My first Emergent Cohort blog. Yeah!
I haven't met any of you yet, but looking forward to meeting everyone at the next Cohort gathering.
I wanted to add some food for thought to the blog, so here goes. I was reading The Reporter yesterday and this article caught my attention right away. Especially interesting was the section under the question, Why does emergent theology make some Christians nervous?
The United Methodist Portal
Blessed day to you all,
Kyle Nix
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
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6 comments:
Kyle,
My name is Chris (Ponderer) and I wanted to be sure and let you know how great it is to have you as part of this newly generated conversation. Welcome! And, by the way, just what was it that you found especially intereting in the article you shared? I read it and enjoyed it thoroughly. I seem to never tire of articles like this one and am always encouraged when others share such illuminating material which focuses on the wonderful diversity of our faith in Jesus. Also, I'm looking forward to meeting you in person, Kyle.
Chris, may I call you Ponderer, that's fun, here is what stood out to me most in the article, I guess.
"The story of Christianity has always been embedded inside the lives and the names of people. This emergent sensibility says, “Let’s keep Christianity in that way,” as opposed to modernist thinking, which says, “Let’s pull out the teaching principles and have some kind of generic explanation of Christianity that is the same for every person and every situation.” "
I am reading through 1 Samuel currently and it struck me how crazy the relationship between Saul and David was. Yet these two guys were somehow being used by God, even chosen by God...? David's life wasn't a life I would consider ethical and hardly honorable, yet people have been learning about God and our relationship with God through David for thousands of years.
I guess one thing this tells me is that God can use me if God used an apparently messed up guy like David. More Emergent-ly speaking, we have to pay attention to how God works through each and every individual, not just craft a water tight theology of lessons and principles.
That's what popped out at me at first in the article. Looking forward to yours and other's thoughts.
Hey, Kyle! Welcome! Thanks for bringing the topic to the group. One of my favorite things about being a Believer is looking for God in the world. While I've seen HIM peeking through other avenues, I most often see HIM in the people I encounter. The Bible stories that most influence me are the ones about people who I can relate to - Martha's busy-ness, Peter's leaping and failing (sometimes), the woman at the well who Jesus entrusted even though she'd lost her way...As far as emerging ministry is concerned, relationship with God and with people is it. Jesus didn't say "Believe these things and you may follow me." Maybe I'm too simple but that's what speaks to me. Looking forward to meeting you! Alli
Kyle,
My name is David, and I hope to meet you soon! Thanks for posting this article. It was great!!
I think what makes some people nervous about Emerging Christianity is the removal of some (if not many or all) constraints that frame what Christianity looks like and how Christianity functions. This can be good and bad.
As Alli said, Jesus said simply, "Follow me." I totally agree, and I believe we need to break free of many of the institutional and organizational constraints of Christianity.
However, I caution against throwing out the theological baby (centuries of debate, thought, practices, successes, and failures) with the bathwater (the current trappings of organized Christianity.) Many people have given their lives to following Christ, and to ignore their work and contributions and to fail to learn from them, good and bad, is ignorance on our part. Such ignorance can lead to a totally individualized and distorted personal religion.
Kyle, I think you have it right in listening to and identifying with all people in the Bible whom God used, even the screw-ups. I think Emerging Christianity is about exposing the humanity of Christianity - warts and all - as opposed to the church as a glossed-over entertainment product or tool of upward mobility.
Welcome to the blog, Kyle. I did like the article you linked to your message. I especially liked the description of Christianity as an expression. It's true. If we are to "be Christ" for others and display our beliefs, it has to be an "expression" otherwise there would be nothing to show others. But I'm beginning to question if the expression of Christianity through one culture is really all that different from another. I think back to when I attended a Christian church service in Lima, Peru, and sure the language was different and the music style was different, but honestly what they were "expressing" is really not any different, at the core. It still looks pretty much the same as a church service in New Mexico. This is something that just occured to me, when I really started thinking about it. As much as I think of myself as a different type of thinker than the people I go to church with in Edgewood, I'd bet we're actually more similar in more ways than not.
Hi Kyle, I'm Tracy. Can't wait to meet you Tuesday! My favorite part of this article is hearing the fear and excuses of the nervous people's reasoning such as:
"Well, then, what in the world does religion have to offer if it has to be re-cast in every single person’s situation? How can we ever get going on this thing if we have to start over with every 6.5 billion people on the planet?"
Thank God that it's God changing people and not religion. Religion offers temporary fixes to loneliness and problems and etc.. but God offers expectations, movement and growth. RELATIONSHIP. I think that's why alot of people are nervous because it seems like the walls of religion are coming down and people aren't just satisified with what instituitional christianity has to offer. Maybe it even takes away from their idenity or something.
I'm guilty of feeling this way sometimes, because i've been spoiled by the church, and liked the little to no expectation.
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