The Berlin Wall and the Emerging Church

At 2:20 p.m. at the Brandenburg Gate, in West Berlin, Germany, President Ronald Reagan gave 2,703 word speech where these now famous words were spoken

"General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate…Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

The Berlin Wall which divided the city of Berlin and the nation of Germany into two parts became a symbol dividing the two ideologies of Communism and democracy

The wall was pulled down in 1989 and brought about a unified Germany. But more importantly the crumbling of the Wall heralded the end of the Cold War and the dismantling of the Communist Bloc.

From my vantage point the Emergent or Emerging leaders are calling for the same thing.Whether behind pulpits, or in class rooms they are demanding theological monoliths, well as definitions of Church, and what it means to be a Christian to be torn down and Christianity restructured to met the demands and reflect the values of a new culture.

The lines that once defined Church and disciples of Christ are being erased and redrawn. For instance, some gatherings, or church meetings, are held in a bar or a pub, rather than a church building. If they still gather in a church building, the meeting place is referred to as the "worship space" not the sanctuary. And believers are not known as Christians but "Christ followers".The work of taking the gospel to the world is called "missional" not "evangelism" and is more about making disciples and being like Jesus to outsiders than large gatherings where converts are made.

The more radical Emergent arm of the new believer is calling for an end to the war in Iraq and Social activism. The Emerging arm is also calling for an end to war, but is more conservative theologically holding more closely the essentials of faith.

One pastor I know, Has services in a local bar. In just six months he has gone from 40 to 400 people. He sometimes arranges the chairs in the form of a cross. They have wanted to open the bar before or after services but are prohibited because minors attend services.

The pastor likes a good beer and uses words in his sermons that were taboo in previous generations. One sermon title even has the word Sh*t in it.

How are we to understand this shift and what should be our response?

First off, like it or not, culture is changing and so is the understanding of “the church”. While I don't wear the title of Emergent or Emerging I for one embrace the current notion that church is something we “do” rather that something we go to.

According to Ephesians 4:12 the purpose of the “gathering” saints is to equip them for the work of the ministry. Unfortunately, church has become a spectator sport where the work of the ministry is done by the paid staff and clergy. People speak confidently about what their church is doing, when in reality “the church” is sitting on it’s butt. There is no such thing as vicarious church.

I too enjoy the current interest in putting shoe leather to faith and “the church” doing it’s part to feed the homeless, take care of widows and orphans. In fact James 1:27 says “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world James talks about pure religion.”

Opponents of the Emerging or Emergent movement are concerned that the basic gospel message of salvation through Christ is being lost in social activism. Granted, we must be careful the the message of Salvation not be buried in social activism, but doing nothing to help the poor and the weak is a crime Jesus condemned in Matthew 25 and illustrated in the story of the Good Samaritan . In Matthew 25, good religious pew sitting people are rebuked for not caring for the poor, and in the story of the Good Samaritan, a Levite and a priest, were too busy doing “church” to stop and care for the man beaten and left in a ditch.

Mark Driscoll is called the cussing pastor. I don’t know what type of language he uses. And while I am not comfortable sprinkling my sermons with a few cuss words, I can say that words and meanings are changing along with the culture. It used to be that “gay” was a term used to describe a joyous attitude of the heart, not a lifestyle choice. Certain words once taboo are becoming a part of every day language and are seen as expressive by the current culture.

Now I am not advocating we pastors start cussing, or we meet in bars but I am saying we should at least examine how we do church, what defines a Christian, and what theological issues we can leave alone.

I am a part of a blog community (love you guys!) where the issue of Calvinism vs Arminianism, or Eschatology (End times stuff) often comes up. When ever it does, the fur flies, blood pressures rises and insinuations made. I believe these are important issues, but the debates have raged for hundreds of years and a resolution is no closer now in 2007 than it was in 1507!

Can’t we just admit that there are some issues that can’t be resolved and live with the tension? That’s one of the things I appreciate about the Emerging folks. They don’t expect their theology to be all neatly packed away and tidy. They are OK with the gray areas theologically where many American evangelicals are uneasy with anything not linearly laid out. Can’t we just love the Lordf with our whole hearts and accept that we see through a glass dimly now, but will understand and know at a future time?

I like too that the current trend toward authenticity although I wonder if Mosaics and Busters (those under 30 years of age) are truly honest. Most in the under 30 group are overly attached and influenced by “the tribe” or their friends. I don’t know how authentic one can be with that type of influence.

I think too that the present movement is recapturing the essence of the gospel. For years the gospel message has been “Get saved and avoid the fires of hell”. While hell is a real place and we should avoid it, Christ came to restore humanity to the father in the present and in the future (eternally). Through Christ we become whole people making us effective and productive NOW…While eternity is a matter we must all address, a relationship with Christ is way more than just sitting around waiting to die. We enjoy eternal life now through Christ and that continues on into eternity!

I like the rocks being thrown into the normally peaceful ecclesiological pool. I think thought in this area is necessary because, culture is changing and the way we’ve done church is not always the best way. To me it isn’t the Emerging or Emergent church but the church in Emerging culture

To that end, one thing I cannot deviate from is scriptures. I tend to be conservative on this. This is where I part company with Brian Maclaren and the Emergent Village. What is written and intended by the writers of the bible cannot be changed or to fit into or reflect the culture. It doesn’t work that way. Culture doesn’t shape scripture; scripture shapes culture. Let’s look at values, ecclesiology, the definition of a Christian and what church can look like –tear down those wall and make way for a new way but don’t mess with the authority of scripture!