More on the Emergent Church

Kristen Scharold over at First Things has taken up the topic in a book review of Why We’re Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be) by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck.

I'll probably read this book as I find the whole EM movement to be quite fascinating. Where I'm from, Pentecostalism is the fastest growing denomination by far. I have many friends and co-workers who are Pentecostals, so I feel I know something about them. To me, the EM is basically the contrarian liberal twin of Pentecostalism. Where Pentecostals seek to obliterate traditional Christian perspectives on authority, revelation, theology, etc. via claims of direct mystical experiences and "words" from God, the EM aims for the same deconstructionist goals by simply turning its back on these things and making a start from scratch with almost no revelations or theology at all.

This is also why I cannot see the EM as simply a fad. The idea of such a blank slate is far too attractive to be written off that way. When folks see a blank slate on something that should logically govern every aspect of their lives, they are going to look for ways to impose their own ideas on that slate in order to justify what they are actually wanting to do, be it good or bad. The EM does so by essentially claiming ignorance and pushing instead towards a model of "simplicity," as I've heard some members say. What could be more simple than just doing things my own way?