I was looking around for church plant blogs from BC and Alberta, to see who’s doing what.  I encountered a blogger who also pastors The Open House in East Vanouver.  Reading over his and his church’s websites gave me a few clues as to his approach to church planting.  I had a few thoughts as I surfed it.

The Open House is advertised as “A missional community walking in a Jesus direction”.  From everything I have read about missional churches and the theology behind them, I am totally in agreement with much of their understanding of the purpose of a church body.  The flavour of missional churches that leans in an emergent direction becomes dischordant in my mind though, because it seems to lean too heavily on a concept of postmodernism that doesn’t really exist much.

I read the other day an author that claims that postmodernism doesn’t really exist.  That the classic anarchic view of young people or whoever, the rejection of absolutes does not exist.  That if you drill down any postmodern, you will find someone who is modern, and recognizes the necessity of modernity.  I think that could be true.  The stereotypical community of emergents as a fellowship body, meeting casually in bars or coffeeshops, talking about God and ancient forms of devotion doesn’t go anywhere.  It relies on the personality of the leader to hold it together because there is no call for loyalty or commitment from its constituent members.  Each member is ultimately self-directed in their own personal quest for deity, and only incidentally fellowships.

What this results in is a community that is temporary and transient.  It comes and goes in wisps.  It relies on flighty noncommital people to dedicate themselves to themselves and in so doing, a community.  Except, I have to think that the Bible teaches the opposite.  It teaches commitment to the body of Christ first, and your person second.  “Love the Lord your God with all you heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your stength, and love your neighbour as yourself.“  Where does the self come?  Last.

So when I see an emerging church with suspended services, I am not surprised.  I wish human nature wasn’t what it is, but that and a dollar will buy you a can of Coke.  I am convinced that one of the factors of a successful church is eliciting real concrete commitment - to doctrine, to fellowship, to service, to God, and to one another.  What comes of that commitment is growth in yourself.  Personal growth is the result of commitment - it can’t be sought for its own sake, and it should never come before anything else.

Now, to figure out how to communicate that to people who disagree.

Heh.  Still working on that.

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