Emerging

Posted on January 27th, 2009 in emerging church.

Definition

The process of rethinking what it means to be the church today.

Common Use

The term emerging is commonly used to self-identify by those who are experimenting with worship, exploring what it means to live missionally, and deconstructing traditions and theology.

Common Misuse

Same as emergent. Same as missional.
Youth ministry. Contemporary worship with candles.
Dangerous. Heresy.

Helpful Reading

My Thoughts

I have said before that  I feel that the term emerging should describe a process and not name a form of church.  I continue to be interested in the church that is becoming, but not so much The Emerging Church, if that makes sense.  I believe with all my heart there is a church that is emerging, but it is not necessarily The Emerging Church.

Personally, I see the emerging trend as a response by the church to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to continue to change, to be flexible to adapt and follow the work of the Spirit in our world today. As the bride, the church is becoming, we are being made ready. I think the attitude of being malleable and submitted is important as we realize the ongoing work of transformation needed in the church in order to reflect the nature of the kingdom of God.

What does emerging mean to you?

 

3 replies

  1. Bob Lee (blog author) says:

    Added on January 27th, 2009 at 8:47 am

    “emerging” is a good place to start. Donning my outsiders hat, the difficulties with the word arise from the fact that this community wants to use the word differently than it is used in other contexts. This creates a conceptual barrier to newcomers since they cannot intuit its meaning. Compare your definition with “emerging nations,” “emerging industry,” or “emerging technology” and you can see what I am getting at. You want it to be process while the common usage (even the common usage that you list) is closer to product.

    OK, enough complaining. What to do about it? I’m not sure the situation is fixable, but here it goes:

    option 1-Keep the definition,fix the usage: If you want it to be a process, then we have to stop using it as “the emerging church” and instead, use it like you would “rethinking” or “reconsidering” as these are processes. “The rethinking church” sounds very strange but “The rethinking of church” or “rethinking church” work. Thus, the titles above could be “Five streams of emerging church” and “My thoughts on the emerging of church”

    option 2-change the definition: Move it from “process” to “product” by making it the result of rethinking, that is “rethought,” “reinvisaged,” or “reconsidered.” Usage moves to “The church emerging” which sounds much less like a power grab by a new denomination than “The emerging church.” Thus, the titles above could be “Five streams of the church emerging today” and “My thoughts on the new church emerging”

    I like #2 better. The definition could be:

    A reconceptualization of church today.

  2. Grace (blog author) says:

    Added on January 27th, 2009 at 3:47 pm

    Great thoughts Bob. I am not sure if I would be considered an insider or outsider.

    Actually, within the conversation, emerging church is frequently used. Moving toward the idea of process is my personal preference. It seems to circumvent the frustration caused by the lack of concrete and concise definition about what constitutes an emerging church.

    It seems that as a product, “the emerging church” is undefinable. Because it is decentralized and grassroots, there is not a common statement identifying the boundaries of what is or is not emerging church.

    While it is mostly used to refer to those who are rethinking church at this time, hasn’t the church always been emerging? By referring to the process, the word carries a certain timelessness rather than describing a passing trend or fad.

    I like your final sentence as a definition.

  3. Peggy Brown (blog author) says:

    Added on January 29th, 2009 at 12:39 pm

    Thanks for starting this blog, Grace!

    I agree with the final sentence definition in Bob’s comment, as well. And it, by definition (no pun intended ;^) ), requires that it be a process — since the reconceptualization of the church is an on-going exercise.

    Have you linked this blog up in the Tribal Wisdom? Haven’t looked for it yet….

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