Emergent Church Analysis

In doing a good amount of reading on the subject of the recent movement among young evanglicals called Emergent, I have found it rather difficult to neatly summarize or categorize this new way of practicing the Christian faith. I realize that the participants of this movement (many of its leaders would prefer that it called a "conversation" although if the explosion of books, churches, and websites with the title "Emergent" is any indication, it has certainly moved past the category of a mere conversation and at least started to become a movement) would be more than happy with my inability to put pigeonhole them with Christian labels or categories. I do, however, believe that it is important for any system of thoughts or beliefs to be able to communicate its basic tenets to those outside of it circles.

Surely, some of this is simply a matter of time, and if the program from PBS' Religion and Ethics Newsweekly to which I am posting a link is any indication, a better understanding is beginning to be grasped. This is probably the clearest summary and some of the best analysis of the Emergent conversation that I have come across. In particular, I found the interviews with Scot McKnight and D.A. Carson to be very enlightening. McKnight does a good job of summarizing the movement and Carson offers some insightful critiques (although if you read some of the other things he has to say about Emergent, he will be found to be much more generous in pointing out the movements strengths).

Cover Story Part 1

Cover Story Part 2