I read an interesting post tonight over at Tim Challies place . It had to do with the “Emerging” church under the title “You Might Be Emergent If…” It’s a tongue-in-cheek look at a phenomenon that will not go away. And it probably shouldn’t go away. It’s making the church sit up and fix things that are not right.
For those of you that don’t know, I thought I’d define the Emerging church. Then I thought better of it, because I’m not really sure what it is! It seems to change quite frequently. I do know that there are things that I identify with coming from it (such as a concern for social issues like poverty and AIDS), but there are things I don’t agree with (a thought that truth can’t really be known). There is also a reaching back to the Church’s past that really resounds with me, while also embracing the present. That, I believe is a good thing.
As I read the post I linked above, I realized that I have a lot of things in common with the Emerging church. For example, I love U2 and Johnny Cash! And I use a Mac and not a…gulp…PC. Oh, and I love Starbucks. But seriously, I love the fact that people are questioning the idea that you have to vote Republican to be a Christian, or that there may be issues just as vital as abortion on which to decide your vote. And in questioning the way we “do church”, they are calling us back to our own beginnings, to the Reformation and beyond, all the way back to Acts, and causing us to define what and why we believe as we do. Those are, most definitely, good things.
However, on one great and foundational issue I diverge greatly from the Emergent church: I believe wholeheartedly that the Bible is the Word of God, inerrant and True. I believe it is the rule of Faith and the Way in which the Lord most clearly speaks to His children. It has been preserved through the centuries, and is as relevant today as 2000 years ago. I believe that Jesus’ claim to be “The Way, the Truth, and the Life” enables us to know the Truth clearly and without doubt. I believe in Him, and His Truth, and that lining my life up with Him is the only way to truly live. On that, I will not waver. Only in Christ Jesus can Truth be found.
The Wading Pool 