The Emerging Church

There has been a great movement in the western church as our culture goes through its transformations. The church has been trying to figure out who it is and what it should be doing. This has led to many different movements, especially what is known as the Emerging church movement. This movement has then split into parts with "Emerging" and "Emergent" and "Reformed" and many other movements. In some of these movements there are some refreshing ideas. There are also some real dangers and Biblical truth has been questioned or abandoned. While sad, the church will always emerge. The foundational truth of God's Word will always come out and the true church will always call people to the redemptive work of Christ. It is sad that there are those more enamored with being culturally relevant or hip, but the church will emerge from between those who hold blindly to tradition and those who blindly destroy orthodoxy, and the Body of Christ, founded in the inerrant Word of God will "emerge" victorious. We need to first just hold to the simple truth of the Gospel. We are sinful and totally unable to come to or please God on our own. Only the work of Christ connects us to God. This is true at the point of salvation and for all subsequent points in our lives. As for a ministry structure, the real issue is, are we loving the family of God and lovingly reaching the lost with the message of the cross of reconciliation? Want a church to grow? Teach the body to love one another and minister the gospel to one another. Then have the body actively sharing that love with those that are outside Christ. The church will grow. It will emerge. Want power? Preach the simple truth of the gospel. Take people deeper and deeper into that simple truth. If Bean's Corner grows, I pray it will not be because Nate's or my skill at preaching, the scope or quality of our programs, or the beauty of our building. I pray that we grow because the people in it are growing in Christ and sharing Christ with others.