Emergent Thoughts

I was reading a blogger named Peter Walker's post titled "Camping at a Position".
It is about the emergent movement that is happening in the church.

I can clearly see why some are drawn to the emergent position, fleeing from legalism and the ultra-conservative political affair that seems to be happening currently in the confessing church.

Emergent's also seems to be very engaged in social issues (AIDS, Darfur, feeding the hungry, etc) and environmental causes.

Because of that I can see why many are running to it and away from traditional church as we know it.

The problem I think is a throwing the baby out with the bathwater approach.

I too think the church should be less legalistic.
Christianity is not so much about wine and rock and roll music.

I grew up in churches where the main focus of life was to not drink or smoke, to not listen to non-christian music and where book & cd burnings were "cool".
Yet most were not engaged in anything except making sure they didn't do anything on the do not do list. They didn't listen to anything"secular" and didn't drink or smoke or hang out with anyone who did. Sadly many of the people I grew up with have altogether abandoned the church today. So I see the pull toward emergent here.

As for social issues, if there is anything that I feel more convicted about it's often social. I am deeply concerned about the AIDS problems in Africa, as well as Darfur and helping starving people to be fed. I think the church has too long been silent and unconcerned with anything environmental as we have been in bed too long with conservative politicians.

So I am on board with all that. The difficulty to me lies in the message of the gospel and what that means and how that is communicated.

Trying to escape the emergent movement seems to want to take stands on nothing.

In this article Peter Walker states that he has a hard time withholding his grace from homosexual friends and is "unwilling to blindly wrap my arms around and embrace scripture simply because it's scripture. I respect it and may not directly defy it... but I don't have to like it!". He goes on to write that he thinks it is best to remain gray on this area and not be so black and white.

I think the point is being missed. The emergent's seem to be so frustrated at the conservative christian camps and their frequent lack of love for homosexuals and such that they swing the pendulum so far to the other side that they in trying to love people throw scripture out, which is the most unloving act I can think of.

Affirming someone in their sin is no favor. Loving someone in their sin is the goal.

The church, especially our conservative brothers and sister have done a poor job in many of these areas.

I think instead of jumping ship it seems to me that it would be better to get back to the texts and not throw them out if they are hard to swallow.

Both the conservative right and the emergent left could come together and learn from each other.
The conservative camp seems to think that if they can just muster enough political pressure we can stop the spread of homosexuality in our culture.
The emergent's want to only love homosexuals and not offend that they have a hard time saying that it is even wrong. Jesus spoke quite plainly that homosexuality is sin. He also gave His life to pay our ransom so you could be counted as righteous, and that is how you are made righteous. Not because you didn't listen to secular music or smoke or drink or have homosexual sex.
You did nothing that can make you right with God, your do not do list is not close to enough to earn favor with a Holy God. Jesus is your righteousness, not what you do. What you do is proof that you are His and being changed by Him.
Loving Him more than homosexual pleasures and submitting to his teachings is the key. Trusting Him more than a political or judicial barrier's make loving sinners a possible thing.

Homosexuality is not an unforgivable sin.

So conservatives let's love homosexuals and reach out to them authentically. Lets let scripture be our guide and live in the fact that we too deserve hell for our sins, big or little. Lets submit to texts and be changed by them and love them as much as you love the fat glutton sinners who sit in the pews next to you.

Emergent's let's be guided by scripture on the standard and not by being unoffensive. The gospel is sometimes offensive to sinners, but the gospel is the most loving thing in the universe. Real love is not lowering the standard, but loving those who fall below that standard, which is all of us hetrosexual and homosexual.

Maybe that's just my naive thought, but that what it seems like to me. Thanks for reading!