Emerging + Reformed = ?

Justin Taylor is not your usual fare when it comes to reading on the Emerging Church. He comes from a different camp but I think it gives him a refreshing perspective. (at 9marks) He addresses the question: what exactly is the “emerging church”?

“Here is one common way that many people think about the movement: Popularly, the term “Emerging Church” has been applied to high-profile, youth-oriented congregations that have gained attention on account of their rapid numerical growth, their ability to attract (or retain) the twenty-somethings, and their contemporary worship that draws upon popular music styles with the accompanying pyrotechnics, and that promotes itself to the Christian sub-culture through its web-sites and by word of mouth.[1]

The emphasis here falls entirely on matters of style and demographics.

My wife recently told someone that I would be giving a talk on the emerging church. The person responded, “Is that where they light candles, sit on couches, and try to do church?” If you are a critic of the emerging church, you will probably think this definition is accurate. If you are a cheerleader, you will undoubtedly think it’s unfair.”

And that’s the rub. Is that or is that not what “emerging” is? I wrestle with this because it is the question I ask myself everyday as I embark on this incredibly challenging, stretching, and difficult enterprise called church planting. I know that I am called to preach, I feel it in my bones. But the question is, to who? If it’s the cool “emerging” folks I’ll be out of work in 3 months, because there’s plenty of churches in Bellingham that do that kind of thing. If it’s to the marginalized, the neglected (which I happen to believe there are) then I should have enough work to keep me busy for quite a long time. Again, the trick is getting our hands dirty with the right people.

For the record. Tim Keller hits it on the head all the time, doesn’t he?

Taylor: I close with another quote from Tim Keller, who calls both the emerging church and the evangelical church to a better way:

I see people who are desperately trying to reach the post-everythings who in their desperation are trying to throw out essential elements such as the substitutionary atonement, forensic justification, imputed righteousness, the Sovereignty of God, or the inerrancy of Scripture. Many of them are probably over-adapting to the post-everything situation. But while they do not have our theological resources, often we do not have their level of engagement with the people of the emerging society. To correct this, let us confess that we really have failure across all our parties to reach the coming society, and let us resolve to use the premier resources of Reformed theology. If we can make these changes, then we may really start to see renewal and outreach, and we might actually be a resource for the broader body of Christ in this culture.[20]