Emergent

a Biblical thought...
I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. (John 10:10)

a Book thought...
As Christians we do not depend on feelings or emotions, but we place our faith in the trustworthiness of God and the promises of His Word. (p142 Court)
a Dave thought...
I am one who has read many books of late that mentions a growing church expression called - Emergent. This book gets some great reviews so here is a taste for those that are asking questions about Emergent...Tony Jones's new book makes answering his question easier than ever. There's been a steadily growing literature by and about Emergent churches the last ten years, both friendly and critical, but his book now takes pride of place as the best on-ramp to enter the discussion. As one of Emergent's founders, its national coordinator (see www.emergentvillage.org and www.tonyj.net), the author of numerous previous books, and its leading spokesperson, Jones is at the vortex of all things Emergent. His book is part history of the movement, part theological explanation of its core commitments, part storytelling, and part response to critics. One especially helpful feature is the book's twenty "dispatches" scattered throughout the text that crystallize Emergent thought and practice.

Here are five dispatches that interested me..

Dispatch 1: Emergents find little importance in the discrete differences between the various flavors of Christianity. Instead, they practice a generous orthodoxy that appreciates the contributions of all Christian movements.
Dispatch 12: Emergents embrace the whole Bible, the glory and the pathos.
Dispatch 16: Emergents believe that church should function more like an open-source network and less like a hierarchy or bureaucracy.
Dispatch 17: Emergents start new churches to save their own faith, not necessarily as an outreach strategy.

Dispatch 20: Emergents believe that church should be just as beautiful and messy as life.

Just a thought.