Wednesday, January 14, 2004
The Submergent Church
I received an email yesterday that was troubling. It was from a magazine that had run an article on the emergent church. It obviously generated a furor, because the responses were very mixed. I left the article about half way through wanting to shout the words of that great theologian, Rodney King, who once said "can't we all just get along."
Some were for the emergent movement (as if there is a choice to be for or against, which is where the rest seemed to fall incidentally.) Some were saying that they have seen "emergent" churches that are nothing more than the same old service but with candles and a poetry reading. Others seemed to insinuate that the emergent church has thrown away the gospel. It was shocking, division in the body, what are the odds? Seems to me we need a good dose of humility on both sides.
I want to propose a third alternative—the submergent church. This is the place where we dump the pride and the program fall to our knees and say "God make my church part of what you are doing. Take my plan and throw it out the window and lay a vision on my heart to reach the people you are calling me to. I submit to you Lord, thy will be done." See, the thing is there is room for the emergent church and there is room for the traditional church in the body of Christ. There are people who will be reached by traditional and emergent and contemporary and whatever title we place on it in the body of Christ.
Here's where I fall. I love the new styles of worship and the vision God has laid on my heart leans toward the contemporary to emergent side of the scale, but I have people in my life who I love very much that could die without Jesus who will not be reached by this style of service. They need the traditional and thank God there are congregations out there that still offer it.
Where do we get off putting down another person's ministry? Aren't we many parts but one body? Don't we all have a purpose and a mission to fulfill? Can't we all just get along? Let's humble ourselves and realize it's not about us. It's about Jesus. Let's decrease so that He can increase. Let's submerge from our pride and realize that we need to be about the good news. Let's stop competing and start rejoicing with the angels as lost people find their way home in Jesus.
I received an email yesterday that was troubling. It was from a magazine that had run an article on the emergent church. It obviously generated a furor, because the responses were very mixed. I left the article about half way through wanting to shout the words of that great theologian, Rodney King, who once said "can't we all just get along."
Some were for the emergent movement (as if there is a choice to be for or against, which is where the rest seemed to fall incidentally.) Some were saying that they have seen "emergent" churches that are nothing more than the same old service but with candles and a poetry reading. Others seemed to insinuate that the emergent church has thrown away the gospel. It was shocking, division in the body, what are the odds? Seems to me we need a good dose of humility on both sides.
I want to propose a third alternative—the submergent church. This is the place where we dump the pride and the program fall to our knees and say "God make my church part of what you are doing. Take my plan and throw it out the window and lay a vision on my heart to reach the people you are calling me to. I submit to you Lord, thy will be done." See, the thing is there is room for the emergent church and there is room for the traditional church in the body of Christ. There are people who will be reached by traditional and emergent and contemporary and whatever title we place on it in the body of Christ.
Here's where I fall. I love the new styles of worship and the vision God has laid on my heart leans toward the contemporary to emergent side of the scale, but I have people in my life who I love very much that could die without Jesus who will not be reached by this style of service. They need the traditional and thank God there are congregations out there that still offer it.
Where do we get off putting down another person's ministry? Aren't we many parts but one body? Don't we all have a purpose and a mission to fulfill? Can't we all just get along? Let's humble ourselves and realize it's not about us. It's about Jesus. Let's decrease so that He can increase. Let's submerge from our pride and realize that we need to be about the good news. Let's stop competing and start rejoicing with the angels as lost people find their way home in Jesus.
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