Emerging church deconstructed?

Much has been made of the emerging church movement within theological circles over the past few years. It's quite possibly the single most misunderstood stream of thought within, and without, the evangelical realm. I have often found myself wavering between simple sympathy and downright affiliation with the emerging church. I find it to be dead on in some of its assumptions about "church" and how our faith should be practiced. At the same time, however, I find myself strongly at odds with the teaching of some of the more prominent persona's within the emerging stream (i.e. Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, etc.). That said, Dr. Scot McKnight who authored The Jesus Creed among other things, has authored a well written piece that sums up nicely much of who the emerging church is and is rightly critical at more than one point. I find myself shaking my head in agreement with almost his entire article. I see myself in his points.

There are a number of things I think are particularly strong points he makes. I very much like his explanation of a holistic approach to missional living. His definition of redemption being more then just spiritual rings true in my mind. His later emphasis on evangelism also provides a needed balance to simply "living right." His further explanation of Post-systematic theology is the best description of where I find myself that I've found in print yet. His statement concerning theology, "This is what I believe, but I could be wrong. What do you think? Let's talk." is right on. I am thankful for his willingness to criticize his emerging church peers in his description of "In vs. Out" It is much needed, and much appreciated.

All in all I highly commend this article to you. It is a tremendous way to both understand the emerging church among emerging generations as well as to help move many of us to a more culturally appropriate methodology when it comes to addressing today's social and cultural climate from a biblical perspective.

You can read the article here.