emerging :: church

The following article is about changing the way the church lives and reaches out to the post-modern (and post-Christian) world. There are many churches, including our “youth church” which are looking for better ways of being the church and reaching out to the lost. FROM: www.emergingchurch.org
-Cory

emerging :: church

the emerging church of the 21st century may have more in common with the church of the apostolic era, than with the church of the 20th century.

many ancient practices of faith and ways of being communal are being re:booted and morphed for the needs of the future church. as leonard sweet writes, "our faith is ancient. our faith is future. we're old-fashioned. we're new-fangled. we're orthodox. we're innovators. we're postmodern christians."

the emergence of the postmodern era (1960 onward) is only now beginning to impact the world and the church in a profound way. most folk know about luther, calvin and the reformation. some have likened what is taking place in the church today to a "second reformation."

because the church is organic (the living body of christ), it needs evolution or re-formation to stay healthy and vibrant.

the traditions of the church are treasure... we are not starting from scratch... we can build upon the learnings of the first reformation as we surf the wild wave into the second.

today's mission context provides the church with a chance to:

1. shake off any residual "leave it to beaver" orientation and begin swimming (even with a paddleboard) within the postmodern culture.

2. really trust the power of the gospel and learn to communicate it with authenticity, because for postmodern people, authenticity is primary.

the church should not fear postmodernity, as it provides us with a new context, and thus a fresh opportunity to get real, to drink deep from our own wells, and go back to our own future...

the pages [at: www.emergingchurch.org] are only a PRIMER to suggest concepts and ideas relevant for being church in our culture, and a PORTAL into the rich web of ecumenical resources for doing mission in the postmodern age.

FROM: www.emergingchurch.org