Who are They?

The New Emergents

They are Christo-centric, not Church-centric. They're holistic, earthy, incarnational and relational. They seek to practice what Phyllis Tickle calls “radical obedience” to Jesus’ ways. In other words, they believe that Jesus meant what he said.

The Emergents believe Jesus and the 1^st century church are worth emulating. They are not intimidated or impressed by ecclesiastical hierarchy, and they're not distracted by the “holiness” (or assumed holiness) and privilege of clergy.

Perhaps Jesus was the first Emergent. He entered a world where hierarchical Judaism was at war with itself, split between varying sects of Pharisees and the Sadducees, some who were obsessed with Temple rituals and obeying the 613 Mosaic Laws, and another group following the teachings of Rabbi Hillel, who embraced the idea that how our hearts are is more important in God’s eyes than all the Mosaic Laws. In her new book, A Case for God, Karen Armstrong contends that Jesus embraced this new gospel of radical compassion. She writes,

“[Jesus] was asking his disciples for commitment. He wanted disciples who would engage with his mission, give all they had to the poor, feed the hungry, refuse to be hampered by family ties, abandon their pride, lay aside their self-importance, and sense of entitlement, live like the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, and trust in the God who was their father.”

Emergents in the 21^st century embrace this Way. They entered a spiritual desert pockmarked by warring factions of Christians and simply sought Jesus. They are more apt to find Jesus in the world than in a church. They see Jesus in the faces of the poor, the sick and the marginalized. They wonder whether “program based” churches only want what their demographic represents, and are not really interested in their spiritual journeys. Captivated by the ancient, Emergents long for the simplicity of the first century house churches. They study source texts such as The Didache, The Bible, Justin’s First Apology and Augustine’s Confessions to recover authentic Church. Lastly, they seek to emulate "church" as it was before it was polluted by politics and by “the Institution.”

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