Emerging Church Conference

Last week I attended the Emerging Church Conference at Houghton College. It was a surprise to me that Houghton would bring in Tony Jones for an event, but it was no surprise that people pulled their funding from Houghton or that the event wasn't very well attended (compared to other conferences). Why do people see the emerging church as such a threat?

Some of the questions and statements made were very interesting. Someone said that Brian McLaren doesn't believe in the atonement. Have they read any of his stuff? A discussion about "absolute truth" broke out at one point, and I loved Tony's response: Truth doesn't need a qualifier like absolute. It's true or it's not. I thought Tony did a great job of responding (or not) to a woman who kept pushing him on a few issues. It was obvious that Tony had several opportunities to completely destroy her, and he very deftly avoided doing so.

I guess I wonder how I ended up in an area that is so anti-emergent when I am so emergent myself. Even on my facebook page, old college friends were upset when they discovered I was supporting Tony and emergent at the conference. Is it simply because I've been through so much with the church and realize that this can't be all that God intended for us? Are my friends and colleagues so bound up in the bureaucracy and politics of the dominational structures that they aren't willing to even consider that some of those structures might actually be harmful to the church (as the body of Christ)? Have they sold out for a paycheck or security? Or have they simply never questioned anything?

I know it sounds a bit hypocritical to say they've sold out for a paycheck or security since I am working for a church myself. I'll readily admit that I play the game to some extent to earn the paycheck. But I also refuse to go through the denominational indoctrination process in any denomination despite the fact that it would benefit me financially and would insure future positions with the church. I just can't do it. In fact, when someone asks me for my church affliation, my typical response is "Well, right now the ____________ are paying me." I just think there are more important things to focus on the denomination differences.

I work within the church systems because I believe that the church (like everything else) can be redeemed. I remember having a conversation with Mike Yaconelli at one point when I was ready to walk away from the church. He said that he understood my pain and frustration, but he also said that he hoped I wouldn't walk away. The church is the body of Christ, the vehicle for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the world. It is made up of imperfect people, so, of course, it has its flaws. Mike said that he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if people who wanted to follow Jesus actually worked within the church to try to help the church become at least more of what it was supposed to be. Eventually, that became my own philosophy as well. So I keep working for churches and praying that my influence within them will help them become more like the body and bride of Christ. I think the example of many of the emerging church leaders is helpful in this process, and I think many of the emerging churches are giving us great examples of what this can look like for a local congregation.