LET US ALL REMEMBER THE POINT

Sunday, July 22, 2007, Frank Pastore posted a short article entitled, "Why Al Queda supports the Emergent Church." The title alone raised my hackles. This sort of rhetoric is neither useful nor fair and has no place amongst Christ-followers. I was going to comment at length, but honestly, others have done so quite adequately. Pastore's article is so ill-informed, that I find it best to say only this:

Mr. Pastore,

You ought to be ashamed at the lack of thoroughness in the research behind this article. Your description of the emerging church shows that you spent little to no time researching their self-understanding. I suggest you spend some time with Google, getting a bit more breadth and depth before writing on this subject again. In addition, here are a few web items that supply additional information.

Five Streams of the Emerging Church (Scot McKnight)
Understanding the Emerging Church (Ed Stetzer)
What I mean when I say "Emerging Missional Church" (Andrew Jones)
Origin of the terms "Emerging" and "Emergent" (Dan Kimball)
Loving your Emerging Church Neighbor (critique by John Mark Reynolds)
Values and Practices (Emergent Village)

Please understand, the Emerging Church, like every other human expression, needs critique. But...and this is a big but...critiquing fellow Christ-followers must always have their good as its aim. We are commanded to care for one another, and much more. There is no place for division.

Let us all remember the point:

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Ephesians 4:15-16

Key idea: so that it builds itself up in love.

Tag(s): frank pastore "emerging church"

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