For some time there has been coming into view a new religious awareness. It is not yet even a movement, but at this point only an exploration. It has no organizational form, and does not seek one. It can mainly be found among young adults, clergy and lay, who may have given up on the existing ecclesiastical structures, but who find the easy “spiritual, but not religious” model, too vapid or too individualistic to be helpful. It is variously called the emerging or emergent church, the underground church or the fourth great awakening. In the past decade it has been the subject of shelf-full of widely read books by authors including Diana Butler Bass, Robin Meyers, Peter Rollins, Marcus Borg and Brian McLaren. It can be post-modern and is post Christian insofar as Christian means traditionally ecclesial. But is it not anti-religion. Its leaders most often come from the ranks of our best seminaries. It, however, takes a dim view of both historically based denominationalism and creedal orthodoxy.
While advocates of the emerging church most often come from
America’s liberal denominations, there is sturdy rejection of what
denominations have modeled. Namely, American corporations complete with
corporate headquarters and boards, programs, divisions, marketing departments
and franchises called congregations.
The emerging church is not only aware of technology, it is
immersed in it. I recently attended a national gathering of young adults coming
from a variety of disciplines, but who all see themselves part of this new
religious phenomenon. No one carried a physical Bible, but all of them had the
Scriptures on some electronic device. Almost every participant was
simultaneously involved in staring at a laptop, talking or texting by phone and
listening to whoever was addressing the group. There were other participants
from around the nation and from Europe who attended the meeting electronically,
and whose comments were regularly noted.
While the ethic of Jesus was predominant, there were
references to Gandhi, M.L. King, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and even Hinduism. It
was more than interfaith. Wisdom for living was received and celebrated
wherever it could be found. Discarded was the notion that any churchly
authority held importance, and none was in evidence. Nor was there any
suggestion that an exclusive approach to truth could be located in a single
source.
There was no public praying or worship in any traditional
sense. The closest we came to it was what went on at the common meals. Here was
the Eucharist devoid of traditional trappings. It was no sip of wine or bit of
bread, administered by a priest or authorized leader, but real food that was
being commonly shared.
What is it this new reformation seeks to accomplish? Diana Butler Bass puts it this way. A great turning
toward global community based on a shared human connection, dedicated to the
care of the planet, committed to justice and equity, that seeks to raise
hundreds of millions from poverty, violence and oppression. Having been
convinced that this is not the agenda of the church as they have known it,
those seeking new commitments through emerging forms of faith may be
religion’s—and the earth’s—best hope. The next time you attend or read about
your church’s convention or general meeting, see it that if what it is about.
If none of this sounds terribly specific, you have gotten it
right. In my final column on this subject I will be looking at a few examples
of how emerging churches are already taking shape.
Charles Bayer
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