Emergent Rising and Knees Knocking...

It was great reading about the "Emergent" gathering in BLC last Saturday. I was only sorry that I could not make it as my sinus was working up a mighty storm in my head. I could barely hold a coherent thought much less a coherent conversation among thee intellectual "giants" at the meeting.

So, instead of joining Al to go to BLC, I stayed around until the completion of the Inter-Church games. You don't need to be coherent to throw water balloons at each other. The fellowship was great and we had wacky fun with everyone (although I stayed at the sidelines most of the time on account of my woozy head and wheezing chest). Or maybe that's an excuse I keep repeating to myself...nah!

I read with great interest Al's, Messy Christian's and Confessions of a Hedonese's summary and impressions of the gathering and I felt even more depressed for not being able to participate in the conversations (like anyone would like to hear you speak you hack!)

It was with dismay that I found out that the next gathering would be on the 6th of November during which I will be in Jakarta. Mental note to self "bug anyone who recorded the session"!! I'm hoping someone from the meeting would put up some notes or wav files or recordings on the session so I too might eavesdrop on the conversations :)

Have been reading, or at least trying to keep up with, the conversations involved in the "Emergent" movement at Brian McLaren's site, Sivin Kit's Garden and others. One book I'm currently on is The Church In Emerging Culture: Five Perspectives, general editor Leonard Sweet (will get to the picture once I get this blogger bot to work!). I've been off and on on it but what I've read so far is some pretty solid stuff, especially as it calls into debate how much cultural influence should or should not impact the church. I know that's not much of a review but I'll be sure to blog about my impressions once I'm done with it.

What is exciting me most about the "Emergent" movement is the rethinking about our relationship and (to use an increasingly common word) conversations to God and to everyone. Sounds almost cliched but that is exactly what is needed. A rethinking needs, no pun intended, to be thought out. In this particular loci of time, when theology, good and bad, is becoming more prevalent among the masses, when religiosity is giving way to dogmatic deconstruction and when our elders start to squirm in their seats and wonder about the good ol' days.

Where then is the balance? How do we emerge the church in the greater society while holding on to the non-negotiable commandments lest syncretism creep in? How do we balance the touchy-feel conversations and keep our relationships real and fruit bearing to other people looking in? How does the Emerging Church fit into our tapestry of cultures, filial bonds and moral-tradition codes and how can it be relevant without the frequent bumbling Christian toe-stepping evangelism approach? Lotsa questions and lotsa looking forward tos.

My interest in Emergent began with worship but it has since then led to more doors that would need to be opened. It promises to be one of those journeys that will lead to more and more doors. But you know what? I'm looking forward to it.