Articles for tag: Brian McLaren

October 12, 2016

Christian Standard

On Being Done with Church

By Jim Tune Research reveals that when it comes to identifying with a particular faith, the “nones”””those who affiliate with no religion””have been increasing for decades. Recently we have heard about the rising number of “dones,” people who were actively involved in a local church who have simply dropped out. A growing number of lifelong churchgoers, many of them leaders and ministers, are saying, “That”s it. I”m done!” It”s not that they are avowed atheists. They haven”t rejected God. It”s not that they never gave church a try””quite the opposite. The “dones” have ample firsthand experience with it. They”ve been

Higher Education and the Kingdom of God

By Wye Huxford The realities of the present are something quite different from our memories of the past. Nowhere is this more true than what we think about Christian higher education.  In Brian MacLaren”s A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey, Neo, the high school science teacher with a PhD, is having an exchange with Casey, a young lady who is considering attending seminary. Casey wants to know why Neo never advised her to go to seminary. Neo responds: “For someone as young as you, it would be so good if there was

What Would Jabez Do?

By Jim Tune   “Let me not live,” quoth he, “After my flame lacks oil, to be the snuff Of younger spirits, whose apprehensive senses All but new things disdain; whose judgments are Mere fathers of their garments; whose constancies Expire before their fashions.” “”William Shakespeare, All”s Well That Ends Well   In business marketing, companies are very interested in reaching the elusive consumer known as the early adopter. I suppose I fit into that category. My guess is a large majority of church planters are early adopters, or perhaps even innovators. It wouldn”t surprise me if someone discovered the

Gen X Rising (Part 1)

By Rick Chromey The next two decades will produce unimaginable change. By 2040, much of what we now call “modernity” will be history as the digital revolution finalizes its reinvention of commerce, communication, and education. In 2010, Amazon e-books outsold print books, and in 2011, Borders booksellers filed bankruptcy, signaling an end of the age of Gutenberg. The iPad and Kindle are changing how we read. The CD and DVD are dead media (and books are next), while Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter continue to flex digital muscles. In the midst of this cyber revolution stands a generation waiting to

Emerging for the Rest of Us

By Josh Tandy In 2003 I was in college and reading Brian McLaren”s A New Kind of Christian. It was unlike anything I had ever read in Christian literature. The book simultaneously bothered and encouraged me. I thought I understood about half of the issues discussed, but I actually grasped far less. Despite my ignorance, I was hooked””even though I didn”t fully know why. To varying degrees I think many church leaders, whether paid or unpaid, have had a similar experience with their first contact with the emerging church movement. Perhaps you were like me and had no context to

Random Notes, Important Items

By Mark A. Taylor This week”s items have little relationship to each other except that (1) they”re important, and (2) they don”t fit anywhere else in the magazine. So, please forgive the somewhat random nature of this, but keep reading. The first is an apology, not for two articles we published, but for the way we illustrated them. William R. Baker”s comparison of emerging churches with Restoration Movement thought (November 23 and 30) is valuable to consider. But by positioning images of Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone over the shoulders of Dan Kimball, Brian McLaren, and Spencer Burke, we

The Emerging Church and the Stone-Campbell Movement: Some Striking Similarities (Part 1)

By William R. Baker See the Sidebar: “The Emerging Church: A Brief History and Helpful Resources”     "Emerging churches are communities that practice the way of Jesus within postmodern cultures," say Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger.1 We might wonder, From what are these churches emerging? Simply stated, they are emerging from a modern world to a postmodern world.2    Yet, thinkers about the emerging church also want to place this mantra of “emerging” on the church generally in the past, present, and future.3 Thus, in the New Testament writings of Paul, we see the Greco-Roman church “emerge” from the

November 23, 2008

Christian Standard

The Emerging Church: A Brief History and Helpful Resources

By William R. Baker See the Main Article: “The Emerging Church and the Stone-Campbell Movement: Some Striking Similarities (Part 1)”     What is now dubbed the emerging church began with a few prominent, young, evangelical church leaders in the early 1990s who became disenchanted with the megachurches with which they were involved. It has grown now to an expanding network of mature, culturally savvy church leaders and thinkers who minister with congregations, mostly in large cities.  These leaders are attempting to embody the gospel within the challenges of a postmodern world. The crisis these leaders were experiencing, it turns

Worship/Service: A Conversation Between Paul and David

By Mandy Smith Last year I started a new job that means I will never get to worship, or so I have been told. It is my responsibility every Sunday to help others worship by overseeing the sound board, musicians, PowerPoint, seating, bulletins, and Communion cups. No time for singing or sitting or listening. No worship for me. As part of this new job, I got a subscription to Worship Leader magazine and, while flipping through it, I became convinced of something we already know: “worship leader” has come to be synonymous with “music minister.” Of the 51 advertisements in

September 16, 2007

Gary Zustiak

emerging church movement

The Emerging Church Phenomenon

A look at the emerging church movement—its beginnings, key voices, and defining practices—plus a careful distinction between “emerging” and “Emergent,” and a critique that also notes strengths in authenticity and mission.

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