One thing I noticed about the gathering last week was just how “modern” everything was. There was not much conversation about the emerging church. I really didn’t expect there to be. The Christian Churches talk a lot about planting churches and have had some very successful plants in recent years. I did a little a little digging and found that, Stadia, one of their church planting organizations specializes in planting modern friendly, suburban churches and they do a very good job of it. Best I can tell, there is not much being done yet in Christian Church circles to engage the emerging culture. They probably don’t feel the need to. By the standard of “nickels and noses” they appear to be doing just fine. There are still plenty of “moderns” among us who need to be reached and Christian churches appear to be reaching them as well as any group I know.
The emerging conversation has definitely come to some circles of the Churches of Christ. The recent Zoe Conference had McLaren as a keynote speaker and I’ve heard nothing but raves from those who attended. I can’t really say that Churches of Christ are having the success among moderns that Christian Churches are, so it may be that some of our congregations and key leaders will be more open to the conversation than those in Christian Churches. I think on a theological level, the key leaders among Churches of Christ may be more prepared for the emerging conversation than those in Christian Churches.
Even as I write this, I realize that right now it is impossible to make any generalizations about what is going on in the Churches of Christ. That may also be true of Christian Churches. All I can really talk about are my perceptions, my positions, and what I think I’m hearing from some of my friends.
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons