"The church has been preoccupied with the question, "What happens to your soul after you die?" As if the reason for Jesus coming can be summed up in, "Jesus is trying to help get more souls into heaven, as opposed to hell, after they die." I just think a fair reading of the Gospels blows that out of the water. I don't think that the entire message and life of Jesus can be boiled down to that bottom line." —Brian McLaren, from the PBS special on the Emerging Church
"Emergent doesn't have a position on absolute truth, or on anything for that matter. Do you show up at a dinner party with your neighbors and ask, 'What's this dinner party's position on absolute truth?' No, you don't, because it's a nonsensical question." Tony Jones at the 2005 National Youth Workers Convention
"Meditative prayer like that we experienced in the labyrinth resonates with hearts of emerging generations." Dan Kimball, Vintage Faith
"My goal is to destroy Christianity as a world religion and be a recatalyst for the movement of Jesus Christ," McManus, author of a new book called The Barbarian Way, said in a telephone interview. "Some people are upset with me because it sounds like I'm anti-Christian. I think they might be right."—Erwin McManus, from The Barbarian Way
"Many Christians use "Breath Prayers" throughout their day. You choose a brief sentence, or a simple phrase that can be repeated to Jesus in one breath." —Rick Warren
"The fact is that contemplative spirituality will play a huge part in the Church of the future, and candles are just the beginning." Duane Cottrell
"He [Brian McLaren] cites Dallas Willard and Richard Foster, with their emphasis on spiritual disciplines, as key mentors for the emerging church."—The Emergent Mystique, Christianity Today, 11/04
"[W]e should stop to reflect and to treasure the words, to turn them over and over in our minds, repeating them ..."—Richard Foster, Renovare
"Some of the values of the emerging church are an emphasis on emotions, global outlook, a rise in the use of arts, and a rise in mysticism and spirituality."—Josh Reich
Creating Worship Gatherings for the Emerging Church
"Church Should Be Like a Dance Club" —Josh Reich
Creating Worship Gatherings for the Emerging Church
"Church Should Be Like a Dance Club" —Josh Reich
"I stopped reading from the approved evangelical reading list and began to distance myself from the evangelical agenda. I discovered new authors and new voices at the bookstore-Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen and St. Teresa of Avila.
The more I read, the more intrigued I became. Contemplative spirituality seemed to open up a whole new way for me to understand and experience God. I was deeply moved by works like The Cloud of Unknowing, The Dark Night of the Soul and the Early Writings of the Desert Fathers." —Spencer Burke, The Ooze
According to some "emergers", this is what the emerging church is all about: |
— I see this idea of church as a party behind much of emerging church thinking around the world.
— Monastic models of church are now a viable option for young people.
— The practice of pilgrimage is increasingly popular, as is other forms of navigable worship using motion and movement like labyrinths, prayer walks, or stations of the cross.
— New technology (video loops, wonderful sound systems) with ancient chants, candles, and labyrinths.
— While the emerging church movement is difficult to quantify ... they are blending ancient practices like incense and candles with 21st century lifestyles.
