Lama's log

'The preceding chapters examined the nature of the good news of the reign of God as demonstrated and proclaimed in the Gospels. They then related this message to the end of the sacred/secular divide, arguing for a holistic spirituality.'

This is how the chapter began. I have to say that unless I have not read this stuff thoroughly enough it felt like the author was talking of a different book. There has been little discussion of the Gospels and more telling than examining.

The main points of the chapter seem to be that in the emerging church:

Leadership is more facilitative than dictatorial.
Modernity gave an unhelpful view of leadership which made people flea from a God of power and seek solace in secular/ Godless space.
Leadership should move away from one persons domain to a team which seeks to disseminate power and look for collective decision and will.
Leadership needs to be about passion and gifting not willingness and position.

As a Baptist I look at this and say, 'Actually we're doing most of that already'. And there's the rub. After a while even the most freeing structure is structure and can maintain conformity and drudgery. It was interesting to listen to Simon Hall talk about Revive on Saturday. As a community they started out as extremely fluid, so fluid that they have no fixed base, no structures etc etc. At this point in their life they are now looking for a permanent base in building, they are in process of putting more structure into their church body and are looking to join something bigger than themselves in order to be able to branch out and connect with future possibilities. Their theology of church is changing to meet the needs of the community by way of building in structure. This somewhat seems to fly in the face of emergent as deconstruction, alternative leadership etc

Well, perhaps not totally. I think all this points towards emergent stuff needing the backbone of denomination but the denomination needing the voice and challenge of the emergent church. Simon said that he felt the emergent church had not yet found a place but was still looking for where it is going. I hope that this 'wing' of church expression never finds it's home, we need the prophetic nonconformists to challenge our notion of a safe Jesus and a church of the middle classes where all are welcome if you are well educated, over 50 and like committees