The what? The
who? What is the emergent church? As King Solomon said,
“There is nothing new under the sun.” However, there are new
names all the time. When I think of this name, I think of
another word close to it. EMERGENCY! This really
needs to get out because it’s sweeping the Church! Not as in
"cleaning" but just the opposite! So many Christians haven’t
even heard about this and many others simply don’t want to.
So, just what is
the emergent church? It’s a part of the prophesied Great
Apostasy. Satan is still up to his same old tactics of
mixing truth with error. This is what he did in the early
Church by mixing Christianity with paganism which created
the Roman Catholic church, the largest church that goes
under the name of Christian, yet is nothing less than that
great harlot of Revelation chapter 13 who deceives the
nations (or peoples). Well, he’s up to his same old tactics
again but this time he’s really attacking the Christian
Church ,and he’s being more subtle than ever before!
The following is
taken from one of many articles written by Roger Oakland.
Emerging
into What?
Rick Warren
and others say we need to pay attention to the emerging
church. Things are changing, they say and the “emerging
church” has the answers for our generation. But what
will the emerging church emerge into? Could it be a form
of Christianity that embraces experience rather than
God’s Word?
Dan Kimball
is the author of The Emerging Church: Vintage
Christianity for New Generations. He is also
launching a church called Vintage Faith Church in Santa
Cruz, California. Kimball makes the following statement
in the introduction of his book:
I believe
with all my heart that this discussion about the
fast- hanging culture and the emerging church must
take place. While many of us have been preparing
sermons and keeping busy with the internal affairs
of our churches, something alarming has been
happening on the outside. What once was a Christian
nation with a Judeo-Christian worldview is quickly
becoming a post Christian, unchurched, unreached
nation. New generations are arising all around us
without any Christian influence. So we must rethink
virtually everything we are doing in our ministries.
Certainly the
spiritual climate in North America has changed radically
over the past number of years just as Dan Kimball has
stated. Many, including Rick Warren and Dan Kimball use
the term “post-Christian era” to describe the days in
which we are living. They say, while the seeker-friendly
era was successful in bringing a generation of “baby-
boomers” to Jesus, that time is past. Now we need to
find new innovative methods that will reach this new
generation for Jesus.
Kimball’s
book, The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for
New Generations, is written for this purpose.
He not only identifies the problems he believes the
church is now facing, he provides the answers and the
solutions. The church for the future, he believes, must
be more sensual and experienced based. He calls this
church “Vintage Christianity”.
Perhaps the
term “Vintage Christianity” is new to you. While it is
not my intention to describe all that it means in this
commentary, a few chapter titles from Kimball’s book
under a heading called “Reconstructing Vintage
Christianity in the Emerging Church” will be helpful for
us to understand where the emerging church is headed.
These are: “Overcoming the Fear of Multisensory Worship
and Teaching”, “Creating a Sacred Space for Vintage
Worship”, “Expecting the Spiritual”, “Creating
Experiential Multisensory Worship Gatherings”, “Becoming
Story Tellers Again” and “Preaching Without Words”.
Now, I ask
you, this question. What does the Bible say about
Vintage Christianity and the so-called emerging church?
Is the goal of Christianity experience-based or
Bible-based? Jesus said: “If ye continue in My word,
then are ye My disciples indeed; And ye shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Further He
stated: “Why do ye not understand My speech? even
because ye cannot hear My word.”
Less Word,
More Worship
It should be
apparent by now that the emerging church is more
experience-based than Bible-based. Further, in the
emerging church the Word of God takes a secondary
position to the worship of God.
While Dan
Kimball and other promoters of the emerging church may
be sincere in their efforts to evangelize the postmodern
generation and believe they are genuinely representing
the scriptures, there are some real concerns that need
to be addressed. Deviating from the Word of God for
extra biblical experience can open the door to
deception. While worshipping God is a very important
part of the Christian faith there are problems that can
occur if worship supersedes the word.
However, Dan
Kimball sees a new worship generation in the making
based on experience that is essential to the emerging
church. In a section of his book subtitled "Truly
worshipping in a worship gathering,” he writes:
We should
be returning to a no-holds-barred approach to
worship and teaching so that when we gather, there
is no doubt we are in the presence of God. I believe
that both believers and unbelievers in our emerging
culture are hungry for this. It isn’t about clever
apologetics or careful exegetical and expository
preaching or great worship bands. … Emerging
generations are hungry to experience God in worship.
Obviously, in
order for this to happen, changes would have to be
incorporated. Kimball has thought this through and
offers a number of suggestions which he lists in a chart
that shows how the “modern church” must adjust and move
towards a “no-holds-barred approach” to worship. Some of
these are:
• Services
designed to be user-friendly and contemporary must
change to services that are designed to be experiential
and spiritual-mystical.
•
Stained-glass that was taken out of churches and
replaced with video screens should now be brought back
into the church on video screens.
• Lit up and
cheery sanctuaries need to be darkened because darkness
is valued and displays a sense of spirituality.
• The focal
point of the service that was the sermon must be changed
so that the focal point of the service is a holistic
experience.
• Use of
modern technology that was used to communicate with a
contemporary flare must change so that church attendees
can experience the ancient and mystical (and use
technology to do so).
While I
realize we are living at a period of time where
technology is the key to entertainment and visual
stimulation is a necessary tool required for capturing
the attention of this generation, I ask you to consider
what the Bible teaches. What about less Word and more
experience? Could someone quote the chapter and verse to
justify that? What about the idea that visual
stimulation is the formula for inducing a spiritual
atmosphere that will draw seekers to Jesus? Where is
that found in the Bible?
I don’t know
about you, but my when I hear about the emerging-church-
ethodology to forsake “apologetics” and “careful
exegetical and expository preaching” for the sake of a
generation that is “hungry to experience God”, I have
some concerns. Could this be another avenue to
“dumb-down” Christianity so that we no longer know what
God has said? How effective can experiential
Christianity be when it comes to knowing who we are,
where we are in time, and where we are headed?
Jesus said He
is coming again? How many professing Christians will be
ready when He returns?
Roger also has a
DVD on this subject that will better give you an
understanding of just how big this deception is and will
help you to determine if any aspects of this part of “The
Great Apostasy” is taking place within your church. If you
would like a copy, it’s available for a gift of any amount
this month. Simply ask for the DVD entitled: The Emerging
Church…Revival or Return to Darkness.
