EMERGENT CHURCH

There has been quite a bit of criticism of the phenomenon known as the emergent church. As I understand it, this is a church that defies the conventional norm of church as it does not have a denominational structure where people somewhere beyond the blue dictate what its churches can and can’t do.

At the same time it does not have a hierarchy of leadership as many of them are led by people that are not ordained (by men) and there is no structure to climb. Many of the churches meet in homes and build their life around relationships and loving one another.

This seems to be the main criticism. They place more value on relationships and loving one another than on correct orthodox doctrine. I have no doubt that some of them are deficient in their doctrine as all churches are, but one cannot judge all because of a specific example. I know of groups that believe virtually what the evangelical church does. The difference is that they believe what they believe and show it in their actions, that is why they place a priority on loving one another.

Like all expressions of the church, there are good and bad. There are denominations where the leadership are dictators. There are some who have replaced the bible with secular cultural ideas. There are some that deny the supernatural. There are some that believe that doctrine is everything even though the church is dead as a dodo.

Because the emergent church is more diverse than any other expression, it is quite foolish to say that the emergent church believes this or believes that. Each one is autonomous and very often determines its own destiny quite separately from all the others. In other words, the system serves the people, not the people serving the system as is the case in most institutionalised religion.

I have a very distinct feeling that the criticism of the emergent church by the leadership of the institutionalised church is more to do with the fact that they can’t control it and the fact that they are losing adherents to it.

Very often the people leaving are not the wayward and feckless, they are the mature believers who are stifled by a system that only recognises the gifting of those who have gained the approval of man. If you haven’t, by way of theological degrees and ordination, your anointing for ministry is rarely recognised and used in any meaningful way.

In most cases, the important bits are done by those who are recognised by man made organisations and the rest do all the other bits the ordained don’t have time for.

If the religious establishment continues to ignore the reality of the situation that their systems are failing themselves and society in most cases, they get what they deserve and that is a dwindling membership. Saying “don’t worry boys all will come good” on a sinking ship is foolishness in the extreme.

The church is not known for asking the hard questions and facing up to reality. It prefers the “we have always done it this way” mentality which was born hundreds of years ago and in a society that doesn’t exist anymore.

The world in the meantime moves on, giving itself the right to kill itself and destroy those who don’t meet the perfect criteria. Whilst this is happening the church has been beaten into submission and is frightened of its own shadow let alone the forces of evil that are running rampant though society.

Now more than ever we need Jesus to build his church as he said he would and let man’s attempts at church to wither on the vine.