Book Review #5

Emerging Churches Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures
by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger

Chapter 1 A brief look at Culture
Churches in the west face a missional challenge...there is a great need to understand the relationship between the gospel and culture. In parts of the world where Christendom was once prevalent, this issue has not been addressed. In order to understand the mission of the church, Christianity in culture must be addressed. The western church is in rapid decline and movements that are growing are ones that deal with the role of culture in faith.

Chapter 2 What is the Emerging Church?
The Emerging church appeals to "Gen Xers" who have abandoned their parent's faith for something more authentic and relevant. But it's not just about one generation. It is vital for the emerging church to be solidly rooted in the larger historical church. Emerging church leaders prefer to not be labeled by a particular brand or age bracket. There is a strong effort to separate themselves from labels and get back to the basic premise of Christianity, to be a follower of Christ. Simon Hall from the UK says, "My main aim for the community is not to be 'post' anything but to be 'and' everything." The 3 core practices are 1)identifying with the life of Jesus; 2) transforming secular space; 3)living in community. And because of these 3 main practices, they practice hospitality, serve with generosity, create as created beings, lead as a body, and take part in spiritual activities (p. 44-45).

Chapter 3 Identifying with Jesus
This is about rethinking the meaning of church. Mark Scandrette of ReIMAGINE in San Francisco described the difference between megachurches and what they're about. He said, "We started out thinking about what form the church should take, as opposed to what the life of Jesus means in this time and place." This is about being Christ. "Jesus served and forgave others, and the early church was encouraged to do likewise." One understanding is that God is already working in the world, so our job is to find out where and move along with that. Andrew Jones from the UK put it simply, "We find what God is planting and we water it." To be a Christian is to be missional, seeking to embody the kingdom at all times.

Chapter 4 Transforming Secular Space
All life must be sacred in the emerging church mindset. Bridges are made between the secular/spiritual worlds in order to rid people's perceptions of the division. For instance, in some churches secular music is played during the service, and different forms of the arts and media are used. In that process, the secular becomes holy. "As many church people fight to keep the dying church modern, emerging churches abandon the modern church while bringing new life to the church (p. 72). The intention is to stay true to both their faith and their culture. This is not only to make the transition from the outside world to church feel less contrasting and uncomfortable, but also to allow us to take our worship from church to the outside world. This idea of culture embodied gospel is distinguished by its creative nature, as well being highly participatory and community-oriented.

Chapter 5 Living as Community
Because the secular space no longer exists, church becomes a 24/7 event, not just 90 minutes on Sunday. There is an understanding that the risen Christ now works by his Spirit, who operates through the community as well as beyond it, in the furtherance of his purposes in the wider world(p. 90). The church must first be the product of mission before it is an agent of mission (p. 91). Community must be present and healthy in order to exude a product of mission. There is a shift, as mentioned above, from the emphasis on church to emphasis on kingdom. As the body of believers become like a family, the institutional practices will change. Generally speaking, the church rises and falls based on relationships. It takes commitment and intentionality. Meeting together is an effort to serve the community and strengthen relationships. Because of this, the groups tend to stay small and intimate, with no great desire to grow large. The focus does not seem to be as much about deepening one's faith, though I imagine that is part of it. It does say that emerging churches believe the church should shape its corporate life in accordance with the practices of the kingdom of God (p. 115).

Chapter 6 Welcoming the Stranger
Emerging churches are inclusive, just as Christ was inclusive and welcomed the stranger. There is a tremendous value placed on hospitality to create a comfortable, safe place to worship. There is a belief that sharing the gospel should flow naturally as a reflection of one's life, and not some contrived proclamation. There is a stress on dialogue and being engaged with the contradictory opinions rather than an indifferent disregard for other people's backgrounds and influence. Christians are called to live their life publicly so that those on the outside can be attracted to the faith (p. 130). The following sentence is key for me in understanding Fuller's perspective on interfaith dialogue: "We deemphasize the idea that Christians have God and all others don't by attempting to engage in open two-way conversations. This does not mean we have lapsed into relativism, as we still believe in the uniqueness of our own tradition, but we believe that it teaches us to be open to all. We are also genuinely open to being wrong about parts and perhaps all our beliefs - while at the same time being fully committed to them" (p. 132).

Chapter 7 Serving with Generosity
Hospitality and generosity are both important to emerging churches, in effort to serve both those inside and outside their specific communities. In referencing our consumer culture, church can become a producer/consumer relationship and the church seeks to market their brand to consumers. If church becomes that, there can be no sustainability. If Jesus stops satisfying, they will move on to another spiritual expression and never truly be satisfied. "Consumerism both pacifies and disempowers people and robs them of their individuality and creative potential (p. 139). Instead, in the emerging church, consumers must become active participants. They believe that people must be rescued from their greed and wastefulness in order to live a life of service and generosity. And this service is not viewed as a social service; instead, it is a spiritual practice that is part of their holistic way of life. Generosity stems not just from material wealth, but also giving of one's time and self, such as through one's vocation. Generosity is never calculating. It is extravagant (p. 152).

Chapter 8 Participating as Producers
In order to be incarnational participants in God's kingdom, church must be viewed as the body rather than the place. People must be given the space to use their gifts, making each one feel a sense of ownership and belonging. And in order to make the worship meaningful, it must be indigenous to the locale and not prescripted.
Seeking to be open and authentic can allow room for individuals to really wreak havoc on a community. However, the rest of the community must be prepared to handle those situations. The ultimate goal is to create a genuine worship environment for all people to fully participate in.

Chapter 9 Creating as Created Beings
God is a creative God. And he created us with the ability to be creative. This is a major emphasis of the emerging church. However, our society tends to McDonaldize life, seeking efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. Bad news! We are each unique human beings born with creativity (even though I don't feel like I received a whopping helping of it!). Yet, creativity gives worshipers the opportunity to embrace aspects of God's character they normally would not acknowledge (p. 178).