Emergent Church: New Links, Old Traditions
by J. Todd Billings From the Church Herald, April 2007 (denominational magazine for the Reformed Church in America) There is a new buzz in the neighborhood, called "emergent churches" or the "emergent conversation." Whether they self-identify as "younger evangelicals" or "postmoderns" or "post-evangelicals," this group of Generation X and Y Christians moves to a different dance from the "baby boomer" generation. No more seeker-sensitive, boiled-down Christianity, with its obsession with "relevance"--as if the New Testament was written in 1970 or so. Instead, "ancient" is better, and "tradition" is becoming a good word again. While we should be cautious about passing trends, the movement known as the emergent church has begun to capture the attention of the RCA. Brian McLaren, a key emergent leader, addressed the 2006 General Synod on how to become a missional church. In west Michigan, steeped in Reformed perspective, 12,000-plus persons flock weekly to Mars Hill Bible Church, with emergent...