‘Emerging church’ is a term that is currently in vogue in the developed, western world. It is a broad term covering a wide variety of beliefs and practices but it is at its heart a movement of reform within the church. As with any reform movement within any organisation no one knows where it will all end up or how much reform will really take place. Those who find themselves walking with this movement often appear theologically rudderless and, therefore, lacking in direction. All they feel is that something is wrong with where the church has landed in the beginning of the 21st century and that change is needed.

One man's journey
One theologian who has been at the heart of the movement for many years is Brian McLaren. In his many published books he has offered a critique of church and conservative Christian faith but has also offered some ideas as how reform should take shape and what the faith could look like in a new era.

McLaren grew up within a conservative evangelical home in the US and in this respect he mirrors the journey many emergents are on – a shift away from the tradition they were a part of. He became an English teacher and only later did he become a full time pastor as the discussion group he began in his home grew into a church.

Theological doubts
That church was within the conservative stream of Christianity but McLaren began to feel that many of the stock answers he was providing his congregation were not scratching the itch presented and he himself began to have doubts about much of what he believed. He says, however, that even though major theological doubts crept into his mind, his spirituality remained ‘intact’ as he found that faith is deeper than any belief system. As well as facing his own theological crisis he was also becoming ever more uncomfortable with the stance of conservative Christians in the US on a number of social issues.

As he began to write about his experience and his search for a faith that made sense in a post-modern world he found that many others were asking the same questions and coming to similar conclusions. It is this movement that has become known as ‘the great emergence’.

A New Kind of Christianity
One of McLaren’s more recent books is A New Kind of Christianity: Ten questions that are transforming the faith (2010) and in a series of posts over the next few weeks I want to share some of his ideas with you. In the book he discusses issues like human sexuality, a God of violence, and Jesus and the Kingdom. His radical views are without doubt rocking the established conservative church but many would say that they offer a refreshing alternative that is worth exploring.

To what extent does McLaren’s journey mirror your own?


Share