"The
church has been preoccupied with the question, "What happens
to your soul after you die?" As if the reason for Jesus
coming can be summed up in, "Jesus is trying to help get
more souls into heaven, as opposed to hell, after they
die." I just think a fair reading of the Gospels blows
that out of the water. I don't think that the entire message
and life of Jesus can be boiled down to that bottom line."
—Brian
McLaren, from
the PBS special on the Emerging Church
"Emergent
doesn't have a position on absolute truth, or on anything
for that matter. Do you show up at a dinner party with
your neighbors and ask, 'What's this dinner party's position
on absolute truth?' No, you don't, because it's a non-sensical
question." Tony
Jones at the 2005 National Youth Workers Convention
"Meditative
prayer like that we experienced in the labyrinth resonates
with hearts of emerging generations."—Dan
Kimball, Vintage Faith
"My
goal is to destroy Christianity as a world religion and
be a recatalyst for the movement of Jesus Christ," McManus,
author of a new book called The Barbarian Way, said
in a telephone interview. "Some people are upset with
me because it sounds like I'm anti-Christian. I think they
might be right."—Erwin
McManus, from The Barbarian Way
"Many
Christians use "Breath Prayers" throughout their day.
You choose a brief sentence, or a simple phrase that can be
repeated to Jesus in one breath." —Rick
Warren
"The
fact is that contemplative
spirituality will play a huge part in the Church of the
future, and candles are just the beginning." Duane
Cottrell
"He
[Brian McLaren] cites Dallas Willard and Richard Foster, with
their emphasis on spiritual disciplines, as key mentors
for the emerging church."—The
Emergent Mystique, Christianity Today, 11/04
"[W]e
should stop to reflect and to treasure the words, to turn
them over and over in our minds, repeating them ..."—Richard
Foster, Renovare
"Some
of the values of the emerging church are an emphasis on emotions,
global outlook, a rise in the use of arts, and a rise in mysticism
and spirituality."—Josh Reich
Creating
Worship Gatherings for the Emerging Church
"Church Should Be Like a Dance Club" —Josh
Reich
Creating
Worship Gatherings for the Emerging Church
"I
stopped reading from the approved evangelical reading list
and began to distance myself from the evangelical agenda.
I discovered new authors and new voices at the bookstore-Thomas
Merton, Henri Nouwen
and St.
Teresa of Avila. The more I read, the more intrigued I
became. Contemplative
spirituality seemed to open up a whole new way
for me to understand and experience God. I was deeply
moved by works like The Cloud of Unknowing, The Dark Night
of the Soul and the Early Writings of the Desert Fathers."
—Spencer
Burke, The Ooze
|
According
to some "emergers", this is what the emerging
church is all about:
|
—
I see this idea of church as a party behind much of emerging
church thinking around the world.
— Monastic
models of church are now a viable option for young
people.
— The practice of pilgrimage is increasingly popular,
as is other forms of navigable worship using motion
and movement like labyrinths, prayer walks, or stations
of the cross.
— New technology (video loops, wonderful sound systems)
with ancient chants, candles, and labyrinths.
— While the emerging church movement is difficult to
quantify ... they are blending ancient practices like
incense and candles with 21st century lifestyles.
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