Taken from "Is the 'Emerging Church' for Whites Only?"
[ I left a big chunk of the article out here but they interview some Emergent Village folk - worth reading]
"If the white male locus of Emergent is truly passé, then Emergent has the opportunity to become a part of the larger stream of the real emerging church. If the label of the emerging church is to have a future, then the term needs to be reclaimed and disassociated from the specific brand of Emergent, and applied much more broadly to the church around the world.
The burgeoning church is not just a small sliver of American Christianity; rather, it must be seen in the context of a larger movement of God on a global scale. The real emerging church is global and multi-ethnic—and a truly international, truly diverse emerging church has great potential to bring about authentic, deep revival to the world." "Is the 'Emerging Church' for Whites Only?"
RESPONSE
I agree. In many ways I feel it is a shame that only one group (Emergent Village) and only one country (USA) was examined for the writing of this important article. A wider look might have yielded a different result.
The label, actually, may not have a future. It might be too late and in fact, a good number of leaders have already dropped it and moved on to adopt newer terminology, even though their ministries have continued down the same track.
I am thankful that there is more openness to diversity but I think we have a long way to go. The Western church should ready itself for new waves of leaders that might surprise it. Yes, people of color. Yes, female as well as male. But also people with blue collars and not white, people who are not beautiful (thanks to Haddon Robinson for leading the way in this - hehe] people who did not come through the Seminary system, people who lean towards images rather than words, leaders who lead from a living room couch and not a sanctuary stage.
This is a challenge for the whole church. Thanks to the authors for writing it. I hope I did not detract from their main message by adding my own perspective to it.
Check out the other posts and feel free to comment. I will add some conclusion after listening a little more.
