Four Categories of Evangelism Programs - Evangelism Unlimited

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1028 Evangelizology Thoughts on the Emergent Church Movement Understanding the Term “Emergent”: One of the focal definitions for the term “emergent” is described by Joseph R. Myers in The Search to Belong: Rethinking Intimacy, Community, Small Groups (2003): The Secret of Slime Mold (Emergence Theory) “The slime mold spends much of its life as thousands of distinct single-celled units, each moving separately from its other comrades. Under the right conditions, those myriad cells will coalesce again into a single, larger organism, which then begins its leisurely crawl across the garden floor, consuming rotting leaves and wood as it moves about. When the environment is less hospitable, the slime mold acts as a single organism; when the weather turns cooler and the mold enjoys a large food supply, ‘it’ becomes a ‘they.’ The slime mold oscillates between being a single creature and a swarm.” 1202 The intriguing secret of slime mold is that there is no ‘master planner’ calling the cells to unite. The coming together is spontaneous. There is no apparent leader. There is no call to action. No vision statements, value statements, or mission statements. There is no “queen bee” or charismatic leader. The cells collect spontaneously when the environment triggers the response. When slime mold encounters a favorable environment, the mold emits a substance called acrasin or cyclic AMP. When this occurs, the slime mold cells unite with others in the area. When people encounter someone to whom they are attracted, there is a similar occurrence. The triggering mechanism? For people, there are several. Human beings communicate their desire to connect through eye dilation, facial expression (sometimes voluntary, sometimes involuntary), posture, body temperature, and, yes, we too emit chemicals called pheromones, which are decoded by those around us. When there is a favorable environment we make spontaneous choices regarding to whom we want to belong. This is the type of connection that people are looking for in their lives. Slime mold offers us an interesting insight: We humans could help by creating the healthy environments in which people naturally connect. If we would concentrate upon facilitating the environment instead of the result (people experiencing community), we might see healthy, spontaneous community emerge. 1203 Several Considerations about Emergent: First of all, there are a number of emanations of the Emergent Church Movement (aka. “Postmodern Churches” or “Transformational Churches” [e.g. Mosaic Church]). Ed Stetzer delineated three eminations: (1) The Relevants (applying Gospel to culture), (2) The Reconstructionists (changing the form of the church to apply the Gospel to culture), and (3) The Revisionists (“questioning and revising the Gospel and the church”). 1204 Each of these would need to be interpreted and considered separately. Second, while the overall Emergent Church’s emphasis on community is important, it seems to me that when the church consists of believers-only, community comes as a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit, “Fellowship of the Spirit” (2 Cor 13:14). However, in the Seeker Church context, community must be [humanly] fostered as there is no given “fellowship of the Spirit” between believers and unbelievers. Likewise for the emergent, community provides a preparatory tool to open the door for discussing the Gospel in a non-threatening way. Note that Jesus in John 13:35 clearly stated “one another” to described the relationship among believers. While the believer is still to love his neighbor as himself, the latter context is not missional, but related to God-given obedience. 1202 Quoted from Steve Johnson, Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software [New York: Scribner, 2001], 13; the paragraph is also quoted by Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy: Why I Am Missional + Evangelical + Post/Protestant + Liberal/Conservative + Mystical/Poetic + Biblical + Charismatic/Contemplative + Fundamentalist/Calvinist + Anabaptist/Anglican + Methodist + Catholic + Green + Incarnational + Depressed-yet- Hopeful + Emergent + Unfinished Christian (El Cajon, CA: EmergentYS, 2004; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 276. 1203 Joseph R. Myers in The Search to Belong: Rethinking Intimacy, Community, Small Groups (El Cajon, CA: EmergentYS, 2003; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 72-73. 1204 Ed Stetzer, “Understanding the Emerging Church (6 Jan 2006)”; available from: http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/bpnews.asp?ID=22406; Internet.
Thomas P. Johnston 1029 Third, the renewed emphasis on the use of questions in evangelism is refreshing. Similarly, there are several questions used in the New Testament as regards evangelism, e.g. “Who do people say that I am? … Who do you say that I am?” (Matt 16:13, 15), “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (John 9:35), and “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:30). Fourth, however, disconcerting are: 1. The Emergent church’s movement away from punctiliar salvation (“You must be born again”) 2. The addition of community to the order of salvation (“Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved”) 3. The assumption of a wide road if the Gospel is properly communicated (“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it”) 4. The antagonism to an emphasis on eternal life (“Those appointed for eternal life believed,” “But the gift of God is eternal life,” etc.) 5. The movement away from verbal and plenary inspiration (“Every word of God is tested”). Sample Books on, by, or related to the “Emergent” Church 2007 Kester Brewin, Signs of Emergence (Emersion, 2007). Tim Keel, Intuitive Leadership (Emersion, 2007). Joseph Myers, Organic Community (Emersion, 2007). Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones, eds., An Emergent Manifesto of Hope (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007). Will and Lisa Samson, Justice in the Burbs (Emersion, 2007). Robert Webber†, ed. Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches: Five Viewpoints (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007). 2006 Ray S. Anderson, An Emerging Theology for Emerging Churches (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2006). Scott A. Bessenecker, The New Friars: The Emerging Movement Serving the World’s Poor (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2006. Tim Conder, Church in Transition: The Journey of Existing Churches into the Emerging Culture (El Cajon, CA: EmergentYS, 2006; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006). 2005 George Barna, Revolution (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2005). Jonathan Campbell and Ryan K. Bolger, The Way of Jesus: A Journey of Freedom for Pilgrims and Wanderers (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005). D. A. Carson, Becoming Conversant with the Emergent Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005). Neil Cole, Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005). Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger, Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005). Brian McLaren, The Last Word and the Word After That (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005). Michael Moynagh, emergingchurch.intro (Grand Rapids: Monarch Books, 2005). Greg Russinger and Alex Field, eds., Practitioners: Voices Within the Emerging Church (Ventura: Regal, 2005). Steve Taylor, The Out of Bounds Church? Learning to Create a Community of Faith in a Culture of Change (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005). 2004 Dan Kimball, Emerging Worship: Creating Worship Gatherings for New Generations (El Cajon, CA: EmergentYS, 2004; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004). Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy: Why I Am Missional + Evangelical + Post/Protestant + Liberal/Conservative + Mystical/Poetic + Biblical + Charismatic/Contemplative + Fundamentalist/Calvinist + Anabaptist/Anglican + Methodist + Catholic + Green + Incarnational + Depressed-yet-Hopeful + Emergent + Unfinished Christian (El Cajon, CA: EmergentYS, 2004; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004). Elmer Towns and Ed Stetzer, Perimeters of Light: Biblical Boundaries for the Emergent Church (Chicago: Moody, 2004).
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Four Categories of Evangelism Programs - Evangelism Unlimited

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