The Emerging Church Movement
The Emerging Church Movement
• Since the world is changing, the church must embrace change and change with it.
• We cannot know absolute truth and it’s arrogant to think we can.
• We can only experience what is “true” for our communities. (Relativism)
• We cannot be dogmatic about doctrine or moral standards.
• Dogmatic sermons or preaching must give way to “conversation” between people of all belief systems.
• Since truth is uncertain, spiritual feeling and social action replace doctrine and orthodoxy and make up the only reliable substance of Christianity.
• We should reconnect with ancient worship forms and embrace a more “mystical” type of religion. The worship forms include:
o Contemplative prayer
o Liturgies
o Prayer Beads
o Prayer Labyrinths
o Icons
o Chants/Mantras
o Candles
o Crosses
o Incense
o Yoga
o Eastern type meditative practices (New Age)
• We should utilize art forms in our worship, such as painting and multi-sensory experiences, in order to reach a feeling that is experienced through those outward forms.
• Through being conversant with the “outsiders,” they will become part of our community thus being able to understand and believe what we teach.
• All are welcome to join the “conversation” as long as they behave in a kind and open-minded manner. Evangelical Christians are usually looked down upon as arrogant and locked into the modern way of thinking.
• Ultimately, the goal is to make the world a better place by creating a hybrid, all inclusive religion – this is the answer for the Emerging Church.
Definition of Terms
|Deconstruction |A philosophical movement and theory of literary criticism that questions traditional assumptions about |
| |certainty, identity, and truth; asserts that words can only refer to other words; and attempts to demonstrate |
| |how statements about any text subvert their own meanings. |
|Mysticism |1. The experience of such communion as described by mystics. |
| |2. A belief in the existence of realities beyond perceptual or Intellectual apprehension that is central to |
| |being and directly accessible by subjective experience. |
|Philosophical |1. Of, relating to, or based on a system of philosophy. |
| |2. Characteristic of a philosopher, as in equanimity, enlightenment, and wisdom. |
|Liturgies |A prescribed form or set of forms for public religious worship. |
|Prayer Labyrinth |Also know as a meditation labyrinth, is one of the oldest contemplative and transformational tools known, |
| |having been used for many hundreds of years for prayer, ritual, initiation, and spiritual growth. |
|Icon |1. An image; a representation. |
| |2. A representation or picture of a sacred or sanctified Christian personage, traditionally used and venerated|
| |in the Eastern Church. |
|Contemplative prayer |Also known as centering prayer is a meditative practice where the practitioner focuses on a word and repeats |
| |that word over and over for the duration of the exercise. |
|Relativism |A theory, especially in ethics or aesthetics that conceptions of truth and moral values are not absolute but |
| |are relative to the persons or groups holding them. |
|Chants/Mantras |1. The rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting |
| |tones. |
| |2. A religious or mystical syllable or poem primarily used as spiritual conduits, words or vibrations that |
| |instill one-pointed concentration in the devotee. |
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