Nightline on Emergent

I'm not sure how long it will last, but you can see Nightline's short report on emerging churches by clicking here. (FIrst they will make us go through a short but annoying commercial -- those fiends!)

Remember that the question is not this style of worship vs another style of worship. Clearly traditionalists are going to respond to traditional worship. Their worship should neither be threatened, lampooned, nor criticized. However, just as clearly, younger generations are avoiding traditionalist churches in droves -- but many are finding a powerful expression of Christianity in "Emergent" church.

Assuming that Jesus was right, then we must believe that the Father wants to draw all people to himself. If that had meant the kind of worship that Jesus knew, then we Christians should still worship in synagogues using the Jewish liturgy, or at the Temple with incense and animal sacrifice. But the early Jewish Christians were astonished to discover that it was GOD who insisted they had to make room for Gentiles (Acts 10; Acts 15). Not all early Christians accepted the idea that the Gentiles did not first need to become Jews in order to become Christians, -- nor did Jews need cease to be Jewish. The New Testament insists that God sought Jews as Jews and Gentiles as Gentiles. God welcomed them, and their culture, just as they were. The power of the Gospel came "to the Jew first... but also to the Greek."

So Christians today have to figure out how to make room for all sorts of people. The Traditionalist? Yes. But also the emerging generations with their emerging culture. The traditionalist must not resist the emerging churches. On the other hand, the emerging congregations must accept and respect the traditionalists.

The Lord be with you... whoever in the world (literally!) you are!