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TechnoratiAre you emergent?
Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck should be. They fit the demographic as white, suburban, 30-something and college-educated guys and they appreciate the critiques of traditional evangelical churches. But they're not emergent.
Both grew up in Christian homes, graduated from Christian colleges, and have attended church regularly in conservative Christian areas. For young persons like them who've been in a Christian bubble their entire lives, the rebellion of the emergent church is "attractive," said Kluck, co-author of Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be).
Kluck attends University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Mich., with some 400 people. His pastor is DeYoung, who co-authored the book with Kluck and who also thinks he should be "decrying the evangelical 'bubble'" and joining his peers in reimagining church for his generation.
"I should have rebelled against my family upbringing, finding it, in hindsight, stilted, stoic, and staid. I should have, like so many of those in the emerging church, chaffed against my evangelical past and charted a more emerging future," DeYoung wrote in Why We're Not Emergent, one of a few books, they say, that cautions against the emergent church. "But I haven't."
Ater finding the University Reformed congregation dabbling with some emergent literature several years ago, DeYoung and Kluck also picked up the books that were written by such popular emergent leaders as Brian McLaren and Rob Bell. They agreed with the critiques of the evangelical church but the accordance stopped there.
"I think when I was reading a lot of these emergent texts, I felt they’re right – the evangelical church doesn’t seem to care about the poor, doesn’t seem to care about social justice. A lot of what they wrote in those areas really resonated with me," Kluck told The Christian Post.
He even experimented with starting an emerging church, but found himself itching for fellowship with believers who didn't all look and talk like him, a pastor who could help him articulate what he believes, and biblical teaching that involves Jesus Christ paying for the sins of the world. So he abandoned the “evangelical cheesiness” rebellion phase.
He realized he wasn't "looking for the guys with the biggest projection screens, the coolest 'gathering place,' or the best film discussions."
"I was looking for a theology and a body that I could give my life to and entrust with my children," Kluck wrote in the book. "The reason I love Christianity and the Bible is that I think they are really the only things in this world that don't need to be periodically 'repainted' or reframed."
There isn't a clear definition of the term "emergent" or "emerging," the authors acknowledge, and they realize that within the emergent Christian movement there are diverse styles and theology. But their critique throughout the book, which was released in April, targets the broad emerging movement in which those who advocate "doing church differently" preach ambiguously on key issues and what seems to be a different kind of Gospel message.
"Now I understand that people can be confused and we all have issues that we don't quite undersatnd but these are some pretty key issues (such as the uniqueness of Christ) and if you’re key leaders and teachers, whether that’s what you want to call yourself or not, it seems to me that it would be wise and helpful for the church to speak with more clarity on some of these issues," said DeYoung, who admits to not being a professional scholar. Continue »
