Those Who Misunderstand and Misrepresent the Emerging Church

Ministry in the 21st century is much more first century than it is last century. Today you've got to understand what it's like to do ministry in the medieval world and the first-century world more than in the modern world and the patristic world. Seldom do modern leaders born before 1960 (immigrants) transition into the "new world." Most often they practice ministry the way they learned ministry. Oh, yea, many have been introduced to "emerging," fewer have "heard of what's emerging" and even fewer have read a book on what's emerging. Yet without a flipped light switch, few rise up out of the mire of modern traditionalism. The result is misrepresentation and misunderstanding of the emerging church. I see it in the local church, in hypertext and paperback writings. I even subscribe to a blog that claims to be authored by an emerging leader even thought he is more of the modern bent than postmodern.

Andrew Jones (Tall Skinny kiwi) writes an open post to D.A Carson, research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. […read the post]