Emerging Church vs Emerged Church
Spent some time today looking through some of the so called emerging church blogs. There are some good people out there but on the whole it was a bit disappointing. Some of them seemed to be caught in a bit of a time warp. I think that from now on I will refer to stuff that we are doing as the emerged church. So how can the emerging church catch up with the emerged church. Here are Donovan the man's rules.
1) Pop Culture and celebrity culture.
Noticed lots of talk on the Emerging Church blogs regarding pop culture and celebrity etc, but i had to really ask how many of these people are actually having influence within celebrity culture. At least on this account we are miles ahead with our whole diamond dogs project.
2) Good bye Community
Seems like some of the bloggers are still persisting with the emerging church paradigm of starting communities. Hello! real time communities are a thing of the past. i know its hard but we need to embrace the virtual world. It also makes life a lot easier, you know what I am talking about hey pastors ;-) Real Time communities tie us down and limit options for teaching.
3) Vocation, Vocation, Vocation!
Had a bit of a heated discussion with an old school missionary on this one who was very big on the whole you have to be a practionors to be able to speak into the Emerging church. Come on dude that is so pre 21c. The three vocations for the emerged church missionary, is TRAVELLING, USING TECHNOLOGY, CREATING AND FINDING GOD IN COOL EXPERIENCES. Nuff Said!
4) Who do you go to?
There are a lot of missionaries spending time in traditional cultures with people who are poor, let em do it! The missionary of the 21st century will spend their time with the people who are creating the new global culture, whatever you wanna call em, cultural creatives, the new global elite, even just the cool people, these are the people who are setting the temperature world wide!
Word!
1) Pop Culture and celebrity culture.
Noticed lots of talk on the Emerging Church blogs regarding pop culture and celebrity etc, but i had to really ask how many of these people are actually having influence within celebrity culture. At least on this account we are miles ahead with our whole diamond dogs project.
2) Good bye Community
Seems like some of the bloggers are still persisting with the emerging church paradigm of starting communities. Hello! real time communities are a thing of the past. i know its hard but we need to embrace the virtual world. It also makes life a lot easier, you know what I am talking about hey pastors ;-) Real Time communities tie us down and limit options for teaching.
3) Vocation, Vocation, Vocation!
Had a bit of a heated discussion with an old school missionary on this one who was very big on the whole you have to be a practionors to be able to speak into the Emerging church. Come on dude that is so pre 21c. The three vocations for the emerged church missionary, is TRAVELLING, USING TECHNOLOGY, CREATING AND FINDING GOD IN COOL EXPERIENCES. Nuff Said!
4) Who do you go to?
There are a lot of missionaries spending time in traditional cultures with people who are poor, let em do it! The missionary of the 21st century will spend their time with the people who are creating the new global culture, whatever you wanna call em, cultural creatives, the new global elite, even just the cool people, these are the people who are setting the temperature world wide!
Word!
posted by Donovan St Claire at 5:27 PM
9 Comments:
Dude I'm sorry but your use of the term emerged church makes you sound very much like you've got the answers, have arrived and are no longer on the journey-which doesn't at all sound like the journey of faith we're all on as I understand it.
You're probably doing great stuff in your context, but just be careful you don't come across as knowing it all-Jesus certainly didn't like the religious leaders of his time who did.
would be great to know who you really are ;-) thanks for dropping by my site...
this resonates with me greatly. this is not like anything i have heard before but i must say - i like it.
like yourself (i am assuming here) i have also achieved great success financialy - i make alot of cash (there i said it). Incidentaly, so do, with the exclusion of my family, all the people around me. Here in lies the problem. I keep hearing about this missional approach and reaching the people around you. Well, this seems to be without the rich and powerful in mind. I was involved once in a group (we didn't use the word church but i guess that was what it was) but i just didnt fit in. It wasn't that i didnt like the guys and gals in the group but we just had nothing in common. I drive a merc, they drove jap cars - we didnt like to eat in the part of town - i like nice shoes, and some o f this crew didn't even wear shoes! So in the end i just ended up feeling guilty all the time and had to move on. But...... to what? So far i have found nothing that really seems worthwhile investing my time into. I mean, i have to get something out of it personally in order to keep motivated in the work of the big G upstairs. I know we need to have other believers around us but i think its time for the majority to take a look around and start patticipating in the world that is and not the world that was. If jesus isn't doesnt isnt seen as cool, who will buy it? Sounds harsh but i think its the truth. Hence my attraction to this blog.
I gotta bust out now but i will be back again. Keep up the good work D!
J.T
I have made no cash like the first guy, and I am a practicioner, ie. pastor. Is that a bad word? I dont' think so. But I like your list. I like it. No need to water it down like the 1st guy may be suggesting, by talking about 'being on the journey'. Some people are on the journey but can still speak clearly and challenge the 'emergent stats quo'...amazing there is already such a thing! But it's true. Good stuff. So what are you doing that's like this?
I don't know much about emerg??? church. I agree about change in how we do church. I try to keep to the Go! commission - Mat 28. And I acknowledge that church has become the end in itself instead of the means to an end! I'm new at blogging, but I've you listed. Seems you may help channeling my thoughts. Caring about people and the things they care about, I've started connectonline.blogspot.com. Please check it out and comment.
Thanks Peet I'll check out your blog as well.
Donovan
(funny how one commenter wanted to know who you are, but signed on as "anonymous"!)
hey, yeah, with ya on the church / community in real time being limiting and tying people down; some of it good, some of it not so much; which online communities do you connect up with & hang out at? what have you found helpful in sustaining virtual relationships and communities where many people can only stop by irregularly?
hey djchuang
thanks for your comments. Yes I guess I did find it weird that someone wanted to know who I was but posted anon. I guess I was a bit vague I did not understand what they were really getting at. What do they mean who am I. My profile is there for anyone to check out. Anyway I haven't subscribed to any particular web community - emailing, chat rooms, blogs etc are all good ways to keep in touch and develop a sense of community. Many people are far more intimate over the internet. Peace. Donovan SC
umm... i dont get it...
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