gospel and not by watering down the truth. It’s truth that changes lives ... A half truth is a whole lie.”
On the Net:
Emergent Village: www.emergentvillage.com
Emerging Church information: http://emergingchurch.info
A critique of the Emergent movement: www.ptmin.org/fullyemerge.htm
Reporter Andy Hogue may be contacted at andyhoguegdr@ntin.net
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