Cool Hair and Candles
Ian
statements. Here are a few:
1) The core of the Emergent thing is disgruntled fundies discovering
progressive evangelicalism and beer.
2) The emerging movement (or Emergent?) is an exclusive club of
computer literate (or semi-literate, in my case) middle class people.
There is no room for the poor or for the technotarded.
3) It's really about quasi-evangelicals who like chanting, yoga,
candles, and ambient noise. Oh, and who have cool hair.
4) A symbol of emerging worship would be an image of a virtual candle
burning in a European cathedral projected onto the wall of an old
warehouse in Davenport Iowa.
Each statement above is, I hope, an entire stream of conversation.
They aren't intended to be critical, but to make me (and you) think.
How are they true? How are they a less than accurate representation of
what's going on here? #2 is my real area of interest, but I'm
interested in all of it.
know...@gmail.com
good questions. I have heard these thoughts by many so maybe this would
be a good one to chew on a bit.
#1. I think there is a lot of truth in this. I suspect the majority of
those in the Emergent conversation emerged from Evangelicalism. It
seems to me that Evangelicalism leaves little room for people to think
through their faith so it does not surprise me that many/most of the
participants early on come from that tradition.
#2. Again, I think there is some truth here. I would suspect that it is
not intentionally geared towards techno geeks but that the ease of
"networking" in that environment opened up possibilities for
communication that do not exist in other formats. It seems that there
are churches on every corner in my town but if I want to talk openly or
question my faith I cannot do it in any of them, with the possible
exception of the Episcopal church. But I can connect with like minded
thinkers around the world instantly via the internet, chat, and email.
I think there is some very serious, heavy lifting that needs to be done
to create these types of spaces at local levels. My own opinion is that
typical church "planting" models will not get us there and other
options lack support and resources. I could go on forever about some of
the systemic issues I think relate to all this but it would be better
to have that conversation in person with a group of people. The issues
are certainly too multifaceted for me to grasp.
#3. This does not seem quite right to me. Not that it may not have
merit but my experience and relationships with Emergent lead me to
think this is not an accurate statement at all. I think it is really
about people doing a lot of really faithful theological reflection.
#4. I like this statement a lot. First, it is funny (not sure if that
was the intent or not) but I think we need to be able to laugh at
ourselves. Second, I think it speaks to some issues of space and how we
can redeem the senses and our methods of communication.
I will be interested to see how others respond to your questions.
James Mills
jmi...@knowtown.com
AHa...@aol.com
I've heard it said that if we take ourselves too seriously, we don't
take Christ seriously enough. I tend to agree. We can all relax!)
Ok,
#1 The emergent movement does seem to be mostly evangelicals and
recovered fundies, though there were quite a few mainstream denoms
represented at the last conference I was at. I agree with James - most
are just wanting a place to be able to ask questions and be in
conversation. I confess I have almost forgotten how painful it is NOT
to be able to do this. Our church allows room for many voices,
thoughts, and considerations (of course we all have a ways to go) and
we do forget at times that it is not this way everywhere. And I have
been in the evangelical realm for over 30 years! But when people tell
me their stories of being controlled, shamed or excluded for asking
questions, my own memories of the same come flooding back.
The beer part just feels like a part of the waking up. It can be good
or bad depending on the seeker, I guess. But it's hopefully moving
towards being a non-issue. Perhaps an Emergent Micro-Brewery can bring
in some necessary funding?
#2 I hope we can be careful to not be too reductionist about any group,
including this one. I have run into mostly theologians and writers and
artists but not the techies. So my experience has been different. And I
am techno-challenged so I hope that doesn't get me left out. :-D
I am concerned though, that the Emergent movement, as any other
movement or group, does have its own means of exclusions and shutting
down of others' voices. It's something to pay attention to.
#3 I agree with James, my experience has been that most are very
sincerely exploring questions of faith and theology. Honestly, I do see
the danger of making the same mistakes the modern church (big inclusive
word there) has made in the past. The danger being that theological
reflection becomes an end in itself and ironically then, a means of
avoiding God or recreating a updated, palatable God (which I would
argue, is what has happened in the modern, western evangelical church).
But when has that not been a danger? God doesn't seem worried. It seems
to me that he/she enjoys dialogue, too.
Chanting, yoga and and whatever - can also be a means to an end or the
end itself. I have seen a lot of integrity in folks, though.
#4 Heeheeee. Everywhere is sacred space! And there's something rich
about including something of tradition and history in any barn or
warehouse.
If I can add a number 5, the biggest criticism that I have heard of
Emergent is that it's made up of angry people who are rejecting the
church. Personally I have seen that only in a few, most seem to be
genuinely seeking. However, making room for people to work out their
(often justifiable) anger seems important to me (vs, dismissing it
until they can behave). That's just my experience. What has been yours?
Thanks all,
Ellen