Comment by Milly

July 28, 2008 @ 6:36 pm

I wish I could be in Nashville to hang with ya. Then again I’d be missing out on the heat and work in Oklahoma. Live’n the dream!

Comment by Kathy

July 28, 2008 @ 10:10 pm

Sounds fun & interesting!

Comment by Brian

July 29, 2008 @ 11:48 am

Wish you guys could have come along as well. It was definitely interesting. And entertaining as well. They played the turn-of-the-century evangelist bit quite well. Healing balms, gospel calls, etc. Of course, it was somewhat of a caricature but everyone(including them) knew that.

For the serious parts, they came out of character. I didn’t realize this going into it, but part of the point of this whole “roadshow” was a book tour. They took turns reading selections from their books and related personal stories of how they had moved from more traditional church settings to the Emergent camp.

A common theme seems to be disillusionment brought on by a bad experience with evangelicalism which pushed them to eventually form what we now know as “Emergent”. The thing is, I sympathize with a lot of their complaints. But I just get the feeling that they’ve reacted too far in the other direction. I heard a lot of talk about social justice and caring for the downtrodden. I can’t fault them for that but I also got the impression that this was more important than doctrine.

They’re right that a poor family in Flint doesn’t give a crap about the neo-orthodox movement. But the thing is, your doctrine will inform how you interact with these people. And if doctrine starts to slip then it seems to me that your reason for caring about them will slip as well.

Disclaimer - These are all initial thoughts since I honestly don’t know a lot about these guys.

Comment by Milly

July 29, 2008 @ 3:21 pm

I think the trend is to put doctrine on the shelf in order to draw more in. It seems to be a dangerous road. Those in need also need the word.

Sounded interesting.

Comment by Kathy

July 29, 2008 @ 3:22 pm

Sounds very thought provoking, Brian. I imagine what you’re saying is a true critique.

Perhaps as time goes by they’ll notice that they threw a little much out with the bathwater.

Comment by Rusty

August 12, 2008 @ 8:14 am

You might want to check out the book Why We’re Not Emergent. I haven’t read it myself, but I did listen to an interview with the authors done on Stand To Reason’s radio show. Pretty interesting perspective they have.

Comment by Brian

August 12, 2008 @ 11:49 am

Thanks for the heads up Rusty. I remember seeing a review of this book somewhere and forgot to put it on my “want to buy” list. Unfortunately, that list is getting pretty long…

Comment by Rusty

August 12, 2008 @ 11:43 pm

Here are links to a couple of posts I wrote which touched on the emergent phenomenon. One references a video done by Solomon’s Porch (Pagitt) and the other references a radio interview (Ray Comfort) that Pagitt gave. Here’s an excerpt from the interview (although you should listen to the entire thing - linked to at my post). Also, read LotharBot’s comment on my second link.

RC: Do you think that there’s an eternal damnation for people who are not Christians?

DP: Yeah, well I think that there’s all kinds of - I mean that - damnation would sort of be that there’s parts of life and creation that seem to be counter to what God is doing. And those are the things that are eliminated and removed and done away with. And so I think that’s what damnation is. And so those people who want to live out that kind of - or have that good judgment - the judgment of God in that life - I mean you know judgment in a Biblical [crosstalk]

RC: …Doug? Hold on… Doug? [crosstalk]

DP: …that God remakes the world… [crosstalk]

RC: Doug? Hold on a second. I have no idea what you just said.

Comment by Brian

August 13, 2008 @ 9:40 am

Thanks for the links, Rusty. I remember reading those posts now that you mention them.

For those who make the emerging/emergent distinction, I put Pagitt, Jones, and the like firmly on the emergent side. Which, to me, means further away from historical orthodoxy. Now I could be wrong about that, but that’s my impression right now. Others in the emerging camp(like maybe Don Miller or Dan Kimball) while I may not agree with them, seem to more orthodox in their views.