The Emerging Church 

Relevant topics: The Purpose-Driven Church

The Postmodern Church | The Changing Church | Purpose-Driven Church

and Popular Occultism (includes The Shack and "New Spirituality")

Articles: Who defines the Kingdom of God? | The Dopamine-Driven Church

 Emerging "Christianity" - Part 1 |  Part 2: From Gnostic Roots to Occult Revival

 

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Definition: (Encyclopedia): "a label that has been used to refer to a particular subset of Christians who are rethinking Christianity against the backdrop of Postmodernism.... Emerging Church groups have typically contained some or all of the following elements:

Peter Drucker: "Every few hundred years in Western history there occurs a sharp transformation.... Within a few short decades, society rearranges itself -- it's worldview; its basic values: its social and political structures; its arts; its key institutions. Fifty years later, there is a new world. And the people born then cannot even imagine the world in which their grandparents lived.... We are currently living through just such a transformation. It is creating the post-capitalist society.... " The Post Capitalist Society, 1993; page 1.

December 201 1

Sounding the Trumpet in the Midst of Apostasy: "The Enemy is in the Camp! ...we have watched with a mixture of surprise and sadness how an apostate church has materialized before our eyes. Here at Lighthouse Trails, we have endeavored to blow the trumpet over the years, sounding the call to repentance and to a return to the sound doctrine of the Bible. But many have become annoyed with the repeated blasts of the trumpet. All we can say to this is that the time is short, and we remember the words of Jesus when he said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work”  (John 9:4). See Deceived by a counterfeit "Jesus" - The twisted "truths" of The Shack

November 201 1

Persecuted Christian? Don't expect these pastors to speak up: "About half of all the pastors in America's churches today do not want to tell their congregations that there are forces in the world that persecute Christians for their beliefs, because it's a 'downer'. ...In the nationwide poll of more than 800 Christians, 74 percent of America's churchgoers want to hear about the persecuted church. But the same survey said only 48 percent of the pastors want to discuss the issue." See The Second Great Evangelical Meltdown

October 201 1

WHOSE Global Kingdom Come? "Two complementary movements within the church are preparing God’s people for deception at an unprecedented scale: today’s neglect of Biblical truth as an authoritative standard and the seductive call to global spirituality in a new millennium of peace and unity. Both are shaping a chingdom that promises security and unity for all — except those who resist." See Conforming the Church to the New World Order

September 201 1

The Netherlands: A Laboratory for Christianity’s Destruction: "...some church leaders in the Netherlands want to transform their small nation into a laboratory for rethinking Christianity — 'experimenting with radical new ways of understanding the faith.'...Pastor Hendrikse doesn’t believe in life after death.... 'God is not a being at all,' he says, but just an experience....In fact, he published a book in recent years entitled, Believing in a Non-Existent God.

     "...the church has embraced a straightforward form of atheism within its own ranks — and among its own ministers....The Dutch ministers featured in this report dismiss the doctrines of biblical Christianity as... 'rigid things you can’t touch any more.' Like the liberal theologians of the last two centuries, they insist that the 'real meaning' of Christianity can survive, even if its central truth claims are denied. One layperson cited in the report celebrated the liberation of Christianity from truth claims, allowing her to recreate the faith 'to my own way of thinking, my own way of doing.” It's happening in America, too. See A Twist of Faith, Chapter 5

May 201 1

NEW Evangelicalism: The New World Order: "The rise and development of the Emerging (Emergent) Church Movement became both a significant collaborator and delivery system for the major paradigm shift that has affected and infiltrated the mindset of many evangelical pastors. The shift includes the new evangelical notion that the church must become postmodern in order to reach secular America. The shift includes a definitive move away from belief in absolute truth.”

March 2011

We Have Seen All This Before: Rob Bell and the (Re-)Emergence of Liberal Theology: "...they have accused evangelical Christianity, variously, as being excessively concerned with doctrine, culturally tone-deaf, overly propositional, unnecessarily offensive, aesthetically malnourished, and basically uncool....From the very beginning of the movement, many of the emerging church’s leaders called for a major transformation in evangelical theology....Influenced by postmodern narrative theories, most within the movement lean into story rather than formal argument....

      "Protestant Liberalism emerged in the 19th century as influential theologians argued for a doctrinal revolution. Their challenge to the church was simple and straightforward: The intellectual challenges of the modern age made belief in traditional Christian doctrines impossible. Friedrich Schleiermaher wrote his impassioned speeches to the “cultured despisers” of religion, arguing that something of spiritual value remained in Christianity even when its doctrines were no longer credible. Church historians such as Adolf von Harnack argued that a kernel of spiritual truth and power remained even when the shell of Christianity’s doctrinal claims was removed. In the United States preachers such as Harry Emerson Fosdick preached that Christianity must come to terms with the modern age and surrender its supernatural claims." See The Second Great Evangelical Meltdown

February 2011

Your marital status is not relevant to us now, Church tells clergy: "The Church of England has infuriated traditionalists by dropping the requirement for clergy to disclose their marital status when they apply for new posts. Church officials say the changes have been introduced to mirror new secular employment and equality laws aimed at eliminating discrimination. But traditionalists say they further undermine the Christian view of marriage by hindering parishes from finding out whether candidates for jobs are divorced or in a gay ‘marriage’."  See Depravity

Obama's 'Christian Nation': "Back in June of 2006, Obama said, 'Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation - at least, not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.'...

     "Obama believes America is a nation of citizens curiously bound by ideals and a set of values, having no extrinsic anchor and objective source. ....we can create a modern international community that is respectful, that is secure, that is prosperous; that there are not tensions, inevitable tensions, between cultures, which I think is extraordinarily important. [April 12, 2009] ...

     "Today the 'great melting pot' means that traditionalists get thrown into the boiling kettle of liberal diversity.... Obama, throughout the economic catastrophe, as he calls it, has not led the country in a single prayer to God, asking for His kind assistance." See Ignoring God and His Guidelines

Video:  Already Gone: "...we are losing our kids in elementary, middle school, and high school rather than college, and the 'Sunday school syndrome' is contributing to the epidemic, rather than helping alleviate it. This is an alarming wake-up call for the church, showing how our programs and our approaches to Christian education are failing...and our children are paying the price." See Biblical versus Cultural Christianity

Today's Christianity' - Nothing more than feelings, Part 1 : "...if you do a search of the less contemporary translations of scripture, the word 'feelings' is virtually nonexistent. Where it does appear, it is cited as more of a superficial, even negative attribute than a positive; and yet, as we watch and listen to many from today’s churches, be they leaders or laymen, not only do we see a clear fixation on feelings, both physical and emotional, we notice that those feelings have by and large become a replacement for faith.

     "In fact, if you substitute the word 'feelings' wherever you see the word 'faith' in those older Bible versions, it will become clear to you what motivates and guides the average 'Christian' today....

     "You see, 'passion' is a buzzword that is commonly used among contemporary Christians to give assorted 'ministries,' however abstract and bizarre, a perceived legitimacy. If a Christian is 'passionate' about something, it is automatically assumed and accepted by the brethren to be God-ordained, in spite of what the Bible teaches." See Biblical versus Cultural Christianity

Christianity Today 's Anti-Christianity: "The founder, Billy Graham, stated that he wanted to 'plant the evangelical flag in the middle-of-the-road, taking the conservative theological position but a definite liberal approach to social problems.'...It seems that no voice that advances apostasy has been omitted from CT's list of contributing editors or writers: Ron Sider, President Obama's leftist theologian... Eugene Peterson (who wrote his own bible called The Message)...former executive editor Terry Muck (who writes of his love for the Buddha); Leith Anderson (who promotes the experiential over the propositional, i.e., that emergent experience trumps doctrine....

      "Christianity Today's senior managing editor, Mark Galli [wrote an article titled "Divine Drama Queen," which is his characterization of the God of the Bible....What Galli has written is CT's latest installment of corrupting the faith, generated from decades of undermining the Word of God and distorting the God of the Bible...

      [Galli wrote] "I like a tranquil, even-keeled, self-controlled God. A God who doesn't fly off the handle at the least provocation.... When I read my Bible, though, I keep running into a different God, and I'm not pleased. This God says he 'hates' sin. Well, he usually yells it. Read the prophets. It's just one harangue after another..."

The Church in America: Adopting the Religion of Green/Environmental Activism/Social Justice: "Even if the reader does not attend a Christian church, he might at least think that such a place would generally embrace the Bible and Jesus Christ as its main source for instruction, guidance, and hope for the salvation of man. One would not expect an evangelical house of worship to go to the world at large for its agenda....

     "While looking over the Urbana 2009 website, I came across the seminars that it offered. The following seminar is a typical representation of many that were provided. (Note that there is no mention of Jesus Christ in these descriptions.)...Under 'Jesus and Justice Seminars': "Uniting Faith and Justice - Taking Action in Your Community: Come hear the story of how two sister grassroots movements came to be and what they are doing to organize faith communities for environmental justice...'

     "'Under 'Environmental Stewardship Seminars'....'Join us as we discuss two approaches for organizing faith communities for environmental justice. ...we hope to disciple leaders...." See Trading Truth for a "Social Gospel"

December 2010

The Second Great Evangelical Meltdown - Part 2: Unmasking “Postmodernism”: "...the concept of 'postmodernism' is in the air. It’s become almost a mantra to say something like 'We’re entering a new period of culture surpassingly different from anything that came before.'...

     "...the hidden heart of the concept of postmodernism is Marxism, which has always had a materialistic-historical focus that evaluates history on the basis of economics, technology, and class struggle.... Second, postmoderns say that all learning and knowledge are culture-bound. ...they think there could be no such thing as a universal guilt or salvation because that doesn’t take into account the individual or separate groups..." Biblical versus Postmodern Thinking

Bible Gateway now Gateway for Heretical Authors: "For years Bible Gateway has been relied upon for accurate Bible translation. In 2008, Bible Gateway was purchased by Zondervan Publishing, and for some months now, Bible Gateway's online General Store has served as gateway to a number of heretical authors....

    "Doug Pagitt's A Christianity Worth Believing, and Brian McLaren's A New Kind of Christian are not the only anti-biblical books for sale through the online store. Not by a long shot. We could mention The Shack, Thomas Merton (115 items available!), The Message paraphrase, Tony Jones, Rob Bell, and many others.... 

     "McLaren informs the reader he and others have 'dared to tweak" the content of the Word of God. He states, 'We might question conventional theories of atonement or the nature and population of hell or whether concepts like original sin or total depravity might need to be modified." See From Truth to a New Spirituality

November 2010

 More teens becoming 'fake' Christians: "The study, which included in-depth interviews with at least 3,300 American teenagers between 13 and 17, found that most American teens who called themselves Christian were indifferent and inarticulate about their faith.... Though three out of four American teenagers claim to be Christian, fewer than half practice their faith, only half deem it important, and most can't talk coherently about their beliefs.... Many teenagers thought that God simply wanted them to feel good and do good -- what the study's researchers called 'moralistic therapeutic deism.'.... [Dean, a United Methodist Church minister] says pastors often preach a safe message that can bring in the largest number of congregants." See Biblical versus Cultural Christianity

Tales From the Crypt: To Attract New Blood, Church Joins Club Scene: "The Catholic church in Rome is trying to win back young people with a nightclub in the crypt of the Basilica di San Carlo al Corso, complete with a beer and wine bar. Rev. Maurizio Mirilli, head of youth ministry... has converted a section of the crypt into a nightclub with a live-music stage and a bar stocked with beer.... Scrawled across the bar was a biblical passage from the Gospel of St. John, quoting Jesus Christ: 'Give me a drink.' (Actually, he was referring to water)." See Breaking Out of the Box

October 2010

Five Streams of the Emerging Church: "'Emerging' catches into one term the global reshaping of how to 'do church' in postmodern culture. ....none in the emerging crowd is more rhetorically effective than Brian McLaren in Generous Orthodoxy: 'Often I don't think Jesus would be caught dead as a Christian, were he physically here today.…Generally, I don't think Christians would like Jesus if he showed up today as he did 2,000 years ago. In fact, I think we'd call him a heretic and plot to kill him, too.' McLaren, on the very next page, calls this statement an exaggeration. Still, the rhetoric is in place....

     "The third kind of emerging postmodernity attracts all the attention. Some have chosen to minister as postmoderns. That is, they embrace the idea that we cannot know absolute truth, or, at least, that we cannot know truth absolutely....They frequently express nervousness about propositional truth.

        "...what most characterizes emerging is the stream best called praxis — how the faith is lived out. At its core, the emerging movement is an attempt to fashion a new ecclesiology (doctrine of the church)....

       "A fourth stream flowing into the emerging lake is characterized by the term post-evangelical. The emerging movement is a protest against much of evangelicalism as currently practiced. ... It turns its chastened epistemology against itself, saying, 'This is what I believe, but I could be wrong. What do you think? Let's talk.'...

      "A final stream flowing into the emerging lake is politics....  [including commitment to the poor and to centralizing government for social justice. ...Sometimes, however, when I look at emerging politics, I see Walter Rauschenbusch, the architect of the social gospel. ...The results were devastating for mainline Christianity's ability to summon sinners to personal conversion. The results were also devastating for evangelical Christianity, which has itself struggled to maintain a proper balance." See Genuine Salvation

Church college teaches sex-in-dorm etiquette: "Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., proclaims on its website that it is 'a church-related, residential liberal arts college firmly rooted in its Swedish and Lutheran heritage' and its core values are excellence, community, justice, service and faith. But one senior is wondering just where in those values he can fit a presentation to incoming freshmen that introduces them to the etiquette of having sex in dorm rooms without being interrupted by roommates..." See Moral Depravity   [I don't recommend the videos featured to illustrate the message]

"Hipster Christianity” – Just Another Emerging Deception: "A young man walks into a building. From the outside, it looks like a nondescript, run-down, abandoned warehouse. Inside he finds mood lighting, music with throbbing bass, and young people wearing skinny jeans and superfluous scarves. A bar off to the side offers drinks of some sort, and a frenetically lit stage is shrouded in fog. Jumbo screens display what appear to be music videos. Everywhere people text on their iPhones.... Is the man in a bar? Or is he in a church?" See Who defines the Kingdom of God?

'Christian' media swings left: "Christianity Today.... is still considered to be mainstream and representative of evangelicals. It was founded when Ike was president, and it is amazing how many Christians consider CT to be their friend. In reality, it is center-left and fairly contemptuous of the issues conservative Christians hold dear."

August 2010

A New Faith for the 21st Century: "The minister (a freemason) at our Presbyterian church announced not too long ago that he was going to say something controversial...[Here is a portion of the message:]

     "'The 'God' is not 'up there' in some mythic heaven; the real religious presence is to be found in the hearts and minds of people, and in their relationship with each other.'...'Most people [that] come to see me do not ever talk about God. They don't believe in God. They have no place for religion and they have given up going to church.'...'Christianity can exist without that old theistic view of God.'"

      "But God says,

"Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.' Colossians 2:6-8

April 2010

The New Global Civility: "Yet another broad ecumenical coalition has gathered together to sign yet another 'covenant' for 'common ground' and 'civility.'... These 'civility' documents are rife with the phrases 'common ground,' 'good will,' or 'common good,' which are the new mantras for the much-anticipated national and global era of peace and reconciliation. The latest one is called 'A Covenant for Civility: Come Let Us Reason Together,' by Jim Wallis of Sojourners, and described as: 'A group of more than 100 prominent Christians ranging from evangelical minister Jim Wallis [President Obama's spiritual adviser] on the political left to Nixon White House aide Chuck Colson on the right...." See Tony Blair Foundation

March 2010

 "Social Justice" Is Not Christian Charity: "...'social justice,' like the 'social gospel,'is the wily work of men, not the Will and Word of God.... The New Testament scriptures most often cited by progressives to support 'social justice' are not about justice at all, but about charity. Even so, they use the words 'justice' and 'charity' as if they were synonymous, and in doing so, morph and merge social/political issues and programs into moral/religious issues and programs while steering the Church’s focus and attention away from the spiritual and eternal....

     " ...embracing 'social justice,' more often than not, shifts the emphasis from repentance and faith in Jesus Christ to more earthly endeavors like environment, empowerment, employment, entitlements, equality and esteem-building programs promoted by global elites to benefit or punish selected people groups as needed for its 'sustainable development'.... Christians need to be very careful about setting aside the Gospel to pursue 'social justice.' Jesus took our justice on Calvary’s cross that we might receive and reflect God’s grace and forgiveness." See Warren's P.E.A.C.E. Plan and UN Goals

The next two links are older. Both deal with multicultural churches that have traded "creed" (Biblical truth) for "deeds" -- seeking "social justice" rather than the guidelines of God's Word (which, by His life in us, will lead to loving deeds):

Belgian Church Organizes Illegal Immigrants: "While Western Europe is turning Muslim, its Christian Churches are committing suicide. A Muslim would never allow his mosque to be turned into a dormitory for non-believers. This, however, is exactly what the Belgian Catholic Church is doing.... 'Everybody is entitled to a good place in our society. Also illegal fugitives,' the Bishop said.'" See Tony Blair Foundation

Muhammad Takes Over Protestant Church: "A German reader informs us that it is not just the Catholic Church that has its quislings selling out to the Muslims. On Palm Sunday (9 April) a Protestant church in ...Germany celebrated Muhammad’s birthday.... A Turkish music band played sufi music during the service, in which Protestants and Muslims joined together in honour of Muhammad.”

February 2010

The "Kingdom of God" in the Emerging Church: A Theology of Despair and Hopelessness: "McLaren writes, 'In this way of seeing, God stands ahead of us in time, at the end of the journey, sending to us in waves, as it were, the gift of the present, an inrush of the future that pushes the past behind us and washes over us with a ceaseless flow of new possibilities, new options, new chances to rethink and receive new direction, new empowerment.'

    "Here is Pagitt's version of it: 'God is constantly creating anew. And God also, invites us to be re-created and join the work of God as co-(re)creators.... Imagine the Kingdom of God as the creative process of God reengaging in all that we know and experience.... When we employ creativity to make this world better, we participate with God in the recreation of the world.'" See Who defines the Kingdom of God?

January 2010

The Anti-Israel Revelation: “'Emergent Church' guru Brian McLaren is a key figure on the Evangelical Left.... McLaren insists that he is not anti-Israel, and certainly not anti-Jewish. He simply wants to liberate both Palestinians and Jews from the enslaving mindset of the 'occupation' that holds both peoples captive.... Of course, though McLaren wants to liberate everybody from their various spiritual/political blindness, he implies that most or all of the spiritual confusion comes from Jewish Israel and its Christian supporters." See Who defines the Kingdom of God?

The Lord is calling His people out from the midst of the false: "Shirer observed that with the rise of the new [Nazi] German empire, the truth had become whatever Hitler and Goebbels said it was; they were the final arbiters of reality -- spiritual and otherwise..."

      "In 2009, we witnessed a huge growth in the contemplative/mystical New Spirituality in the Christian church. This is not just some kind of fad or an isolated phenomenon. It is building momentum month by month, and more and more people are seeing this mystical spirituality as a valid and powerful way to experience the presence of God." See From Truth to a New Spirituality

Links to earlier articles on the Emerging Church: 2004-2007 and 2008--2009

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