One more thing about Emergent…

From an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer (when, I have no idea):

“This new flavor of evangelicalism, with echoes of the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and 1970s and a dash of medieval ritual, is especially popular among young urban adults. It stresses tolerance, inclusiveness, social justice and environmental stewardship, and it shifts the theological focus from individual salvation to helping one’s earthly neighbors.
“This blows away the assumption of what church should be,” said Jayne Wilcox, 36, of Levittown, after the service, as son Kobe, 4, clung to her leg and Seth, 6, headed for the door. “It attracts the college age and young families… it catches the ones that other churches miss.”

Emergent blog is where this came from. Read the whole thing below…

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Emergent Church and Misunderstanding

Much has been and is being said about the Emergent Church conversation/movement and especially Brian McLaren, its primary conversant. A lot of incorrect things have been written and said, which is typical of critique of any “new thing.” (… there is nothing new under the sun) I resonate with a good bit of what is being said within the conversation, especially as they engage Post-modern thought. (It really doesn’t matter what I or anyone thinks about Post-moderism – a whole generation – and following – are being raised on it and will be regardless of what we may want or demand!)
To answer some of his critics, Brian has begun a serious of three essays on an Emergent blog detailing his life. I think it would be good for anyone interested on new religious/Christian developments in the U.S., especially as this conversation changes the face of American Christianity (and it will, for good and for bad).
Here is the link: target=”_blank”>Brian McLaren on “Becoming Convergent” – Part 1 of 3

A New Way

This op-ed by Jim Wallis is reprinted from a recent edition of The New York Times.
The Message Thing
By JIM WALLIS
Since the 2004 election, there has been much soul-searching and hand-wringing, especially among Democrats, about how to “frame” political messages. The loss to George W. Bush was painful enough, but the Republicans’ post-election claims of mandate, and their triumphal promises to relegate the Democrats to permanent minority status, left political liberals in a state of panic.
So the minority party has been searching, some would say desperately, for the right “narrative”: the best story line, metaphors, even magic words to bring back electoral success. The operative term among Democratic politicians and strategists has become “framing.” How to tell the story has become more important than the story itself. And that could be a bigger mistake for the Democrats than the ones they made during the election.

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