Are Baptists Being Affected by the Emergent Church?

I've been away on a long weekend to a place without a competent internet connection. Apologies for the delay in replying.

After reading his text, and having been involved with the conversation about the emerging/ent church for some time prior and since, I just don't believe he tooik the time to get beyond the rhetoric and a few books and into the actual conversation that is taking place about the shift in culture and church.

I truly enjoy almost everything Dr. Carson puts out (he is an outstanding theologian.) This just seemed to miss the mark. It tended to mischaracterize the larger conversation about what is happening in both places.

A pastor. That is how he identifies himself. The reason I brought up his text is because when it was published he would have self-identified as emerging/ent. Therefore his text is significant for understanding the movement in general.

 

The so called "shift" is a fad that will pass. It would be insignificant if it werent so destructive.

 

I'm not so sure about that. Let me make clear that I'm not speaking about the emergent church, as in Emergent Village. But there are churches being planted all over the country that would probably fall into some category of emerging/missional. Church planting is booming...and it is being done successfully outside of denominations....although I know of some SBC churches helping some of these types of plants.

 

Just an honest question here to try and seek clarification...what is it about the shift you find is nothing more than a fad?

Do you see any positives from a shift in the way the church exists?

 

I see some legitimate criticisms. But with regards to the EC there are no biblical resolutions. We need to be careful denegrating methods. They are nonliving entities that can be effective or ineffective. This depends on motives.

As an inerrantist the ecumenical nature of the "conversation" is problematic. The spuedo-intellectual nature of it all ignores scripture namely 1 Cor 1 with regards to the gospel.

The gospel is not beholden to lifestyle choices such as country and western, hiphop, modernism, or postmodernism. There are no real communication barriers involved here. The attempts at making the differences between lifestyl choices equal to the communication barriers going between countries is much like the homosexuals trying to make their percieved plight the same as African-Americans. There just isn no equality there.

While there are a broad range of issues in the EC if you remove these three things from the equation then there is no foundation for any further conversation.

 

I see what you mean with the ecumenical nature of it, yet I think this is one of the good things about it, being an inerrantist myself. Not because I'm trying to mix liberal denominations and say nothing is wrong with them....but moreso because there are people who have never in their life been willing to talk with someone about Christ now talking about Christ! Granted....many of the reasons they are talking is because often times they are told that sin doesn't matter because Jesus loves them. However, as inerrantists, we can take advantage of this new opportunity. This doesn't mean we forfeit what we believe, but my experience has been that it has opened up doors with people who previously may not have let me in on their lives because of a "traditional" approach (such as a tract, or inviting them to a church revival). I think it is a method we can use. It doesn't mean we are with the likes of McLaren, or others who are changing biblical views.

 

One of the Baptist churches in the Washington area went very much to the emergent camp. Bethesda First Baptist Church had been a historically American Baptist Church. In recent years pastors have come and gone rather quickly, and the last one, a Southern Baptist, was asked to resign so that the church leadership (really only about 35 people left in the active congregation) could call a new person whose exposure had been in the McClaren arena, although he had an SBC seminary degree. The church changed radically ... the organ was removed, the structure was altered, and the name was changed to The Church in Bethesda! I jokingly wondered what the other churches in Bethesda would say about that THE Church designation, but found out soon enough when the Presbyterian Church across the street hung up a banner that read, "The Church That NAMED Bethesda."!

Reading the blog on the website is both discouraging and encouraging ... that there is, apparently, rather little of classical Christian theology, but on the other hand, young people are finding healing.

The emergent pastor did not stay long either, though not for reasons of theology, and now there is another pastor with Southern Baptist backgrounds. We will see what happens. Our Convention (D. C. Baptist Convention) certainly wants them to return to the kind of vibrant missions partnership they once had.

 

I personally am glad there are Baptist churches that see it as important to minister to postmodern Christians, while reaching out to postmodern non-Christians through missional living where the gospel hopefully pervades all of their life.

For some Baptist churches, that may not be their area of focus and there is nothing wrong with that.

 

Context.

Frankly, many of us don't know what we should think about homosexuality. We've heard all sides but no position has yet won our confidence so that we can say "it seems good to the Holy Spirit and us." That alienates us from both the liberals and conservatives who seem to know exactly what we should think. Even if we are convinced that all homosexual behavior is always sinful, we still want to treat gay and lesbian people with more dignity, gentleness, and respect than our colleagues do

 

I'm not sure what your point is, but homos*xuality is a sin. I'm not worried about who it alienates. We should preach truth and not water it down because we're afraid someone might be offended.

 

Yes. But is this sin more grevious than any other?
To preach truth is to preach Christ.

 

Of course it is.

 

I feel like you just pulled a Mohammed Ali on me.