I'm an emergent!

As I stated in a couple of posts back, I’ve been reading A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren. It’s been a pretty incredible experience for me. I don’t think I really like McLaren’s writing style, but what he talks about is almost dead on with where I am in my faith today. (Aside from his failure/refusal to claim that absolute truth exists). This book, in addition to Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, has helped me put words to what I’ve been thinking for a while now.

It’s time that we stop comparing the best of our views against the worst of theirs (whoever “they” are, be it liberal vs. conservative, evangelical vs. fundamental, etc.). Let’s recognize that we don’t have it all figured out, and that we don’t even have to have it all figured out! This journey that we’re on is less about knowing truth and more about exploring and sharing the truth we’ve come to.*

I hope we can realize we’re not called to “bring God” to people. God’s already with them! We just have to do our best to recognize where He’s at work and point that out.

I’m tired of being a defensive Christian. I’m tired of being an offensive Christian. Frankly, I’m tired of being a Christian (as the term stands today). I want to be a disciple of Christ. Nothing more.

I hope that we can emerge from our currently held factions and unite as the body of Christ to create a church that is passionate about making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching others to obey everything he has commanded us.




*I believe that we can know truth (i.e. God) but knowing and understanding fully are two distinct things. We will never fully understand God, but for too long we’ve held our understanding of God in opposition to other’s understandings. All I’m trying to communicate is that it’s less about being right and more about doing the best we can to be like Christ.