The Church

While I'm at it I would like to discuss the shift in church models the emergent movement is taking. I like some of the things that are happening on this front.

Far too many times worship services have become the church's prime evangelism field. This isn't a part of the model in the new testament at all. Now I am not saying that what we see in acts or in extra-biblical literature is the only way church can be done, but I think we have lost the point in some of it. I have seen church service after service sacrifice good, challenging teaching because they do not want to offend any "non-believers" in the congregation.

In the early church if you wanted to become a member of a congregation you would formally declare this. Then you would be a catechumen. Then you had to wait a year or so to be baptized after lent and become a full member of the church. Catechumen were only allowed to join the congregation for the first part of the service which was singing, teaching, and meditating on scripture. The second half (thats right HALF) of the service was the lord's supper.

While you were a catechumen you were assigned one member to be your mentor. A person who would teach you the ways of christianity. Understand that at this time many members would have been Jews who didn't really have a "conversion" so to speak. They had a continuation of their religion by believing the messiah had come. Gentiles would have made up the majority of the catechumenae.

These were services that focused on god, and on our communal seeking and praising of him. They were not evangelism fields, they were a place for christians to worship and grow. Now outside of the services the church would have been active in the community. The church would have cared for the poor, orphans, and widows. They would have helped the sick and supported the oppressed. Through these interactions in the community the church would have had quite a good name. (at the same time though terrible rumours would have been spread about the practices of christianity)

I think the emergent model does not see evangelism in the traditional I speak, you listen, you decide to be converted sense. It sees evangelism as a part of spreading God's love. When we love people as Christ would have us, they will decide to follow christ as we are christ to them.

I like how the services are geared toward worship and searching for God. I like how the services are very communal and about our experience of God with a community. I like how the doors are always open to anyone, but that whoever shows up is going to be challenged about the manner in which they live their lives. And finally, I like how the church is again becoming involved in the community outside of christian circles and with a purpose of fighting injustice and showing love.