Chuck Colson offers some thoughts on the emerging church
His observations are interesting and worth a read. But here's my take partially.
The interesting thing about the e.c. movement to me is that it seems to be little more than a reaction to various forms of Protestantism -- those that reduce the life of faith to either doctrinal assertions (fundamentalism) or social activism (liberalism). Much of the emerging church movement seems to want to rediscover mystery and vitality, and to recover a sense of community in the faith. Great!
However, the problem with many emerging church leaders is their seeming unfamiliarity with the profound depths of the Christian tradition. Want mystery? consider the great sacramental liturgies of the faith across the ages! Want vitality? look to the lives of the great saints of old. Want community? consider the Church alive in the first three centuries, or in the Franciscan renewal, or the Victorine community, or the Devotio Moderna that produced Thomas A' Kempis, or look at the Methodist Societies under the leadership of the Wesley's, or think Pheobe Palmer prayer meetings.
The secret to vitality is not to endeavor to "deconstruct and reconstruct Christianity"
because one is faced with so-called "postmodernity." Nor is mystery discovered by endeavoring to make the Gospel relevant to the post modern mind. Nor is community found in any set of values based on human post modern longing for authenticity and relationship.
No! The secret is found in real and true orthodoxy that produces ortho-praxis (right-living) and ortho-pathy (right sentiment) when lived in ortho-communion. Truth, life, affection, and belonging are found by rediscovering the submerged church -- the one that is lost when we try to define or redefine the Body of Christ in any terms other than those of revealed apostolic truth.
If the ECers are after that, then hurray! If they hedge on any of it then, fogitaboudit!
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