Exploring the Emergent Church

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I’ve been invited back to my place of origin (where beer and cheese flow freely – {that would be Wisconsin} and I’m not a fan of either {beer and cheese that is}).

I’ll be presenting a free one day seminar called ALTERNATIVE TO EMERGENT. New Tribe Bible Institute is sponsoring this event for their student body and they’re making the event available to anyone who adam1wants to come.

I sat down with my host Adam Demark, (the rep who invited me), in order to learn more about New Tribes and their rationale behind the event.

  1. What is your role NTBI? I am involved in student discipleship, teach Bible classes, and function as the school registrar.   My wife Jena and I and our three kids have ministered with New Tribes Mission since 1997.
  2. NTBI trains students to minister in other cultures. Why did you want your students to be educated about the pros and cons of the emergent church? New Tribes Mission specializes in communicating the gospel in a way that is relevant to the people group that we are targeting.  Being relevant in that context and within that culture is the key to effectively communicating God’s Word.   We want to communicate in the “heart language” of the people.   As I have observed our students in their own culture, I feel that many are possibly missing the balance of relevance and truth.   One of the cries of the emergent movement is the cry for relevance.  People are searching for what is relevant in their lives.  The answer is Jesus Christ, and I want our students to understand that there are positive aspects to this movement as well as some aspects to be cautious about.
  3. Why is it the “right time” for this one-day event – alternative to emergent? The rejection of absolute truth in a postmodern worldview has overflowed into the church.  Jude exhorts us to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”  It is important that we understand the times that we live in.  It is the believer’s responsibility to “walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”   The time is now before we lose an entire generation to irrelevance. 

More about this special FREE one day event =

April 23, 2009 – Alternative to Emergent:

Navigating the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Movement

 

9:00 – 9:15 am:  Worship

9:15 – 10:30 am:   Session 1

Navigating the Conversation: A Brief History Concerning What & Why
This session introduces vocabulary, origins, and motivations for the movement.

11:00 – 12:15 pm:  Session 2

Unintentional Atheists: 4 Reasons why you’re Probably an Atheist without even Knowing it & what to do About it
This session demonstrates the strengths of the movement which return us to a biblical, methodological, embodiment of the Gospel.

6:00 – 6:30 pm:   NTBI Campus Tour

6:30 – 6:45 pm:  NTBI DVD

6:45 – 7:15 pm:   Session 3

The Fine Line: Alternative to Emergent
This session presents the Third Way – a balanced and bold approach of integrating Christ with Culture.  

7:30 – 8:00 pm:   Session 4

A Faith of Substance: Clarification and Commitment to Orthodoxy
This session presents a confident affirmation of Truth and the doctrines not up for negotiation.

 

* Please join us for dessert and coffee in the NTBI Dining Hall following last session

For more information about this special event, please contact me at adam_demark@ntm.org.  More details to follow.   Visit us online at www.ntbi.org 

The event is free to the public. Seating is limited. Relevant resources will be available for purchase onsite.

 

New Tribes Bible Institute

915 N. Harwell Ave.

Waukesha, WI 53186

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  • http://www.FreemanFeedback.com Thomas Freeman

    Kary,

    Thanks for coming and sharing with our student body! I believe you did a great job showing the concerns we have with the emergent church and it’s post-modern philosophy while still recognizing some good issues they started off attempting to address.

    I will be teaching our apologetics course in the fall. I would love to dialog with you regarding some of my thoughts as I prepare for it.

    Sometimes we are talking about using post-modern cultural concepts (not necessarily philosophical concepts) as tools to reach the post-modern person. This is the result of a passion for evangelism and since it’s not a doctrinal issue is really very appropriate. At other times people are discussing the “worship” experience which is uniquely a “believer” only discussion – i.e. non-evangelistic. I would be interested in thinking through how maintaining clarity in these two issues might effect the conversation.

    However, I also agree that there are some aspects of the post-modern philosophical thought process that I agree with. But again, I wonder if there are two different parts that need to be distinguished. For instance, I agree that language is a very personal issue while being corporate in expression. I say something with specific meaning that I’m attempting to communicate. I can’t guarantee that everyone listening will understand exactly what I wished to communicate. (cultural hermeneutic enters on this very point). That would be at a micro level. But I do believe that at a larger scale, if we are careful to pick words with specific ranges of meaning I can communicate a range of meaning that all of the audience would understand. This is at a macro level. So while I can’t communicate “perfectly”, I can have confidence in my communication. I believe that modernist are often short-sighted in thinking that words can be perfect. We obviously face this in word-for-word translations! There is some good warnings presented to us in post-modernism but there are also some good warnings presented to us in modernism. I’m looking forward to reading your book and it may deal with this. What I would love to see is some clear discussion on where the post-modern thinking is healthy and where we need to be very critical.

    One of my challenges in developing an apologetic curriculum for next semester is to make it very practical. I want to help students see where they are post-modern in their thinking and prepare them to challenge themselves with the word. However, I also see a need to point out where we are “overly” modern in our thinking and prepare them to challenge themselves with the word here as well. We teach this early in the course-sequence as a foundation for the student to become critical (self as well as culture) as they go on to study foundational biblical truths. I’m keeping my eyes out for very practical books that present a critical view of current culture.

    In Summary:
    1. How does evangelistic vs. worship effect the postmodern discussion?
    2. Do you know of material that shows where the postmodern balance is healthy?
    3. Can you recommend any books that would help me find practical examples to show the students where their mindsets have already been effected.

    Thanks for any help you can provide! I will be reading your book to see what insights it might provide.

    In Christ,
    Thomas
    Dean of Students – NTBI

    • Kary Oberbrunner

      Tom,

      Please read the chapter titled BILINGUAL from my new book THE FINE LINE. It answers many of your questions about where that “line” is. Let’s chat once you read that short section.

  • http://www.FreemanFeedback.org Thomas Freeman

    Ok. I read the chapter. It does give a good overview on the two aspects regarding the line between them. I’ll try to clarify my questions with some more specifics regarding the philosophies involved and how they effect theology.

    Thanks!
    Thomas

  • http://www.FreemanFeedback.com Thomas Freeman

    As I read the chapter I see that you have also thought about the need to recognize strengths and weaknesses of each culture.

    And I think the dichotomy I’m seeing is in a desire to see how to critically consider the philosophy. For instance, I want to think through what part effects evangelism and have a willingness to embrace the culture to reach their culture. And yet there are parts of it that I would handle very differently when worshiping with other believers.

    As I read your bilingual chapter, I see verses that focus on evangelism (like Mars Hill or all things to all people) considered alongside of Church. Then I think I began to realize that you may be looking at “Transformers” as needing to have a transforming effect on every area of life (evangelism and church).

    Is that true?

    Thanks!
    Thomas

    • Kary Oberbrunner

      Right on…Transformists have an affect on all of life because by the very definition they are holistic and integrated people. It’s impossible to segment or compartamentalize their affect.

      Good thoughts.

  • http://www.FreemanFeedback.com Thomas Freeman

    I hear what your saying. I would see this as the aim of the Body of Christ. To grow (in a sense…transform) to the fullness of the complete maturity of Christ Himself. However, I like Wuest’s definition of transform…An outward revealing of an inward reality. I’m not looking to transform anything else on the inside. It is finished. I am looking to become ever more consistent on the outside.

    Clearly, we have a transforming effect when we help move people from the kingdom of darkness. But I’m content for my church (bodylife) experience to be relevant to the church and possibly less relevant to those who are of the world. I’m afraid that at times we are looking to make everything relevant to those of the world rather than being a transforming oasis in the world.

    Not unholistic but content to realize that there is a difference in relevance to the world and to the church.

    What do you think?
    Thomas

    • Kary Oberbrunner

      Good stuff Thomas…as I say in the Fine Line. Relevance is first and foremost an internal thing (loving God and loving people). Too often we jump to externals. Sweet definition too from Wuest.