My View of the Emergent Church

When taking up a subject such as the Emergent Church (EC) movement, great care is needed. By now, most reasonably informed Christians have heard of the EC phenomenon within evangelicalism. It's been written about and discussed widely, and some even think it's on the wane. I personally think it will just morph into a new form, but that's another subject.

Few subjects in recent years have excited as much controversy, or dare I say, conversation. I personally have some key theological, biblical and doctrinal concerns about this movement that dislikes being called a movement. Other Christian leaders and theologians have expressed concerns both in print and the blogosphere. I hope to reinforce concerns that have been expressed, as well as make it clear to the proponents of EC (on the extreme end) that these concerns are not going to go away despite a concerted effort to squelch criticism.

To their credit, some EC supporters, pastors and authors have appeared to take the concerns raised very seriously and have called their followers not to abandon biblical doctrine in a well-intentioned effort to reach postmoderns for Christ. Sadly, others have been disdainfully dismissive of any criticism. Some ignore it outright while others respond in answering questions in a purposefully vague, imprecise fashion. To the committed postmodern, this is the standard MO.

The first thing I want to do is highlight some "givens." The EC is NOT monolithic. They do not all agree on every plank given in related authors' books, church programs etc. There are those that lean toward the conservative end of theology, while others such as Brian McLaren are on the other end. In fact, some theologians I respect highly have called McLaren an outright heretic. Frequently, those in the EC often rightly identify problems within evangelicalism that need to be addressed, then proceed to take the wrong approach to deal with these problems. While much of their language is couched in "niceness" - if you read between the lines, the things they say about evangelicalism and evangelicals are little short of a kick in the groin. One example..the call to "authentic" worship. Am I to assume from this that my worship, and that of other evangelicals, is NOT authentic? Some EC authors confuse the issue of "proof texting." This is a common tactic cults such as the Jehovah's Witnesses use, taking Bible verses out of context to "prove" one of their doctrinal aberrations. This is a FAR cry from citing biblical authority on core doctrine and orthopraxis. I remember reading somewhere that some EC authors/pastors say they get nauseated when someone quotes the Bible to them. Hmmm. I imagine Satan got a little queasy when Jesus kept saying "It is written" to Ol' Slewfoot's temptations. Think about it.

The following are eight key areas where I think the extremes of the EC have problems, protest though they may. I wish to commend my colleague and fellow Evangelical Free Church member Rev. Joe Whitchurch for reminding me of the eighth area after I had come up with my original list of seven. Phil Johnson of Grace to You has done excellent work in evaluating this subject, and I have drawn from his material along with my own thoughts. Anyway, here are the problematic areas:

1. A Low View of Epistemology

2. A Low View of Scripture and Scriptural authority

3. A Low View of the Reformation

4. A Low View of the Doctrines of Grace

5. A Low View of Eschatology

6. A Low or Distorted View of Apologetics

7. A Low View of the Biblical Gospel

8. A Low View of Biblical Ecclesiology

One note of caution. I do not accept the insistence of some in the EC that one must follow Matthew 18 in dealing with them, especially with those whose writings and electronic communications are widely disseminated. They seem to think that one must visit each EC service, talk to each EC author ad infinitum (and ad nauseum) before you dare comment on the subject. Ridiculous, of course. If they can't defend their writings and public teachings to criticism, then they had best not publish. Public error must be corrected publicly, as the Apostle Paul did with the Apostle Peter. Matthew 18 does not apply in this situation as we are not dealing with personal offenses or sins. It's doctrine, doctrine, doctrine!