Click on the above title to read an excellent interview/article with Brian McLaren that comes from the emergingchurch.info website. Also a good resource for ongoing thought inspiration and conversation about where we are as church, where we're going, and what is emerging among us.
One thing is certain, when the culture shifts the church does too. Phyllis Tickle's book, "The Great Emergence", identifies the seismic cultural shift of our time and connects them to previous eras in history. Every half millenium there is such a shift and the result is a sifting of theology and ecclesiology to respond to the changes. The Great Reformation in the 16th century was the last of these shifts. And we are experiencing another one. Think of the difference: Printing press--computer. Mass mail---email. Neighborhood---internet. Television---YouTube. Telephone---Iphone. 90 years is rather short to experience the kind of incredible shift that we have in communication and community. Tickle expertly identifies the shift and begins to answer the question, so where are we now and where are we headed? Since this is the time in which we are sifting out these answers, we live in ambiguity and some tension between what was and what will be. Some us us on the emergent front are pressing for a new sense of center, authority, identity and praxis. McLaren seems to point toward clarity. So, read the article and the book. And ask yourself, "Where are we as a church? Are we able to engage and address the situation we are in or are we still disassociated from the context that surrounds us Where am I in the midst of that question? What are we coming to believe about the church, Jesus, GOD, the world, religion, politics, money, etc..."
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