Tag: emergent

Top emergent books

Tall Skinny Kiwi shared his top 5 emergent books for American readers back in June on his blog (just saw the post :-().

Here’s his top 5 (plus a few others) ::
1. Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures, by Ryan Bolger and Eddie Gibbs.
2. The New Conspirators, Creating the Future One Mustard Seed at a Time, by Tom Sine.
3. The Emerging Church, by Dan Kimball.
4. The Church on the Other Side, by Brian McLaren.

Runners-up for 5th:
The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier, by Tony Jones.

Revolution, by George Barna.
The Irresistible Revolution, by Shane Claibourne.
The Great Emergence, by Phyllis Tickle.
The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community.
Also: Rising From the Ashes: Rethinking Church, by Becky Garrison.

Worth a mention: It might be almost 40 years old but “The Emerging Church” by Bruce Larson and Ralph Osborne (1970).

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To be honest, as someone who was called an “emergent sympathizer” today I haven’t read any of these books — yet. I actually ordered two of them earlier today and hope to read them soon – that is if a couple others I’m expecting don’t reach my mail box first.

The books I’ve read and recommend as part of the “emergent movement” and or just faith in general are (in no particular order):

Everything Must Change by Brian McLaren. Probably one of the first “real emergent” books I read and one that had a great impact on my thinking and understanding.
Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne. Another great book that talks more about the history of kings, empires and the role of God-followers along the way.
A Christianity Worth Believing by Doug Pagitt. This book has left me asking a lot of questions. It’s not one I’ve recommended to a lot of people just for that reason but I thoroughly enjoyed the read.
A Peculiar People by Rodney Clapp. I don’t know that Rodney Clapp considers himself emergent by any means but his ideas really came to life after reading many of these other books before hand.

btw – if Mr. Tall Skinny Kiwi happens upon this blog post – we’d love to have you join us for an episode of the something beautiful podcast. tell us when and we’ll take care of the rest. 🙂

related ::
tall skinny kiwi ::emerging church: top 5 books for american reporters
something beautiful podcast

Finding where God is at

“For too long we have gone out into the world to tell people what we think they ought to know rather than seeking to discover what they are interested in and where they are looking for answers. This is reminiscent of Paul’s encounter in Athens, a city devoted to questions of ultimate meaning, a place so intent on religious propriety that it erected an altar to an unknown god, just in case. Paul began with what they had and built from there.
His declaration that “God is not far from any one of us” is a profound missional lesson for us all; we don’t have to take God anywhere, we just have to discover where he is already at work.”
– Barry Taylor
from an Emergent Manifesto of Hope.

Related ::
emergent manifesto of hope – free e-preview
SSL :: bono at the naacp

something beautiful :: 1.1 :: ((deep))

The latest something beautiful podcast is up online now!

Thomas and I spend some time catching up and talking about a new emergent gathering he’s hoping to get involved in near his home in Scotland.

We also hear from Thomas’ friends Dan and Laura who share their thoughts on Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?” (starts about 20 min in)

Looking forward to doing more of these. Maybe this will become the radio show I keep dreaming of hosting and producing. We’ll see.

Check out the show and share your thoughts and comments: www.somethingbeautifulpodcast.com

Why Al Qaeda Supports the Emergent Church

I’m sure many of my friends will get a laugh out of this one. KKLA Radio Host Frank Pastore has written a recent article that theorizes that Al Qaeda actually supports the Emergent Church.

He says the Emergent church is weak and is actually creating weak Christians who don’t want to fight.

I think he’s out in left field on this one but if he really wanted to strengthen his article, he would have called it, Why the Emmergent Church supports Al Qaeda.

The emergent church is an ally in the war against radical Islam–al Qaeda’s ally. Not in the sense they are supplying bullets and bombs to Osama, of course, but in the sense they are weakening our conviction to fight.

If those in the emergent “we’re-a-missional-not-an-institutional” church had their way, American church buildings would be just like European church buildings – empty. And the church, the people themselves, would be so intellectually, morally, emotionally, and spiritually lost, confused and uncertain, that they would be incapable of doing hardly anything more than inviting their Muslim oppressors in for a cappuccino and a good conversation about the sociology of knowledge, the absurdity of propositional truth, and the misplaced certitude of the Muslim metanarrative. All the while, no doubt, nodding in agreement that America probably deserved to die and mumbling something about carbon footprints.

I personally think Pastore is a little to hung up on his American patriotism and the idea that only conservative, evangelical Christian Americans can save the world from Al Qaeda.

Only the United States, and more specifically, only the conservative, evangelical Christians of America are who stand between radical Islam and their quest for global domination.

It’s too bad that other people aren’t concerned about the safety of their of country like conservative, evangelical American Christians (lets just call them CEACs). I guess that’s why Britain has sent so many soldiers to Iraq and why other countries have sent their own soldiers to die in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If the world is to be saved from Muslim conquest, it will be America who does it. And if America is to be saved, only conservatism can do it. And if conservatism is to be saved, it will be those Bible-believing patriots who do it–those conservative, evangelical Christians who are the bedrock of the American way of life.

Why? Because only Christianity has the intellectual and spiritual horsepower to defeat radical Islam and prevent the world from returning to the darkness of the 7th century.

It would also appear that Pastore is of the belief that CEACs should be an exclusive club. Only for the elite and those who believe exactly as we do.

Bottom line, it’s feelings over thoughts, the heart over the head, experience over truth, deeds over creeds, narratives over propositions, the corporate over the individualistic, being inclusive rather than exclusive, with none of that offensive “in versus out” language, such as those who are “saved” and those who are “not saved,” or even the most divisive of all referents–“Christian” and “non-Christian.”

The emergent church and its allies on the religious left are to Christianity what termites are to wood. They devour it from the inside out, little bit by little bit, and you don’t notice it until it’s too late–unless you look for the droppings.

Maybe he missed the scripture that reminds us in Psalms 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.”

That’s too bad. Good thing God’s a very inclusive God to make up for all the CECAs who aren’t.

Granted I’m sure that will open up a can of worms right there. I’m not saying anyone and everyone is a Christian – I’m saying that I believe that we as Christians should be inclusive of the poor, the downtrodden, the sick and the needy. We should love our neighbor and brothers. We should allow them to join us in our search for God – not shun them because they believe something different than us or come from another background, culture, country or faith.

What are your thoughts?

Read the full article here