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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