Posted at the Outhouse

I posted the following over at the outhouse. Them boys are all worked up into a tizzy about something some fundamentalist from Missouri said. I post it here I guess because I need a post, but it relates to today, Ash Wednesday.

Much of the controversial, "emerging church" movement is not emerging at all. I simply is Christian Tradition marketed as trendy.

My post:

Conservatives do not like the "emerging church" because intrinsically conservatives favor the status quo. Ironically, much of the "emerging church" is status quo. I know it is out of date know, but if you read "The Emerging Church" by Dan Kimball, one gets the impression that he and McLaren one day walked into a Catholic or Orthodox church and said, "wow, this is neat." The emerging church movement is less about non-traditional (to fundamentalists and conservatives) ministry (although that is on the surface what gets the press) that recapturing the essence of what it means to be part of the Kingdom of God. Americans, Southerners in particular, Baptists in particular, conservatives in particular, tend to think that there way is the only / right way and that they have a monopoly on truth (worship, hermeneutics, etc.) What the Emerging church figured out and marketed was that much of what passes for fundamentalist / conservative evangelical orthodoxy is American folk and civil religion as well as the revivals of the 19th Century. McLaren, et al, woke up one day and realized there was this entire stream of Christian Tradition outside of American and outside of fundamentalism / conservatism, and they wrote books and became rich by telling fundamentalist Protestants that it was okay to tap into the rich Christian tapestry beyond the Southern sensibility. There is nothing radical about the emerging movement particularly when one realizes what is radical is the expression of the southern fundamentalist faith when juxtaposed with the greater Christian Tradition.

It is my humble opinion that Moran and others simple is the Fundamentalist Takeover of the SBC coming home to roost. Christ never commanded us to have a particular view of Scripture but rather to live in a certain way ... we so focus on the former we pretty much ignore the latter. The Takeover was as much about preserving God's, guns and the American flag as it was about anything theological. Moran is the same ... scared of what he does not understand. This is tragedy, because his view is so small.

Good to Be in Ministry

Who knew one could make it so big as a ministry. Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, has hit the big time. Here one can see the latest appraisal of his home. It will be interesting how he might explain his need for an $800,000 home while people in the community barely have enough food to eat.

I guess I wonder why so man fundamentalists, who claim to believe the Bible more than anyone, tend to ignore its teachings on money. So much for servant leadership.

I read this quotation in an article on the SBC news service:

"All denominations are active creatures, but dustups between feuding factions resemble modern political conventions so much that observers rightly dismiss denominations as simply playgrounds for wannabe politicians who eschew the field of politics as "too dirty," finding denominational life a more suitable theater for their brand of political hardball."

I thought it really was interesting. I think the fact that I have noticed what the author describes is one reason church life does not always sit well with me. So many pastors seem one step away from politicians or salesmen. I know that is a broad-painting indictment, but I thought the quote had some merit.

I would recommend the article. If you can get past all the Piper-inspired "glory" lines, he makes some good points.