Australia
"While I find much of value in the emerging, missional and neo-monastic conversations there is much that sits uneasy with me too, given where I am and where I have come from. I am seeking an understanding of postmodernity which is less monolithic than what I find the emergent stream is offering, I am seeking an approach to contemplative disciplines which is less Euro-centric than what I find the monastic stream is offering, and I am seeking an approach to church contextualization that is less tribal and more critical of the "homogenous unit principle" than what I find the missional stream is offering."
Matt Stone, Just to Explain . . . Hopefully, Glocal Christianity
South Africa
Regarding the current conversation about the term emerging, let’s just say that I don’t think the term is dead,"
Cobus Van Wyngaard, Emerging Alternative Communities for South Africa, My Contemplations
"When the conversation exploded a couple of days ago, I found Sine's four streams to be of a lot of help as well. As we were busy trying to get some "emerging" folks from around Pretoria and Johannesburg together, I realised that what we call "emerging" encompasses all four of Sine's streams. For us it isn't a tension yet. When we say "emerging" in our context, we tend to understand what it mean."
Cobus Van Wyngaard,, in comments
Technorati Tags: emergent, emerging church
New Zealand
"And I will look at them and part of me will want to cry. How could my efforts to be part of God's work, born for such a time as this, now be called dead. And part of me will want to hit over the head all the people who have stirred and misrepresented and fought over labels and words and used the web to spread disinformation and increase their blog ratings. And part of me will smile. What will they call the next thing, I wonder? And I will respond to the question by suggesting we turn to Acts 2 and Luke 10. I will suggest we stop worrying about what we call these "new forms of church." Instead we think about what it means for us to be obedient to the mission of God, because we are born "for such a time as this.""
Steve Taylor, Why I'm Emergentkiwi (still), EmergentKiwi
UK
"Whether you are catholic, house church, an naissant/proto emerging church, we are all the emerging church, with a deep ecumencalism, helping each other respond to similar contextual problems. Trying to form churches that see people find and grow in love and orientation around Jesus.
. . . But the emerging church can become so broad, that it loses it’s meaning. It does seem that almost anyone and anything is called emerging church these days. I’m still more comfortable with this broader and generous delineation though. But I sense many are thinking of moving beyond the emerging church, due to it’s dilution."
Jason Clark, Beyond the Emerging Church?, Deep Church
Canada
"This present “evolution” of the emerging church may not be (read: is rather known not to be) its final stage, but it does represent a form of maturation from where it was. Not a complete maturation, of course, but the maturation in a specific area. Considering that those within the movement are continuing to pursue this same course of “emerging” into a revised form of church, we may conclude that there remains some life yet in the old dog."
Brother Maynard, Emergent Terminology: It’s Not About Terminology, Subversive Influence
USA
"As for me- I don't know if I'm done with the phrase "emerging church" yet- but just about. I know that when I say it, I'm more often than not now answering a question about what we aren't than what we are about- and that saddens me."
Bob Hyatt, Look who's done with words like Emergent, bob.blog
