Book recommendation
As unlikely as it seems, (me recommending a book that is) I have been reading one that will be very interesting to anyone with an interest in church planting or emerging churches. It's called, rather disappointingly, 'Emerging Churches' and is published in the UK by SPCK. The authors are Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger and I got my copy off Amazon.
What I like about this book is it takes a sociological set of skills to the question of what the emerging church really is. Most books I have read on this topic are from an inspirational or prophetic viewpoint - in other words, lots of hyperbole and not much substance. The authors of this book interviewed about 50 church leaders in both the US and the UK to try and understand what is common in the so called 'emerging church'. It's also fun to spot quotes from people we know.
Without spoiling the ending like I did the other day with the Sixth Sense, Gibbs and Bolger argue:
- that the emerging church is not the same as 'gen-x' church, or 'seeker friendly' church, or 'house' church
- emerging churches are trying to create missional community in postmodern culture
- that modern churches can't house post-modern expressions in the same structure
And that emerging churches all share:
- an emphasis on the 'kingdom' (in other words where modern churches are mainly interested in Jesus' death and resurection, emerging churches realise that we can learn much from the way Jeus lived before he died)
- a tearing down of secular and sacred space (modern churches seek to bring people into a sacred space while emerging churches seek to make all secular spaces sacred by bringing God into them)
- a desire to live as community (church isn't a service but a community)
For most of us this is not earth shattering, but it is really interesting to read about ourselves, if you know what I mean. Gibbs and Bolger extend these themes and offer stories and illustrations that give a clearer handle on the movement and what has caused church to move in this direction. Worth the £10 cover price for the discription of the Nine O'Clock Service alone, this book comes highly recommended.
Bruce Willis was dead from the start.
posted by gavin @ 2:50 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
i haven't watched it yet...
thanks!!!
so when you say its good to read about ourselves.
is clcl an emergent church?
Hi Jeff,
That's a good question to ask, though possibly a bit early to ask it!
When I said that it's good to read about ourselves, I mean that I am part of this movement loosely, through the church I am part of in Cambridge, Fusion, and the national networks I interact in. Most of the UK names in the book I know of or have met.
But it's important to say that this book is not a blueprint for church - it is discribing a group of churches that are 'self-selecting' (in other words, define themselves) as the emerging churches. Gibbs and Bolger are looking to discribe these churches rather than discribing what church should be. I think that is why i am finding it helpful.
As I quite often say, it is important to respond to the situation, not other churches. I'll blog something on this, on the main site.
You should get the book, you'd enjoy it.
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