Entries Tagged 'The New Christians' ↓

This Sunday I am traveling about as far away from Oklahoma as I can… All the way across the globe to Indonesia, with most of our two weeks spent on an island west of Sumatera.  I am going with a great friend of mine, Joe Hall, who lived there for the past 3 years and will be the tour guide for the trip.  From what I know, we are going to be doing some disaster relief with an International NGO, which includes teaching some farming techniques, some ESL, some construction and some repairs.  It is a mixture of traveling for travelings sake while also doing some good.  A mixture I think I am preferring, rather than just traveling for the exotic food and beers…  While in Trinidad last year I helped build an addition to a building, mixing mortar, stacking cinder blocks, carrying cement, and other labor intensive tasks.  It was a way to soak in the culture, be around the locals and do good.

I leave on Sunday, May 11 and will be gone till the 25th.  I don’t think I will have computer access, though I will be journaling and taking mad photos… so be on the look out for a random entry and then a dumping when I get back.  I can honestly say that I am looking forward to the experience and am getting incredibly anxious for the 30 hour travel day… blah.

Question that was posed (here) (copied below in its original form):

I have a question about the definition of “culture”. I think of culture more as a two way street - both reflecting people and molding them at the same time. It seems that the weaker ones are molded more and the stronger are the ones whom it reflects (this is tenative and a huge generalization).

However, the emergent movement seems to follow culture and modern (meaning current) philosophy rather than the Word. It’s like looking at the Bible through the lens of postmodernism, instead of looking at the world and all it entails through the lens of a biblical worldview.

I know exactly what you’re talking about in the review of chp 2 concerning the particular minestry, but one’s faith cannot be dictated by other people. A church building is still filled with sinful people, and this gives us great joy to look forward to the only perfect Church ever - in heaven.

What are your thoughts?

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My thoughts:

True, the definition of culture is paramount to how we react to the words of Jesus… but we have to remember that all of our known theology was influenced by the culture of the day, namely the enlightenment, and then modernity.

Even Jesus’ teaching reflected a cultural understanding, or influence. So in that sense we must read the Scriptures with different lenses then our own. And in reading we begin to deconstruct (yes, Derrida), or better defined, we begin to look at the text through the cultural lenses of Jesus and his disciples.

The Enlightenment and Modernity brought with it a dualistic theology - separation of secular and sacred… But Jesus did not live in such a realm, he lived life in the grey, life between the ‘righteous’ and the ’sinner’, the clean and the unclean. In doing this he was always moving within culture(s), though not corrupted by them.

Emerging Christians are most definitely following culture, though not in the sense that you espouse. They are trying to take the message of the gospel, which is to love thy neighbor (enemy) as thyself, just as God has loved you and you love God.

When I was in grad school, we had a project consisting of cultural exegesis. Which basically was a project in observing a particular subculture, interviewing the participants, and constructing a plan to show them the Gospel message. In the 60 different papers that my classmates wrote, there were many different routes to sharing the gospel message of love. In this setting an emergent christian flourishes… looking for ways to integrate faith within the daily lives of non-believers.

Like it or not we live in a Postmodern world… a world vastly different than even 20 years ago. A world that communicates, disseminates, and circulates information in the blink of an eye (a shift in epistemology). In this flat world we cannot be stalwarts clinging on to the particular doctrinal pillars of our local church, rather we must cling on to the words of Christ and his commandments to Love one another, and in doing this we bring the Kingdom of God to the here and now… the perfect church is not something to look forward to, rather it is something to take part in. We are to be a light on a hill, salt to the earth, we are holy and righteously broken. And in this humble state we are to be the body of Christ, the incarnation of his will to the marginalized, the poor, and the fatherless.

This guy reminds me of my Dad’s story, and many others who in seeking out to incarnate the words of God are chastised and rebuked by the Churches they are in fellowship with… Trucker Frank’s full story is chronicled in Tony Jones’ new book, “The New Christians” of which I have been reviewing: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3(a), Chapter 3(b), Chapter 4(a)… Enjoy!

Chapter 4(a) - The Theology, Stupid

This chapter is thick… so I will be reviewing the first portion, in which Tony discusses his emergence into emergent thinking, and how for Emergents (contrary to popular belief) it is all about the theology, stupid!

So to begin with, Tony outlines his Dartmouth Days, where he was involved in Campus Crusade and their doctrine of salvation. He equates their eschatology as the major influence in their type of “efficiency evangelism.”¹ Their eschatology being that they believe that once the whole world has “heard” the gospel, Christ will come. Taken mainly from Matthew 24, where Jesus talks of the end of the age (24:1-34):

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come… Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place…”

These are just excerpts from Matthew 24… you can read them in context here.

Tony uses many logical, translational and theological arguments to show why this, eschatological inference, is taken out of context. And why this bad theology, led many ministries (not just Campus Crusade) to embark on efficient, multi-response, visual presentations of the gospel (Jesus Video, tracks, Bait-and-switch techniques). Some of the headliners in this movement include: Billy Graham, Joe White, FCA, International Missions Board and many other leaders and organizations.

It is not my contention, nor I think it is Tony’s to say these organizations, people, and the underlying theology is inherently evil or wrong… just broken… lacking the substance of the true Gospel message, mainly that repentance is not a one time act but rather a way of life, an continuous action.

Good theology begets beautiful Christianity.
and so follows that
Bad theology begets ugly Christianity.²

It is to say, that this theology makes God contingent on human behavior, which seems contrary to the Biblical narrative in which God acts rather independently, an action that makes him… well, makes him God. God’s independence is backed up by the next few verses in Matthew where Jesus says (24:35-42):

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity. - Albert Einstein

This line of questioning, brings many to accuse Tony of being divisive and arrogant, especially in the way he talks of the some of the actions by some patriarchs of the faith, namely Billy Graham. But in his defense it is not a personal attack, but a questioning of the methods of our faith and the foundations behind them.

Which leads to the next discussion of What, Exactly, is Theology? A subject I will broach later… you have enough to chew on here…. Bringing up Matthew 24, without going in-depth, is rather hard to do… so I will leave it to you to discover some of the differing opinions on this chapter, have fun…

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1. Efficiency Evangelism - style of proselytizing/evangelizing that leads a person to convey the salvation message, to as many people as they can without any regard to life change.  In this theology, God doesn’t say “all have to accept salvation”, rather all people groups just have to hear it be proclaimed or be given the opportunity to say a prayer.
2. The New Christians by Tony Jones, p. 103.

Chapter 3(b) - Call to Community

Dispatch 8 - Emergents find the biblical call to community more compelling than the democratic call to individual rights. The challenge lies in begin faithful to both ideals.¹

In this final segment of Chapter 3, Tony goes into some dialogue about emergent’s relationship to politics of the day. He begins with an introduction to the two-party system and its deficits, especially to emergent’s who seems to be unplottable along the two-party line, neither appearing predominantly left or right (or anywhere in-between).

He then brings up the notion of unalienable individual human rights, the foundation for liberal democracy, and the good that has come of this equitable system of government. He then addresses where this political/governmental view has influenced modern thought and driven many to include this type of thinking to consumerism and religion, specifically the reading of the Bible. The problem lies not in the concept of individual rights but in the misinterpretation that drives rampant consumerism (I have the right to own an iPod!) and misguided theological dogma.

The Bible does not exhort us to protect self, but instead to sacrifice the self.² And bring in the reality that both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Letters to the churches, were not written to the individual but to a community. I would challenge you to read the book of Ephesians in the context of a community rather than from the perspective of “me.”

Tony then introduces us to Stanley Hauerwas, a theologian whose work on pacifism has coined the term - a Hauerwasian position. Many Emergents seem stuck in a no-man’s land: on the one hand, they’re committed to a deep, political engagement in American society, but on the other hand, they vow not to be co-opted by a political party.³
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1. The New Christians by Tony Jones; p. 81
2. Ibid, p. 81
3. Ibid, p. 83

My thoughts:

Individualism, specifically in the reading of the Bible - ”This individualistic interpretation maybe the cornerstone for Christian apathy, anger and loneliness, when pushed to a self-serve Gospel, many become frustrated to the fact that they have no one to share it with.”

Political Action - “This is where Tony seems to come up short. I wish he would have delved into the social action side of the emergent movement (though he may do this later). But he takes an acedemic stance and just describes the overarching tendencies of thought, rather than specific examples… and he does not talk much more about the Hauerwasian position, leaving it up to the reader to research, for more info on Stanley Hauerwas click here and on others thoughts on him click here.

Community - “Again, Tony introduces the topic of community but does not go into a lot of detail on the implications of emergents in community (I think this is on purpose, in later chapters he introduces us to a few different emergent communities in case study form. It is important that emergents are classified as a community rather than a individually driven organization, as in discussion - one perspective is not discussion, it is lecture.”

I am enjoying this book, and am a few chapters ahead (in reading), so expect some more reviews forthcoming… enjoy the day!

The New Christians - Chapter 3: Who are the Emergent Christians

“This is about a complete shift in worldview, about the first major philosophical watershed in four or five centuries.”¹

Within this shift, the emergent’s are.

Defying classification, dodging doctrinal statements and some embracing the church others distancing themselves from it. It is in this emergent populace that Tony begins his discourse in trying to give some characteristics of the emerging crowd.

1. Disappointment with modern American Christianity - a response/rebellion to where they have come from, many answer curious questions with, ”Well, I know we’re not like…”
2. Desire for inclusion - lurk in the grey of the “certainties of evangelicalism and the openness of liberalism.”
3. Hope-filled orientation - they embrace a more hopeful eschatology, meaning that they focus on the Kingdom of God on Earth and move towards partnering with God’s work in the world.²

In culture of of culture? Are Emergents influencing the culture around them or are they influenced by the culture. A question that goes back to Paul and his dissertations on being in the world but not of the world.³

Dispatch 6 - Emergents see God’s activity in all aspects of culture and reject the sacred-secular divide.⁴

Tony’s strongest verbiage on this issue of culture, starts with ignorance; many don’t know what the definition of culture actually is… that “culture” is not some monolithic entity out there that Christians can either resist or acquiesce to…

If life is a messy field full of dirt and weeds and rocks an plants, culture is the chisel plough pulled behind the tractor that fashions the mess into an assemblage of rows so that we can make some sense of it.⁵

Emergents look for ways in which life intersects with God, a more active and engaging lifestyle, then sitting and waiting for God to interact with their life. Tony then goes on to talk on the ‘envelope of friendship’ that is missing from most theological discussions, and inter-religious debates. A great admonition to many of us who constantly fight the tide of fundamentalism, and want to encourage discussion without the accelerated heart rate of an argument.

Dispatch 7 - Emergents believe that an envelope of friendship and reconciliation must surround all debates about doctrine and dogma. ⁶

The last portion of the chapter deals with community, individualism, and politics… a topic I will tackle more in-depth later.

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1. TNC, p. 68
2. ibid, p. 70-72
3. Paul in Romans 12:2
4. TNC, p. 71
5. ibid, p. 76
6. ibid, p. 74

Dispatches from the Frontier of the American Church

If Chapter 1 was an introduction to all things emergent, than Chapter two begins the description of the emergent movement. A description that will not follow a normative account of who, what, when, where, and why? As the emergent crowd is “a tough group to pin down.”¹ Tony does a formidable job in defining and shaping our framing story as he introduces the Reformation, the Enlightenment, the Modern age and finally Postmodernism. A framing story that will help to shift the reader’s current paradigm from his/her T.R.E.E.² to a broader view of the forest. This dialogue will shake those who cannot see the forest for the trees.

Postmodernism - That which comes after, and in reaction to, the modern. Although the definition of the term varies widely from discipline to discipline, it often entails a revival of older styles and methods, and abandonment of sharp differences between fields of knowledge, and a flattening of former hierarchies.³

In getting us to see the bigger picture… Tony can then ascribe the problems of the church today as a mirror of the church during the Reformation. A church marred with bureaucracy, institutionalism and dogma… attributes that take away from the message of the gospel, primarily the affiliation with Christ and his teachings.

And with the church in disrepair and the added information age, many christians were confronted with radical pluralism… a condition that our parents were protected from with limited contact to other cultures and views.

Dispatch 3 - The gospel is like lava: no matter how much crust has formed over it, it will always find a weak point and burst through.⁴

A protection that the Internet has torn through and flooded our current social context, with the onset of globalization, postmodernity, and the beginnings of a very pluralistic society. Tony gives three choices for humanity: secularization, fundamentalism/ethnocentrism, and postmodernism.

Very cool thoughts, and more than I want to write about here… but suffice to say it brings to mind and explains a lot of our dissonance in our society, of fundamentalist christians, postmodern thinkers, and the constant flux of those who call themselves emergent.

Dispatch 4 - The emergent phenomenon began in the late 1990s when a group of Christian leaders began a conversation about how postmodernism was affecting the faith.⁵

My thoughts:
It is always good to contextualize the history of the postmodern/emergent movement, as I have been apprehensive to label myself as an “emergent blogger” for fear of aligning myself with heresy… but the more I become aware of the ideas and frustrations of those in the emergent movement the more I realize my heresy and my alignment with the movement. Much like Professor Scot McKnight of Jesus Creed, who never intentionally became an emergent spokesperson, but through his blogs about what he was teaching and thinking through, became a leader in the underground revolution. Tony notes the book, “A New Kind of Christian” by Brian McLaren was a rallying cry to many disenchanted or disillusioned evangelicals… and I can attest this is entirely true.

When I read the book in late 2003, it began a spiritual journey that carried me away from a stagnant ministry and a stale spirituality, into a more full relationship with God and others. It was, to me, a saving rope in a pit of despair, depression and despondency. In 2003, I was working a ministry that I could no longer stand, being measured in number of conversions and re-dedications, rather than in conversations and encouragements… I was speaking 3-4 times a week, to kids across Northeast Oklahoma, who didn’t “get it” and were filling their time with sports, alcohol, sex, and church. Saying a prayer whenever the speaker made them feel guilty, or saving their outward rebellion until their freshman year at University… where they could escape the judgmental glares of their youthworkers, teachers and parents.

For me it wasn’t working. And this book, allowed a spark of hope to bring me out of near agnosticism, into a a new world of intellectual thought, revolutionary action and a community of love. And now five years later, I sit, very much blessed and challenged to help a new generation move into a new christian movement, characterized not by church affiliation, but by community transformation.

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1. The New Christians by Tony Jones, p. 35
2. T.R.E.E. - your personal Tradition, Reason, Experience and Emotion, that dictates how you act, live, think and respond to life around you, especially in the context of religion/doctrine/theology
3. The New Christians by Tony Jones, p. 35
4. Ibid, p. 36.
5. Ibid, p. 41.

The New Christians: Dispatches From the Frontier of the American Church

In chapter one, Tony begins with a history lesson of sorts, taking us through some major themes in church history, including the emergence of fundamentalism, not just in Christianity but in all major religions of today… Tony also cites a movement towards religion, not secularism a trend opposed to many philosophers of the early twentieth century predicted the latter. It is with this intro that Tony begins to give some statistics derived from a Religion Survey conducted in 2006 by Baylor University, that 85% of Americans can tell you a church that they are affiliated with, that is a staggering 255 million Americans.¹ It is with this that Tony asserts that,

” In the twenty-first century, it’s not God who’s dead. It’s the church. Or at least conventional forms of the church.”²

He goes on to say,

The modern church - at least as it is characterized by imposing physical buildings, professional clergy, denominational bureaucracies, residential seminary training, and other trappings - was an endeavor by faithful men and women in their time and place, attempting to live into the biblical gospel. But the church was never the end, only the means. The desire of emergents is to live Christianity, to build something wonderful for the future on the legacy of the past.³

Using this thesis statement, Tony begins to deconstruct the arguments facing these “emergents,” identifying problems on the “right” and “left” that lead to an argument of infinite regression.

btw- thanks Tony for always adding to my vocabulary… (in his defense, he (or his editors) have done a great job of defining most of the “big churchy” words in the text).

This foundationalism is what defines the “right” and the “left” and is what most emergents are trying to steer clear of… hoping to live a more complex reality of a life in the grey.

Tony concludes with a nice dispatch from the blogosphere giving a shout-out to Anthony Smith of the blog, ”Musings of a Postmodern Negro”. Anthony is a great example of many of us emergent types grappling with the practical theology of our faith, in today, and among diverse people.

After reading the initial chapter, I have a few thoughts on the New Christians, Tony introduces… they are young, they are old, they are mainline, they are evangelical, they are intellectuals and they are practitioners. Emergents evade description, and deny stereotypes. They yearn for a new way of doing church, a new way of living life, not as religious practioners, but as incarnational communities. I am looking forward to the direction Tony will take us, and so far give the book a front pew, “Amen!” shout.

One critical review - in my edition there are some typo’s which I think can be blamed on publisher’s error, they are very obvious and at the beginning of a couple paragraphs, which couldn’t be in the original manuscript.

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1. Jones, Tony. “The New Christians: Dispatches From the Frontier of the American Church.” p. 3
2. ibid; p. 4
3. ibid; p. 4-5 (italics mine)

I just received, The New Christians, Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier a new book by Tony Jones. I am anxious to see where Tony takes us in his new book. I am sure of two things:

1. He will use a lot of big words, which means I will have to have my dashboard dictionary widget up and running.

2. He will be provocative (and probably heretical… but remember heresy is just contrary thinking to Orthodox belief… Galileo was a heretic until Orthodox belief changed it’s stance).

As many of you may know, this subject is of special interest to me because of my stance on the normal Sunday church experience, of which I usually skip out on and instead opt for a long bike ride, a camping trip, a fly-fishing trip, or just a relaxing (lazy) Sunday morning.

Adam Martin (a great friend of mine, who was not the originator of this quote) says that, “He would rather be fishing and thinking about God than sitting in a pew, thinking about fishing.” This from a Wrangler wearing Catholic who loves Jesus.

So in my anticipation, I have a few thoughts.

1. Yes, God works in all sorts of ways, using all sorts of people, circumstances, and things… but did he really intend for us to wake up on Sunday mornings, drive to a building, sing songs, greet one another, sit, listen, pray, and leave? I am not trying to be divisive, but kind of… Have we mistaken an emotional response to a church program as a “movement of God” in our lives?

2. If it is a movement of God, why the dissonance in attitudes and the apathy in response? As soon as the car exits the parking lot, the good feeling begins to wane and we are left with something much like an addicts response… when can I get that feeling again?

3. Why isn’t emotionally driven religion fulfilling? Why do I have to keep going back to church to bask in the presence of God? Why can’t God be with me all day, refilling my cup, guiding my steps and driving me to joy?

4. Re-reading the above is a bit depressing, as I don’t want to sound like Debby Downer… who constantly chides the church for being something it isn’t. Namely God. But I say all this because I have been part of a community that is the church, without the label of church. I’ve seen a body of believers rally around a cause, love people and affect change. I’ve witnessed the balance of the body of Christ, where one is weak another is strong. And the reason I get so damned incensed is because I know what many are missing out on… True fellowship is not potluck Sunday, but rather River Clean-up Saturday… that true fellowship happens around an action of love.

Ok, enough. Tony may not even delve into any of the topics I just ranted on… but the thoughts still ping-pong through my mind… I do not think I am bitter at the Church, though some have accused me of such. I am more frustrated than bitter… And I long for a change from the self-serving program to the self-sacrificing service.