Toward an Emergent Church Values Set II

Ecclesiological Diversity

As we move towards post-modernity's more-level playing field, all sorts of diversity is given a chance. Racial diversity; gender diversity; generational/age diversity; digital diversity (by that I mean the kind of diversity that arises when the Internet connections supercede nation-state boundaries); creative diversity; and others; Emergent Village adds the diversities of "class ... culture, and ministry setting." These all would apply in leadership as well as in the congregation makeup.

As the traditionally conservative "younger evangelicals" and "post-evangelicals" (whatever they are) begin to take compassion-cues from the traditionally liberal, mainline congregants (care for the fatherless and the widow; the poor; the prisoner; the downtrodden), and as po|mo folks move past the high-modern, polar dichotomy1 of liberal versus conservative, what emerges is an open door, a big tent, a church that is neither ethnocentrically defined (some might point to Orthodoxy's failings in this area), nor homogenous (evangelicals, take a bow). Erwin Raphael McManus' church is called mosaic for a reason. (consider reading "about mosaic" if you visit the link)

Radical Congruency, weblog of Justin Baeder and Aaron Ogle, adds to the mosaic metaphor:

To borrow an analogy from Beyond Foundationalism, you can replace a piece of a mosaic (the postmodern analogy for belief and understanding), and possibly even make it more beautiful, but if you start pulling blocks out of a Jenga tower (the foundationalist, modernist analogy for belief), you risk bringing down the whole edifice.

This may be one reason stained glass is increasingly interesting to younger evangelicals. Stained glass art can be made from other things that are broken, redeemed and put to new and better use. We have found this idea of beauty-from-diversity to be true in America, a nation of immigrants. We have found it to be true in politics, realizing that neither democrats nor republicans have a monopoly on good ideas for government. And we are finding it to be true in theology, realizing that no one has a monopoly on God.

Some aspects of diversity the emergent community seems to be ignoring: Urban v Rural. The Emergent Community is very wired (or wireless I should say), very urban, and ultra-modern in their gadgetry, dress, speech, and entertainment. Can the Emergent community find a way to embrace rural outworkings? Intellectual v. Non-intellectual. Same song, second verse.

disclaimer: the 'emergent conversation' is still being discussed largely by a caucasian, western, male audience. this points to its origins, not to its ends. the emergent convention, for example, aims for a pure 50/50 ratio of men and women presenters and leaders in 2005, and its 2004 conventions showed a much browner group up on stage, if not in its attendees. baby steps.

more on this topic soon, i'm sure.

1. see Beyond Liberalism and Fundamentalism: How Modern and Postmodern Philosophy Set the Theological Agenda by Nancey Murphy for example...

Comments

[Steve]

Hey Paul-

Good points. I am a rural pastor in Colorado and I have found that the emerging church conversation is not even on the radar of most people out here. Not even the pastors! In many respects the pastors are early to mid-seventies in their outlook (i.e. the ideas and programs they espouse were popular when I was a kid!). I have found that change is greatly resisted even among the "natives". I don't think the postmoderns (natives) are really all that postmodern here yet!

Thanks for pointing out the lack of rural voices in this conversation! I just don't think it's going to change anytime soon.