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The philosophy within the emergent movement: 'It's time for us to take back Christianity' By Jane Clifford UNION-TRIBUNE FAMILY EDITOR June 21, 2008 It's not often that you can go out for an evening and enjoy book readings, musical theater and a spiritual message – all in the same place. But that's exactly what happened for those who showed up for “The Church Basement Roadshow: A Rollin' Gospel Revival” Sunday night at Christ Lutheran Church in Pacific Beach.Three guys – Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt and Mark Scandrette – play six characters in their 90-minute show, which is a provocative way...

Emergent Church Spreading Spiritual Cancer Marsha West In the Sixties the counterculture rejected consumerism, individualism, traditional values and ideas, and protested against their parent’s middle class values. Thus began an all out assault on what had made America prosperous for two centuries. Now a similar assault on historic orthodox Christianity is underway that’s gaining momentum. Some Christians believe a paradigm shift is taking place in the Church and as a consequence “everything must change.” This is anything but good news for Christendom, my friends. In a radio interview with Worldview Network’s Brannon Howse, Professor Peter Jones of Westminster Seminary warned...

We live in an interesting era of church history. The once dominant voice of American Christianity is beginning to weaken, being replaced by the strengthening choruses of places like Africa and China. The mega-church mentality and method has been tried and found shallow. Bill Hybels has admitted that his Willow Creek approach over the last ten years was “a mistake.”1 Even as the American church seems to be witnessing a resurgence of interest in the historic and orthodox theology of the Protestant Reformation2, several undercurrents are calling into question these very same orthodox interpretations of Scripture. Probably the most vocal...

MONTREAT, NC — Diana Butler Bass, author of six books on American religious practice, including Christianity for the Rest of Us and The Practicing Congregation: Imagining a New Old Church, will head the slate of preachers and teachers at this year’s “Reclaiming the Text” conference, May 26-30, at Montreat Conference Center.  The conference theme for 2008, “New Life Emerging from Ancient Texts: Breathing New Life Into the Lectionary,” will focus on connections between ancient texts and emerging contexts.“An emergent church is a congregation that is trying to speak to a new set of cultural conditions,” Bass said.  “It’s not any...

In a city of people not exactly known for having formal religious ties, some 7,400 cheered Tuesday morning as they welcomed the Dalai Lama, Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu and about a half dozen other religious leaders. On the last day of the Dalai Lama's visit to Seattle for a gathering on compassion, he joined Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and other Buddhist representatives — along with some young people — for a panel discussion on spiritual connection. Moderator Joan Halifax Roshi, a Zen Buddhist master, began the morning by asking everyone to "come into collective silence and pray in whatever way...

BTW: Pat Abendroth hosts a radio show on http://www.kcro.com on Saturdays at 5 pm central time, it is a good show BTW BTW I wish there were more pastors like Abendroth here in the Omaha area ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Rob Bell makes me angry: a pastoral response to Velvet Elvis April 14, 2008 [Pat Abendroth, the Senior Pastor of Omaha Bible Church wrote a helpful review of Rob Bell's book Velvet Elvis] Due to its helpfulness and Bell's increased popularity, I wanted to include it here. It is a tad long, but I trust you'll find it worth the read…] Time...

Non-Christians are more receptive to the Gospel today than at any point in recent American history, according to one research team. Tue, Apr. 08, 2008 Posted: 15:19:18 PM EST Non-Christians are more receptive to the Gospel today than at any point in recent American history, according to one research team. "We are seeing a new level of curiosity among those who are seeking out religion – and we rejoice that people are willing to hear about Jesus," said Sam S. Rainer III, who heads Rainer Research. While Rainer said he finds the increased receptivity among non-believers encouraging, the problem lies...

Profile: Mars Hill Bible Church pastor Rob Bell Posted by slangford March 23, 2008 00:00AM Press Photo/Paul L. Newby IIFull of humor: The Rev. Rob Bell, of Mars Hill Bible Church, lets out a big laugh as he speaks to his congregation on a Sunday morning. Bell works on a sermon for weeks, sometimes months, before he delivers it. "A good sermon will exhaust you and inspire you," he says. "You'll say, 'Whoa -- that's a full meal. It'll take me a week to recover from that.'" More photos The Rev. Rob Bell hops up onto the circular stage...

If Jesus walked the earth today, he'd drink fair-trade coffee and fill his Blackberry with non-church activities. So says Brian McLaren, author of more than a dozen books on modern Christianity - most recently Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crisis, and a Revolution of Hope. In Everything Must Change, McLaren urges an examination of four critical issues: the environment, poverty, world peace and religious understanding. The book is titled Everything Must Change. Do you mean everything? Are we doing anything right?The laws of gravity and the speed of light are just fine. (laughs) But what I'm saying with "everything" is...

Mars Hill Pastor Mark Driscoll preached on the still popular and still controversial topic of emerging churches in his latest sermon. But it’s an issue he normally wouldn’t teach to his mainly twenty-something church crowd in Seattle. That’s because Mars Hill attendants don’t use the language “emerging church” as many Christian leaders label them. The issue of the emerging church, however, was raised when thousands of people, who regularly tune into Mars Hill sermons every week through the Internet, voted to make it the No. 2 most popular topic they wanted Driscoll to address in a sermon series titled “Religion...

Cutting-edge leaders of the emerging, missional, mosaic and monastic streams are convening Thursday evening in Washington state to re-imagine ways to express the Christian faith. Thu, Feb. 28, 2008 Posted: 11:20:04 AM EST Cutting-edge leaders of the emerging, missional, mosaic and monastic streams are convening Thursday evening in Washington state to re-imagine ways to express the Christian faith. Under the banner of “The New Conspirators Conference,” attendees will contemplate what “God is conspiring” through the new generation of Christian leaders to make His kingdom relevant in a rapidly changing world. “As far as we know, this is the first time...

ROMAN CATHOLICISM: A DIFFERENT GOSPEL In their lust for unity the Emergent Church and post-evangelical “Protestants” are right now embracing the Roman Catholic Church as another Christian denomination. But the issue is simple: If, as taught the Church of Rome, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without “the new birth in baptism” then we are now in hopeless contradiction with the Gospel contained in Holy Scripture. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8) Speaking The Truth In...

KEN SILVA THREATENED WITH LAWSUIT OVER TONY JONES In my post Tony Jones Defender I mentioned that during a recent phone call Julie Jones had threatened me with a lawsuit for defamation of character. For those who don’t know she is the wife of Tony Jones, a well known leader in the neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church. Quite understandably she has taken exception to my writings concerning her husband Tony Jones. In her letter, which I published at her behest, Julie Jones went to great lengths to prove Tony Jones is a Christian. Well today in responding to a...

Softer Approach to Apologetics in a Not-So-Postmodern Culture Sometimes, giving pat answers to some of the most common apologetic questions students ask isn't satisfying. Thu, Sep. 20, 2007 Posted: 11:59:51 AM EST Sometimes, giving pat answers to some of the most common apologetic questions students ask isn't satisfying. "What is truth?" and "How can we know Christianity is the true religion?" are two questions that Dale Fincher, author of the newly released Living with Questions, frequently comes across in his ministry career. Fincher is offering students a softer approach to apologetics, a reading that doesn't sound academic and that's more...

America's 50 Most Influential Churches The Church Report is pleased to once again announce this year’s 50 Most Influential Churches in America. Each year, we look forward to working with Dr. John Vaughan and appreciate the input of pastors from throughout the country that provide their insight as to who is really influencing America's churches.   This year’s list has several new churches and you also note movement of other churches through the list. If you have comments, please feel to send us an email to crdaily@thechurchreport.com.   Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, Ill.), Saddleback Church Lake Forest, Calif.),...

Along with unfair stereotypes of other traditions, such are the urban legends surrounding the emerging church—one of the most controversial and misunderstood movements today. As a theologian, I have studied the movement and interacted with its key leaders for years—even more, I happily consider myself part of this movement or "conversation." As an evangelical, I've had my concerns, but overall I think what emerging Christians bring to the table is vital for the overall health of the church. ...snip... A final stream flowing into the emerging lake is politics. Tony Jones is regularly told that the emerging movement is a...

In church circles, some of the hottest words today are "emerging" and "emergent." Last weekend, Christian communications company Zondervan hosted a Seattle conference called "Emergence 2007." The event featured a conversation among four emerging-church leaders: Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill, Dan Kimball of Vintage Faith Church, Doug Pagitt of Solomon's Porch and Karen Ward of Church of the Apostles. Moderator Krista Tippett, host of National Public Radio's "Speaking of Faith," got it right when she said, "The emerging church is not just one thing." There are mega-sized emerging churches, such as Mars Hill with three Seattle- area locations, and smaller...

James L. Evans An emerging Christianity is reshaping faith Christians may believe that they are participants in a "faith once delivered to the saints," but the shape of that faith has varied greatly through the centuries. From the stately and ornate forms of Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, to the humble and plain worship of the Amish, Jesus is followed and revered in a myriad of ways. In fact, so great is the diversity of forms within Christianity, it may be more appropriate to refer to them in the plural — Christianities.Even now a new form of the faith seems to...

An influential Baptist in Missouri believes the Emerging Church movement is one of the most dangerous and deceptive movements infiltrating Southern life and he's out to stop it. Roger Moran, a member of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, is a conservative layman at First Baptist Church in Troy, Mo. But he's also considered the most powerful Baptist in the state, St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper reported Monday. Moran's driving concern is the rise of the emerging church and its threat to the future of the Baptist church in Missouri and across the nation. "Not since the stealth tactics of the...

Appropriate Response to the Emerging Church Movement© By David Kowalksi Looking out of the windows of our homes we respond indifferently to the presence of dirt on the ground. Should that dirt makes its way into our homes, however, our feelings change and we proceed to sweep it out because it does not belong there. In John 2:14-16 [1] , after passing passively through the streets of Jerusalem, Jesus’ passivity gave way to angry expression as he proceeded to sweep clean the house of God. John says in verse 15 that when Jesus saw the money changers “He made a...