Tag: Emergent Church
When Evangelicals use the phrase "true truth" or "truth is truth" they are defining the kind of truth they speak of because a counterfeit "truth" has become popular.
Sober-minded Christians are not so much concerned about how well they are liked as they are about rescuing the lost.
"The Voice inserts peculiar teachings into the text that do not belong. The end result of these "insertions' is a text that obscures the gospel, distorts Jesus substitutionary work on the cross, teaches Pelagianism and promotes a liberal form of works Righteousness."
David Kowalksi: "I have spent hundreds of hours over the past several years conversing with "emerging Christians" as I have listened to them and tried to convince them of their need to embrace true, biblical faith and historical orthodoxy.
As a result of this experience I have learned that despite the diversity in the emergent movement there is a behavioral culture to the emerging church movement as a whole and I have learned to adapt my communication strategies for most effectively interacting with its participants. "
The nature of postmodern epistemology is so contrary to the absolute and exclusive claims of Scripture that a theology which is faithful to Scripture can no more develop from postmodern epistemology than an apple tree can grow from an acorn. David Kowalkski examines the terminology used by proponents of the Emergent Church.
Unfortunately, many evangelical shepherds, who have passed from a prophetic to a professional model of ministry too readily welcome wolves into God's flock if those wolves are decked out in the latest, trendiest garb. The cutting-edge heresy that is being welcomed by many Evangelicals today is known as the Emerging Church movement. While many participants in this movement undoubtedly know and love Christ, and while many of their criticisms of evangelical tendencies are well founded, their concessions to relativism inevitably lead them downward to serious doctrinal and moral deviations that they bring into the household of God.
Just as there is diversity in postmodernism at large there is diversity in the Emerging Church movement and there are many things within it that are in themselves good. To isolate the essence of emergent we will disregard the diverse elements they do not necessarily hold in common with each other. Emergents differ on many peripheral theological and practical issues. Thus, these issues do not help define the movement in spite of their being a real part of the movement. We will also disregard those elements emergents do hold in common with Evangelicals outside of the movement. Emergents share many things with non-emergents such as a belief in contextualization, caring for the needy, friendship evangelism, and fellowship. Consequently, these commendable elements are not part of the distinctive essence of emergent regardless of the legitimate place they have in the movement. This leaves us with the distinctive teachings and goals elaborated below.
How the Emergent Church communicates its message
