Believing God is changing the world through mustard seeds—
the seemingly insignificant—MSA seeks to unleash the creative
potential of ordinary people to make a difference in their com‐
munities and a world of urgent need.
September 2007 Seed Sampler
The New Conspirators: Emerging Church
Seed Smile
The recent blog banner of Andrew Jones, aka Tall Skinny Kiwi, emergent blogger in the UK.
Seed Story: Touring the Emerging Stream
by Tom Sine, Mustard Seed Associates
As we race into a very uncertain future, the Western Church is facing some daunting challenges: declining num‐
bers and a seeming inability to engage younger people, including many who were raised in the church. In re‐
sponse, God is conspiring with a new generation of creative, risk‐taking Jesus‐followers to imagine and create
new expressions of church. In my upcoming book entitled The New Conspirators: Creating the Future One Mustard
Seed at a Time (February 2008, InterVarsity Press), I organize this new generation into four streams: eMerging,
Missional, Mosaic (or multicultural) and Monastic. Four of the next five Seed Samplers will focus on one stream of
conspirators.
Brian McLaren, discussing the emerging church, observes a distinguishing perspective of young Christians: “It’s
not about the church meeting your needs; it’s about joining the mission of God’s people to meet the world’s
needs.”1 Those involved in this stream almost always tend to be more outwardly seeking to engage urgent needs
in their communities and the larger world.
Beginnings in Britain
Many American Christians have never heard of the house church movement that swept through Britain in the
late 1970s and early 1980s. This renewal movement was short‐lived, however, and soon ran out of gas. In the late
1980s and early 1990s, I met a number of young Brits who began creating new expressions of church. These lead‐
ers included: Peter and Samie Greig, Phil and Wendy Wall, Gerard and Chrissie Kelly, Andy and Helen Harring‐
ton, and Jonny and Jenny Baker. In a variety of ways they took initiative to begin the world over again. Some de‐
scribed themselves as “post‐evangelical.” Others were experimenting with alternative forms of worship. They all
seemed to share a postmodern and often a post‐Christendom critique of both culture and church.
Brian McLaren, as quoted by Andy Crouch, “The Emergent Mystique”, Christianity Today, November 2004, p. 39.
1
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Kiwis and Aussies joining the emerging edge
In the early 1990s, some young Christians in Nelson, New Zealand, created a sophisticated venue called the Led
Zebra. This safari‐themed center was drawing more teens than any secular venue in town. Meanwhile, in the red
light district of Auckland, New Zealand, Mark Pierson, Mike Riddell and some of their mates created Parallel
Universe, a monthly alternative worship opportunity for twenty‐ and thirty‐year‐olds, most of whom made no
profession of faith. From those early beginnings, Mark Pierson went on to lead one of the most artistic churches in
the emerging world—Cityside Baptist, also in Auckland. A number of new expressions have also been created in
Australia, like the Basement, an Anglican church plant in Canberra that works with the poor and started a coffee
shop to reach out to the young.
North Americans joining the emerging edge
In the mid‐1990s, the emerging church movement made its way to North Amer‐
ica. Funded by the Leadership Network, Doug Pagitt and a small circle of pas‐
tors started holding conferences around the country. Many young leaders at
these conferences have subsequently planted new forms of church, such as
Solomon’s Porch in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, Ecclesia in Houston, Texas, and
Mars Hill in Grandville, Michigan.
Since those first mustard seed experiments in the mid to late 1990s, there has
been an explosion of emerging church plants in North America, including Veri‐
tas in Southern California, which offers postmodern worship and opportunities
to make sandwiches for the homeless. Dan Kimball, author of They Like Jesus
and Not the Church and pastor of Vintage Faith in Santa Cruz, California, has
significant influence on the emerging conversation. Karen Ward started Fre‐
mont Abbey in Seattle, Washington. Rachelle Mee Chapman also started the
monastic‐flavored Monk Fish Abbey in Seattle. Mark Scandrette (author of Soul
Graffiti) leads the Jesus Dojo in San Francisco. Sally Morgenthaler is one of the
most creative leaders in the field of worship and sacred space in this movement. In Texas, Chris Seay is working
with a group of artists to translate the scripture in new ways that take both culture and the arts seriously
(www.hearthevoice.com). Andy Harrington, an immigrant from the UK who heads up Youth for Christ in Van‐
couver, British Columbia, has helped young Canadians plant new churches like Station X and Warehouse 180 to
reach to a new generation. There are a host of other emerging churches in North America that I regrettably don’t
have space to mention.
Defining the Emerging Conspirators
I find there is a wide array of understandings around the world of what constitutes an emerging church. Emerg‐
ing leaders in Britain, Australia and New Zealand tend to be more involved in a conversation about postmodern
culture and a post‐Christendom church. Others define emerging as the creation of post‐denominational and post‐
congregational forms of church. And for some other young leaders in the US “pomo” (postmodern) churches
seem to be simply another way to describe alternative worship. Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger took a comprehen‐
sive look at this movement in Britain and the United States in their definitive book Emerging Churches. They offer
this very succinct definition of this stream: “Emerging churches are communities that practice the way of Jesus
within postmodern cultures.”2 Scott Bader‐Saye observes that those in the emerging stream often prefer to define
the emerging church as a conversation instead of a movement—a conversation that “is still young, experimental
and evolving.”3 Leonard Sweet sees it as “an ongoing conversation about how new times call for new churches,
and the mortar‐happy church of the last half of the 20th century is ill‐poised to face the promises and perils of the
Gibbs and Bolger, Emerging Churches, p. 44.
2
Scott Bader‐Saye, “Improvising Church: An Introduction to the Emerging Church Conversation,” International Journal for the Study of the Chris‐
3
tian Church 6, no. 1 (March 2006), p. 12.
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future.”4 But, however defined, the emerging movement offers fresh expressions of what it means to be the
church and do mission, from which we can all learn.
Some leaders in the American church like theologian D.A. Carson express serious reservations about Brian
McLaren’s writings and all things emerging. I think if these critics took the time to get to know these leaders per‐
sonally they would discover, as I have, how most of these leaders struggle to be true to both scripture and the rich
traditions of our faith. In fact, I find that many actually take scripture more seriously than some of their detractors
in their call for “ortho‐praxy”—to not only intellectually assent to faith but to more authentically live out a bibli‐
cal faith with their entire lives. I believe we all have much to gain not only from the new examples these emerging
conspirators but also from the questions they raise for all followers of Jesus.
A few writings about all things emerging
One of the characteristics of the emerging stream is strength of imagination with a very high level of risk‐taking
and initiative. Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Communities in a Postmodern Culture by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan
Bolger provides the best overview of the emerging church,5 but I think Steve Taylor’s book The Out of Bounds
Church best captures the spirit, imagination and playfulness of this stream.6 Scot McNight’s article “Five Streams
of the Emerging Church” in Christianity Today is the most insightful, well‐written description of the stream that I
have come across.7 One of the most provocative articles on the subject is Tim Bednar’s “We know More Than Our
Pastors: Why Bloggers Are the Vanguard of Participatory Church.” He points out how the emerging movement
exists in the blogosphere more than any other Christian movement.8
A few web sites about the emerging edge
Here are few of the emerging websites that will connect you with what these conspirators are doing. The Church
Mission Society maintains a website (www.emergingchurch.info), where many emerging leaders connect to one
another. The best place to meet many young emergingleaders is at the Greenbelt Arts Festival
(www.greenbelt.org.uk), which gathers every August at the Chelteham Racecourse in the UK. The blogging apos‐
tle to the emerging church in Europe is Andrew Jones, alias Tall Skinny Kiwi (tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com). Fuzz
Kitto (www.spirited.net.au) is in touch with what is happening in Australia and is one of the sponsors of the
Black Stump Festival (www.blackstump.org.au), a gathering place for the innovative and risk‐takers in Australia.
Steve Taylor, pastor of Opawa Baptist Church in Christchurch, New Zealand (www.opawa.org.nz) is part of the
latest generation of emerging church planters. In North America, Emergent Village, led by Tony Jones
(www.emergentvillage.org), and The Ooze, led by Spencer Burke (www.theooze.com), are the primary groups
hosting young church planters and wannabes in gatherings and online venues. Youth Specialties
(www.youthspecialties.com) is also a primary player in the US.
An Invitation
You are invited to join at a festival of imagination called “The New Conspirators: What in the World is God Do‐
ing?” on February 28, 29 and March 1, 2008, here in Seattle. Come meet leaders from all four streams and not only
learn what God is doing through these new conspirators, but join them in imagining new possibilities for our
lives, churches and God’s world.
Tamara Cissna, “‘God Sent a Person, Not a Proposition’: A Conversation With Len Sweet,” George Fox Journal Online,
4
http://www.georgefox.edu/journalonline/archives/fall05/emerging.html.
5Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger, Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Communities in Postmodern Cultures, (London: SPCK, 2006), p. 44.
6Steve Taylor, The Out of Bounds Church, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005).
7Scot McKnight, “Five Streams of the Emerging Church,” Christianity Today (February 2007), accessed August 20, 2007 at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/february/11.35.html.
8http://djchuang.googlepages.com/WeKnowMoreThanOurPastors.pdf.
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Liturgy: Weaving A Community
from Worship Alternative, Abbotsford Parish Church, July 2000, accessed August 8, 2007 at
http://website.lineone.net/~abbotsford/weaving.htm
Into a warm country
Sandal‐shoed people
Darker skinned
Brown eyed
Wide opened to a new movement
That has rocked an ancient faith
And is spread by rumour and story telling
To people in small communities gathered
To learn
From eye‐witnesses
Dust still fresh on their feet
After following their Master
Sharing bread and passing wine
And new insights and truths for life
Intro Huddled yet free
Weʹre going to take you on something of a journey. Searched for yet liberated
This is designed to be a meditative service where And you are sitting beside them now
weʹll be taken back to the first Christian Communi‐ You know their faces
ties and reaffirm that we are there with the ancients You recognise their expressions
and they are here with us. You even know their names
Welcome to the Early Church
There will also be an opportunity, if people wish, to The Actʹs Community
affirm our part in this sacred society recognising that This is where you belong
we are woven into this timeless community by plac‐
ing strands on the tapestry here. (PAUSE)
Journey The Acts Community
Let me take you back (Scripture Reading for two voices)
Through time
Imagine yourselves moving through the stars Through the work of the apostles, many God‐signs
Being pulled backwards were set up among the people, many wonderful
Before this evening and before this week things done. They all met regularly and in remark‐
Further into Godʹs own time able harmony on the Temple porch. But even though
Beyond the events that have shaped our generation people admired them a lot, outsiders were wary
And further back still about joining them.
Watching as faces pass by
Of the people who have moulded our worldʹs future (pause)
Back On the other hand, those who put their trust in the
Leaving the contemporary world behind master were added right and left, men and women
Itʹs stress both.
Itʹs pressure
Further back (pause)
Sucked through seasons and generations, and eras
Back They even carried the sick out into the streets and
Beyond these shores laid them on stretchers and bedrolls, hoping they
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would be touched by Peterʹs shadow when he Statement
walked by. A community is a resource of life
In it, and through it, people find the purpose the
(pause) Creator designed them for
It is a sanctuary of promise
The whole congregation of believers was united as And a deep, deep well of love
one ‐ one heart, one mind! It is home
(pause) (Chant)
Place of heaven
Place of love
They didnʹt even claim ownership of their own pos‐
Place of future
sessions. No one said, ʹThatʹs mine; you canʹt have
Rainbow making
it.ʹ They shared everything. The apostles gave pow‐
Place of promise
erful witness to the resurrection of the Mast Jesus,
Place of hope
and grace was on all of them.
Place of Godʹs own weaving
(pause)
A community is a vision of the kingdom
And so it turned out that not a person among them It is the reality of heaven on earth
was needy. Where angels tread through life in whispers of love
And acts of trust
(pause) It is home
Those who owned fields or houses sold them and (Chant)
brought the price of the sale to the apostles and
made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed A community is an anchor in an unstable world
it according to each personʹs need. It is a picture of how things can be
The hope of heaven played out in this world
(pause) An open place where the future is spun
It is home
Weaving a community
A framework for a tapestry was set up with different (Chant)
colours and widths of material.
A community is loveʹs workplace
Take a ribbon of paper and place it on the tapestry It is the space for creativity and care
on the table. Commit yourself to being part of the For support and suffering
community by doing so, but also, if you wish, stay A deep down place of life
where you are, knowing the support of that com‐ It is home
munity. While the music plays I invite you to do
these things now. (Chant)
Reflection: The Cathedral Labyrinth
To view the reflection, visit http://www.yfc.co.uk/labyrinth/online.html#
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Seed Share: Integral Mission in Latin America
by Tomas Yaccino, La Red del Camino para la Misión Integral en America Latina
In Latin America, a small but growing group of churches and Christian leaders are emerging. Their purpose is to
live out the gospel holistically in their communities as a sign that the kingdom of God is present in the world.
Over the past several decades, the Church in Latin America
has grown. Yet, in spite of the apparent numerical success,
the Church has not had a significant influence and impact on
society. Countries with the highest percentages of evangelical
Christians paradoxically have the highest percentages of vio‐
lence, discrimination, social and economic disparity and in‐
justice. This inconsistency between the presence of Christ‐
followers in a given context and the lack of evidence of
Christ’s redemptive and transformational power is the impe‐
tus behind the formation of the Red del Camino para La
Misión Integral en America Latina (Del Camino Network for
Integral Mission in Latin America or “DC Network”). The
leaders of the DC Network are shaking the very foundations of Christian understanding about what it means to
follow Christ in the new global reality and post‐modern world with a passionate hope that others, too, will re‐
claim their responsibility to restore all things through Christ and His chosen agent—the local church.
Who we are
The DC Network is a continental movement of friends—first and foremost—who share a common dream to see
and participate in the global restoration of “all things” by fueling the practice of integral mission through local
communities of faith. As friends, we give of our lives, experiences, knowledge, and resources to bless those local
expressions of faith throughout the diverse contexts of our Latin American continent. We are indebted to the
theologians and practitioners of integral mission in Latin America and the Caribbean who over the last three dec‐
ades have reflected on and challenged the church about her role and mission in the world. As such, we are com‐
mitted to passionately and faithfully carrying out the call to be collaborators with God in His restorative purposes
here on earth, recognizing that we are responsible for our generation. We believe this means a complete integra‐
tion of the key elements that define the missional church: evangelism, worship, community, service (community
transformation), discipleship, and a prophetic role.
Relatively speaking, the DC Network is a small movement. But, we find assurance that in God’s holy narrative
seemingly small and inconsequential vestiges can do great things—the incarnation being the prime example that
in a forgotten place, through a seemingly insignificant couple, God chose to raise a King. And through an unruly
gang of eleven misfits, God chose to commence His upside‐down reality of the Kingdom of God.
Likewise, we believe that God can use a haphazard community of friends, who gather in marginal places to chal‐
lenge one another and attract others, to have a more consequential presence and impact through the local church
in areas of need. We are committed to a biblical ecclesiology that recognizes the priesthood of all believers
(women, men and children) and stimulates each person to discover God’s perfect design and unique purpose for
them and to be a part of God’s restorative Kingdom plans together. We understand that all members of the family
are on a mission to share God’s love, grace and true justice, which means that in any given country those seated
around the table may be an oddball mixture of leaders from very different backgrounds and traditions. But, we
are united by Christ and His mission to be salt and light to this dark and hurting world through who we are,
what we say, and what we do.
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Integral mission can thus be expressed in as many ways as one could imagine depending on the unique gifts, tal‐
ents and resources in any given community and according to the particular needs and challenges of their respec‐
tive contexts. Churches in the DC Network see their locality as their responsibility. All the needs and problems
that exist in the community represent opportunities for the church to manifest God’s transformative power and
to bring hope to situations of despair. Churches take risks and innovate with what they have to create jobs if un‐
employment is the crying issue, to bring healthcare in situations of sickness and disease, to foster reconciliation
for broken relationships in families or between races and generations, and to advocate for better education for
those in areas lacking fair and equal access to information and opportunity.
The DC Network’s structure is simple, yet functional. It is “virtual” in the sense that there is no central office or
formal institution behind the activities of the movement. Resources are used only as necessary to further our vi‐
sion and mission. The organization consists of a community of volunteer servants of participating local churches
and pro‐church organizations who are either active members in their national DC Networks or participating in
the development of such networks in their own countries. Leaders meet once a year to share experiences, evaluate
the actions of the network, plan events, participate in activities, and foster relationships to an ever‐widening circle
throughout Latin America and the world. All other connecting occurs through the internet. One of our challenges
is to improve this area and create a more dynamic means of connection.
What do we believe? Christian mission is integral
The Bible does not dichotomize between soul‐body, private life‐social life, spiritual needs‐material needs, and
reason‐emotion. The human being is an indivisible unity. It is impossible to satisfy the needs of the soul and ig‐
nore those of the body (James 2:14‐17). The needs of the body are not foreign to those of the soul and vice versa,
and redemption of the soul in Christ includes the resurrection of the body (1 Cor. 15). Christian mission is spiri‐
tual insofar as it is material and social insofar as it is personal.
We cooperate with the Spirit’s work in mission only as we understand the lordship of Jesus Christ over the
wholeness of all creation.
Jesus is our model
His life choices, teachings, attitudes, and works are all part of His saving mission carried out with the Father and
the Spirit. In perfect harmony with the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit carries out His mission of establishing
God’s Kingdom in the world and calls us to collaborate with Him in the transformation of all things “in the name
of Jesus.”
Secular and Sacred
Church and society are not mutually exclusive categories. The church forms part of society and so its mission has
a social dimension. The question is not if the church has a social mission but how the church relates to society. The
church’s apathy toward social problems is destructive and harmful. The church cannot—and should not—be neu‐
tral. Created for community, we, the church, must respond to the needs of our neighbors and, as “salt of the
earth” and “light of the world,” actively participate in public life. Holding firm to our identity in Christ, we must
proclaim the good news about Jesus Christ and invite the world to approach God, the Creator of life, through our
actions as His followers.
Integral mission is God’s tool for restoration
God desires to manifest His love in every corner of the world to restore all creation (Rom. 8:19‐23). His plan is that
human beings, who are created in His image and likeness, collaborate with His redemptive purpose. God demon‐
strated His love for us when, while we were still sinners, He sent His Son to give us His life (Rom. 5:8; John 3:16‐
17). And He wants us to give that same grace and unconditional love to others regardless of race, gender or creed.
That God chose Galilee as a starting place is significant because it demonstrates that He often operates through
this world’s excluded and seemingly insignificant populations to accomplish His purposes.
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Integral mission is expressed through the community of faith
Integral mission originates in God’s heart. The church is a community composed of individuals redeemed by Je‐
sus Christ that exists as evidence of God’s reconciling presence in the world. As did Jesus, the church announces
the good news through its life choices, community life, work, and teachings. We love in the midst of diversity, as
did Jesus, and express love through working for peace, mutual acceptance and justice. The church’s mission,
starting with loving our neighbors (1 John 3:14; 4:21), is to invite everyone to become part of the body of Jesus
Christ, with arms extended out to all creation and all people.
Integral mission is Kingdom living
Integral Mission is a call to love creation as God loves it. Life in the Kingdom is not merely “leaving Egypt” but
“living in the Promised Land.” Justice, freedom and peace are essential dynamics in that Kingdom. Integral mis‐
sion proclaims Christian love and peace (shalom) as necessary conditions for Kingdom life. Integral mission is not
limited to merely searching for solutions to problems, but offers life‐generating purpose from practical experi‐
ence. The goal is to persuade others, through love, to abandon death and choose abundant life within the King‐
dom.
The network finds its expression throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in small communities that are
forming and developing in Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Chile, Ar‐
gentina, Brazil and several other countries that are in beginning stages of formation. Pray for us as we continue to
learn and grow, challenge and be challenged, and try to walk humbly with our God, loving mercy and doing jus‐
tice in order to bring hope to Latin America!
For more information on the movement, visit our web site that is continually under construction:
www.lareddelcamino.net.
Seed Share: The Emerging Church in the UK – Personal Reflections
by Ian Mobsby, Moot Community, Westminster, London, UK
forms of community and clubbing in the dance
scene, which gave opportunities for new forms of
mission and church. This began with alternative
worship communities in the first wave of the emerg‐
ing church, as the first form of models of emerging
church. Initially, these did not start off as churches,
but became churches as the gap between mission
initiatives and forms of church were too wide to
bridge. From the 1990s, to the twenty‐first century,
these models of emerging churches widened to in‐
clude a number of different models, which now in‐
clude:
Background about the Emerging Church in the UK
- alternative worship communities
Because culture in the UK is far more secular than
- café church models of emerging churches
that which is general in the United States, there has
- new monastic forms of ‘postmodern’ friaries
been an emerging church scene since the late 1980s
- community initiatives that have become
responding to the gap between traditional forms of
churches
church and contemporary culture. In the 1980s, this
began with forms of church responding to new
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- missions to new age communities that have be‐ mission projects require a lot of time and effort
come churches where more attractional approaches to mission just
- youth congregations and churches of a more do not work. Attractional models of mission seem to
emerging and evangelical perspective work for the open de‐churched, which is less than
- youth congregations and churches of a more 10% of the population. In the UK, initiatives such as
catholic, Anglican perspective the Order of Mission are set up to tap this form of
- new contemplative and anglo‐catholic emerging grouping, but regarding mission to the UK, this is a
church projects minority grouping. So emerging churches are small,
- new emerging church initiatives instigated by but this raises real issues about how they can be sus‐
Anglican Cathedrals aiming at interacting with tainable.
spiritual tourists
- Emerging Church initiatives from the Free Social Capital
Church traditions The greatest challenge to emerging churches in the
- Emerging Church initiatives from post‐church UK is human‐power to sustain projects and initia‐
groups tives. Due to changes in work patterns, people in‐
- Emerging Churches specifically who are gay‐ creasingly have little spare time that they can volun‐
affirming teer, increasing the need for paid employment to
- Emerging Churches that are specifically multi‐ create the human resources for projects. This is a real
cultural strain for main groups. However, some have started
exploring a new model – first set up by Church of
Analysis – so why all these new groupings? the Apostles in Seattle – of creating intentional
I would suggest that these new groupings have de‐ community spaces at reduced rents in return for
veloped because British culture is complex, plural‐ time in various projects. So, for example, some pro‐
istic and increasingly contextual. I think all are at‐ jects such as Moot in central London, are now seek‐
tempting to do “worship, mission and community” ing to set up intentional communities for students,
in a culture driven by individualism, consumption, artists and musicians and volunteers in return for
information technology and an increased interest in their input of time into various projects. This may be
holistic spirituality. BUT – on top of this – emerging an important model for establishing sustainability.
churches are attempting to engage with the com‐
plexity of particular localities. This, therefore, is an Hunger for community – but no skills
exciting and significant development, as it says that One of the greatest issues in the emerging church is
many of the emerging churches are attempting to that many people seek more relational forms of
engage in real situations with those who are either church and belonging, but because of general indi‐
‘de’‐churched (left churches for what ever reason – vidualism and deskilling, many people do not have
around 50% of the population) and ‘un’‐churched the social skills to be able to live this way due to the
(never been churched – now around 30% to 80% of extreme individualism of our culture. This means
the population, depending where you are). The that groups such as Moot actually need to help peo‐
emerging church in the UK appears to be attempting ple acquire life skills to be able to live and interact in
to engage with a mixture of the network and locality a more communal and intentional way. Being
– a both‐and approach. Church therefore needs some consideration, as
many people do not know how to live this way.
Themes increasingly recognised as needed for do‐ This, therefore, requires UK Emerging Churches to
ing Mission consider how they can live this way. For some such
Small & Relational as Moot, having a Rhythm of Life becomes crucial as
One of the greatest learning areas of the emerging an aspiration to assist people to grow into becoming
church in the UK is the recognition that mission to Christian Communities. We can no longer assume
the de‐ and un‐churched requires a very relational that people can simply switch into living this way.
approach. So you are talking about projects aimed We need to consider how to teach people to live this
at groups of 60 to 100 people max, or they become way.
impersonal and ineffective. Un‐ and de‐churched
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Engagement with a culture of consumption decrease over the next twenty years, the emerging
The greatest challenge to the UK Emerging Church church’s approach to engagement with holisitic
Scene is how it should live in the context of operat‐ spirituality through festivals, music festivals, en‐
ing within a culture of consumption but not being of gagement with shops, courses, café churches, etc.,
a culture of consumption. In other words, being in seeks to engage with assisting people to shift from
the real world but not sold out to the real world. being spiritual tourists to becoming Christian pil‐
Many sell resources online or in book form, some grims.
offer café churches as places of engagement in pub‐
lic space; the challenge is how this is developed. Mission Orders & Rhythm of Life
Many emerging Churches have to be entrepreneu‐ Clearly the UK Emerging Church is in an ‘apostolic’
rial to make money to sustain projects, but the dan‐ context of mission. In response to this, some emerg‐
ger then is that your mission activity becomes tar‐ ing churches have focused on developing mission
geted to money making. There then is a tension be‐ orders, spiritual rules and rhythms of life to struc‐
tween mission and money making, particularly ture and focus on what it means to be Christian in
when it comes to mission to and with the poor. an apostolic missional situation. The advantage of
this approach is that it allows churches and projects
Emerging Church in a culture of hardening Christianity to be fuzzy or fluid‐edged and at the same time pre‐
Much has been written about how the Church in the vents projects from being dumbed down by having
UK, along with other faiths, has increasingly shifted such fuzzy edges, and therefore having a deeply
to become more conservative and in places quite Christian centre. Not all Emerging Churches in the
fundamentalist. One of the challenges for the church UK have gone this way, but a significant number
in the UK is how it responds to a culture of complex‐ have.
ity. Some have followed the simplistic path of with‐
Conclusions
drawal, of the increasingly ‘black and white’ where
the emerging church has attempted to remain pre‐ The Emerging Church in the UK has become in‐
sent in the complexity of modern life. So the emerg‐ creasingly diverse – driven by differing missional
ing church increasingly has a difficult relationship contexts. It will be interesting to see how things con‐
with traditional forms of church, which are becom‐ tinue to develop.
ing more conservative and disconnected from cul‐
ture, and where Christians tend to be more specifi‐
Ian Mobsby is one of the leading voices of the emerging church
cally conservative evangelical or Pentecostal.
in the UK – who has experience of four alternative worship and
missional projects, author of the book “Emerging & Fresh Ex‐
Engagement with increased interest in spirituality
pressions of Church: How are they authentically Church and
Statistics in the UK again show an increased interest
Anglican?”, leads a missional community in central London
in holistic spirituality rather than religion. This re‐
called Moot (www.moot.uk.net), and is part of the Emerging
mains the key missional focus for the emerging Church Leaders UK Network.
church in the UK. As church‐going is predicted to
Seed Share: Emergent Village and Full Communion1
by Dwight J. Friesen, Associate Professor of Practical Theology, Mars Hill Graduate School, Seattle, WA
Toward an Understanding of Emergent Village
“Emergent Village is a growing, generative friendship among missional Christians seeking to love our world in
the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”2 Emergent Village began as a group of friends gathering under the auspices and gener‐
Originally written for the National Council of Churches, Faith & Order Commission, Abilene, Texas, March 17, 2007
1
http://www.emergentvillage.org/, accessed 3/5/2007. This paper will draw significantly from the EV’s web content.
2
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osity of Leadership Network3 in the late 1990s, and by 2001 had formed the organization known now as Emergent
Village. We formed our organization as a means of inviting more people into our imaginative conversation,
which was helping us critically revision what it might look like to follow Christ in our increasingly globalized,
post‐Christendom, post‐denominational and post‐modern cultural context(s). Around 2005, we began distancing
ourselves from the term “Emergent Church” (although that language is still often applied), because our emphasis
is not on the church as much as living into the Kingdom of God. Part of our hope in the name “Emergent Village”
is to reinforce an understanding that churches are localized, indigenous manifestations of Christological commu‐
nities seeking to realize the reign of God, in specific times, places, and narratives.4
Though we began meeting because many of us were growing disillu‐
sioned and disenfranchised by the conventional ecclesial institutions
of the late 20th century, our experiences and hopes for the pre‐
sent/future Kingdom of God compelled us to lean into our ecclesial
concerns. The more we gathered in conversation, the more we dis‐
covered others who held similar dreams for their lives, their commu‐
nities of faith, and for the world. Along with Emergent Village, the
avant‐church5—a broader “emerging church movement,” including a
variety of renewal movements, simple church movements, neo‐
monastic groups, and intentional Christian communities—has been
growing, and we in Emergent Village are endeavoring to resource the
theological imaginations and holistic‐spiritual lives of all those who
consider themselves a part of this broader movement. Emergent Vil‐
lage is varied, dynamic, and relational, thus no one person, board or
committee can authoritatively speak for us; we are striving remain
egalitarian and amorphous. Even writing this brief paper on behalf of
Emergent Village feels somewhat inconsistent with our “flat organ‐
izational” values, for truly there cannot be one Emergent Village per‐
spective on Full Communion.
As you may be sensing, Emergent Village appears to have a unique
role in the Faith and Order Commission as we are neither a church
nor a denomination. Emergent Village is a type of ecumenical movement of Christian churches from various ec‐
clesial non/traditions, parachurch organizations, and Christian social‐advocates linked together in a generative
conversational network around mission. In our linking together, we simultaneously honor the unique faith tradi‐
tions of one another without letting those differences be impediments to our interpersonal connections and mis‐
sional collaborations. In fact, many (if not most) members of our conversations coming from more historic tradi‐
tions value their tradition in what may be described as a post‐denominational manner.6
3 Leadership Network describes itself on its website saying, “Leadership Network has fostered church innovation and growth through strate‐
gies, programs, tools and resources that are consistent with our far‐reaching mission: to identify, connect and help high‐capacity Christian leaders
multiply their impact.” Accessed August 22, 2007, at http://www.leadnet.org/about_OurMission.asp.
4 For a thoughtful study of the characteristics of emergent churches, see Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger, Emerging Churches: Creating Christian
Community in Postmodern Cultures (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005).
5 By “avant‐church,” I am referring to the cluster of daring ecclesial expressions exploring what it means to faithfully follow Christ in the new
paradigm. The term avant‐garde has historically been used to describe movements of experimentation with “new” concepts in politics and art.
The term was first used by Napoleon’s army to describe an elite force who stealthily would get behind enemy lines to gather information to
better prepare the rest of the army for encountering their enemy.
6 By “Post‐denominational,” I am suggesting that many in our conversations see themselves as narratively and culturally linked to a tradition
while quick to deconstruct their respective traditions’ reified structures, hierarchies and power dynamics. Thus, the commitments to remain
connected to their traditions often appear to be more out of a need for personal/communal narrative integrity, cultural identity, ecclesial ac‐
countability and pragmatic ministry support, rather then an abiding commitment to the tradition for the sake of the tradition. We also find
that these same people have a passion for the narrative histories of their respective traditions and love to tell the stories of the emerging lead‐
ers of their traditions.
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Although there are many different faith communities linked together to make up Emergent Village, it is our in‐
terpersonal network which drives our growth. In fact, Emergent Village’s primary concern is not that organiza‐
tions share fellowship with other organizations as much as that people connect with people. “Full communion”
for us, is not experienced at an institutional level as much as at an interpersonal level. It is not only clergy and
leadership who are participating in Emergent Village life, but anyone (professional clergy or lay person) who self‐
identifies with the parameters of the village conversations. Our hope is to experience and encourage transforma‐
tion (personal, ecclesial and cultural) through encounter with the “other,” therefore, we diligently resist self‐
definition in propositional terms which tend to exclude. Instead, we seek to embody a differentiating curiosity in
which our truth claims are submitted to one another as conversation starters.7
Because we emphasize that we are a generative conversation of friends self‐identifying with the parameters of
Emergent Village conversations, it seems wise to articulate the practices and values make up these conversational
parameters.
Practices and Values of Emergent Village
Our website states, “We believe in God, beauty, future, and hope—but you won’t find a traditional statement of
faith or dogmatic truth claims coming from Emergent Village per se.”8 We are committed to a “generous ortho‐
doxy”9 in faith and practice—affirming the historic Christian faith as interpreted within the rule of faith and
Christ’s injunction to love one another…even when we disagree. Typically, we value humility more than correct‐
ness, hospitality more than being set apart, curiosity more than tradition. In fact, theological agreement is not a
primary goal for us; we expect to disagree and do frequently.10
Having said all this, most members of Emergent Village hold in common four values,11 which, in the language of
a religious order, we call our “order and rule”:
1. Commitment to God in the Way of Jesus: By this, we mean we are committed to doing justice, loving kind‐
ness, and walking humbly with God. In the words of Jesus, we seek to live by the Great Commandment: lov‐
ing God and loving our neighbors—including those who might be considered “the least of these” or enemies.
We understand the gospel to be centered in Jesus and his message of the Kingdom of God, a message of rec‐
onciliation with God, humanity, creation, and within oneself (as a social being).
2. Commitment to the Church in all its Forms: We are committed to honoring and serving the church in all its
forms—Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Anabaptist and new forms still being
birthed—rather than favoring some forms of the church and critiquing or rejecting others. We see that every
form of the church has both weaknesses and strengths, both liabilities and potential.
We believe the rampant injustice and sin in our world is an invitation for the sincere, collaborative, and
whole‐hearted response of all Christ‐followers in all denominations, from the most historic and hierarchical,
through the mid‐range of local and congregational churches, to the most spontaneous and informal expres‐
sions. We affirm both the value of strengthening, renewing, and transitioning existing churches and organiza‐
For a fuller treatment of EV theologies, see “A Hopeful Way Forward: Theology of Practice, Practice of Theology.” Doug Pagitt and Tony
7
Jones, editors, An Emergent Manifesto of Hope (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2007), 171‐244.
8 http://www.emergentvillage.org/about‐information/faqs, accessed August 22, 2007.
9 Brian McLaren, Generous Orthodoxy: Why I Am a Missional, Evangelical, Post/Protestant, Liberal/Conservative, Mystical/Poetic, Biblical, Charis‐
matic/Contemplative, Fundamentalist/Calvinist, Anabaptist/Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, Green, Incarnational, Depressed‐yet‐Hopeful, Emergent, Un‐
finished CHRISTIAN (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004).
10 For a glimpse into some of the differences and disagreements within our conversation, see Robert E. Webber ed., Listening to the Beliefs of
Emerging Churches: Five Perspectives (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007).
11 For more details on the practices that flow from these values, visit the EV site at http://www.emergentvillage.org/about‐information/values‐
and‐practices , last accessed August 22, 2007.
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tions, and the need for planting, resourcing, and coaching new church expressions of many kinds.
We seek to be irenic and inclusive of all our Christian sisters and brothers, rather than elitist and critical. We
own the many failures of the church as our failures, which humble us and calls us to repentance, and we also
celebrate the many heroes and virtues of the church, which inspire us and give us hope.
3. Commitment to God’s World: We practice our faith missionally—that is, we do not isolate ourselves from
God’s world, rather, we follow Christ into the world. We seek to fulfill the Missio Dei in our generations,
faithfully passing on a living faith to the next generations. We believe all Christian communities exist for the
benefit and blessing of the world at large; we seek therefore not to be blessed to the exclusion of everyone
else, but for the benefit of everyone else. We see the earth and all it contains as God’s beloved creation, and so
we join God in seeking its good, its healing, and its blessing.
4. Commitment to One Another: In order to strengthen our shared faith and resolve, and in order to encourage
and learn from one another in our diversity through respectful, sacred conversation, we value time and inter‐
action with other friends who share this rule and its practices. We identify ourselves as members of this
growing, global, generative, and non‐exclusive friendship. We welcome others into this friendship as well.
We bring whatever resources we can to enrich this shared faith and resolve.
Emergent Village as Ecumenical Conversation
For many new friends to our conversations, Emergent Village often serves as their first step into ecumenical dia‐
logue; as I’ve already highlighted, participants in our emerging conversation come from a wide array of tradi‐
tions. Although we have a few thousand churches in the United States and more around the world, self‐
identifying with Emergent Village, we have determined that it is not part of our mission to focus statistically on
the number of churches or their respective denominational traditions, but to practice being together for relational
purposes bigger than any of us. This alone is a remarkable feat, and though our conversation may be too young to
fully appreciate the significance of the conversational space we are as we gather, we are nonetheless committed to
hearing and encountering the unique emphases and distinctives we bring to one another.
Emergent Village values the particularity of church traditions, global shifts, cultural contexts and personal narra‐
tives. We value these things with a systemic hope that as each person/community brings the fullness of their being
in conversation that we all have opportunity to more meaningfully interpret our respective traditions, contexts
and narratives in light of an ever fuller understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as is only possible when we
encounter otherness.
Because of our commitment to conversation and incarnational mission, it seems wise for us not to adopt an offi‐
cial doctrinal statement. It is not that participants in the conversation don’t have strong beliefs, theological convic‐
tions and values; rather we seek to bring those to one another with a spirit of humility with an eye to living into
the reign of God. Therefore, we strongly encourage our conversational partners and faith‐communities to live into
their distinctions with the recognition that all of our traditions are finite, thus encouraging a posture of listening,
deference, and humility better positioning us to actuate our “already present” unity in Christ.
Because of our conversational commitments, Emergent Village also pursues interfaith dialogue and has invested
significant resources into conversation with the other Abrahamic faiths. We have worked very close with a grow‐
ing group of “Emerging Rabbis” who have formed an organization called Synagogue 3000.12 In January 2006, a
small group of emerging pastors and scholars joined together with these emerging Rabbis to share from our re‐
12 Synagogue 3000 is the successor organization to Synagogue 2000 (S2K), and some of the key voices behind the creation and management of
S3K are: Ron Wolfson, Larry Hoffman, Shawn Landres, Ellen Dreskin, Merri Lovinger Arian, and Joshua Avedon. You can learn more by
visiting: http://www.synagogue3000.org/, accessed August 22, 2007.
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spective journeys of living into our understandings of mission and to learn together how to move responsibly
within our traditions and institutions.
Emergent Village as an Embodiment of Full Communion
This paper is the first known Emergent Village reflection on Full Communion and certainly cannot serve as a de‐
finitive positional paper on the subject. Rather, the hope is that this paper will further the dialogue and critical
theological/practical reflection within the network of Emergent Village friends and those people whom Emergent
Village is meeting through gatherings like the Faith & Order Commission of the National Council of Churches.
Emergent Village’s description of itself as a ʺconversationʺ emphasizes our amorphous and decentralized nature.
As I’ve already stated, Emergent Village is neither a church nor a denomination, but a network of friends con‐
nected in mission, thus we do not have nor are we developing any formal Full Communion covenants with other
organizations. Further, because many Emergent Village faith communities have connections to denominations
(some of which already have communion agreements while other faith communities have never heard of “full
communion”), our purposes and conversational structures preclude us from entering such agreements.
In a sense, Emergent Village is a movement toward full communion that sets its unity in Christ not in agreement
regarding Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry but in the Missio Dei. Generally speaking, we are not distressed by our
differing practices regarding Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry. Rather, we find when we missionally focus on em‐
bodying the practical love of God and love of neighbor, life flourishes and our “B. E. M. practices” become more
open and generous. Thus the current framing of Full Communion agreements as presented by the NCC appears
to be something of a non sequitur to the purposes of Emergent Village, not because we’re uninterested in church
unity, but because we paradoxically lean into our traditions while simultaneously holding the instutionalization
of our traditions loosely.
A Few Emergent Village Perspectives On Our Work in Faith and Order
• From our perspective, the task of intra‐faith Christian dialogue may be well‐served by developing a deeper
Orthoparadoxy. Orthoparadoxy may be understood rightly holding paradox or contradictions. Orthopara‐
doxy is simultaneously an ethic embracing otherness, a hermeneutic for seeing connection and a theology of
wisely holding what at first glance may appear to be irreconcilable.
• It would be our sense that the apparent dichotomy between “Faith and Order” and “Life and Work” is mod‐
ern and artificial separation. We believe that our being and our doing are perichoretically one; what we do
shapes what we believe, and what we believe shapes what we do.
• From our perspective, comparative analysis of church traditions is helpful in as much as such information
better equips us to understand the person/community with whom we are in conversation, but understanding
our differences is not sufficient for making visible our unity. Christian unity is made visible in kenotic service
(doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with our God).
• We believe that God’s dream for humanity is not the church; rather, God’s dream for all creation is Shalom or,
in the language of Jesus Christ, the “Kingdom of God.” For Emergent Village, ecclesiology may best under‐
stood as a subheading under Christology and a theology of the reign of God.
Dénouement
As we come to the conclusion of this reflection on full communion from the perspective of a pastor and theolo‐
gian who actively participates in the generative conversation and friendship that is Emergent Village, I confess
my need of your eyes, your heart, your wisdom and your tradition(s) to sharpen this and to sharpen me for the
sake of our unity in Christ. I submit the intent of these words to my friends in Emergent Village and to you, my
friends in the Faith and Order Commission who have, for the joy set before you, labored toward Christian unity
for far longer than Emergent Village has been in existence. I, therefore, submit this paper as a working thesis or as
a launching point for further conversation, with the hope that as we engage it together, we will, in fact, manifest
the love of God as we encounter one another.
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Seed Share: All Things Emerging Down Under
from a conversation with Fuzz Kitto, Spirited Consulting, www.spirited.net.au/consulting
migrant women. They also started a coffee
house to engage those in their community.
They meet together for worship on Sunday
nights in an old Church Scout Hall used for
storing emergency food.
• Lalor Park is a non‐denominational emerg‐
ing church plant comprised of people who
have worked extensively in house‐building
missions overseas. Their intention is to serve
those in the immediate community. Their
neighbors often struggle with mental health,
The emerging church movement in Australia and or are poor and unskilled. They have com‐
New Zealand has two major paths. One is the “reac‐ munity dinners every Tuesday night, which
tive” path—reacting against the traditional church. is the expression of their love where they
The other is the “pro‐active” path—focusing more build strong, helpful relationships. Lalor
on creating new expressions rather than reacting Park emphasizes incarnational faith in ac‐
against old ones. Many mainline denominations are tion lived with those around them.
actively involved in creating new expressions like
the Anglican Church in Britain. In fact, as you will Emergent New Zealand
see from the outline of examples below most of the • Cityside is an emerging Baptist church plant in
new expressions of emerging church are being Auckland that is heavily invested in the arts.
birthed by traditional denominations. This was started by Mark Pierson (co‐author of
The Prodigal Project) and has grown to be a nu‐
Emergent Australia merically sizable worship gathering. The church
• Little Boat Big Ocean is an emerging Baptist sponsors amazing art installations for Easter, for
church plant in Manly, Sydney, that was which they get national media coverage. Small
started with Michael Frost. They host com‐ groups are a key part of their expression and
munity events and engage the community they are very encouraging of people taking ini‐
around them through arts, a coffee shop, tiative.
dialogue and the creating of sacred spaces. • Opawa Baptist is a traditional Baptist church
• Northside Community in Sydney is a that Steve Taylor enabled to become a more
Church of Christ church plant where an old emerging expression of the church with three
congregation finished up and a new congre‐ different services: Side Door, Digestion and the
gation that had been planted elsewhere Café Congregation. Steve has also started a
moved into the building. They are strongly number of small group churches with people
involved in mission projects in Africa as who have little to no church background. They
well as in networking and serving those in also have great community celebrations and fes‐
their community. They are also generously tivals—and excellent coffee!
sharing their facilities with mission groups • Alan Jamieson at Central Baptist in Wellington
like Youth For Christ and Soul Survivor is providing resources to those involved in a
among others. “churchless faith,” including home groups and
• The Basement is an emerging Anglican ex‐ other gatherings. They have a staff person who
pression in Canberra comprised of a group nurtures and reflects with these groups regard‐
of 20‐ and 30‐year‐olds. They are seeking to ing faith of the children, household and mission.
serve the poor, working with those in public
housing and offering cooking classes for
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Resources
12. Brian McLaren, The Secret Message of Jesus: Un‐
Websites
covering the Truth That Could Change Everything
The Ooze ‐ www.theooze.org
(Thomas Nelson, 2007).
Emergent Village ‐ www.emergentvillage.com
13. Ian J. Mobsby, Emerging And Fresh Expressions Of
Emerging Church Info ‐ www.emergingchurch.info
Church: How Are They Authentically Church And
Alternative Worship ‐ www.alternativeworship.org
Anglican? (Moot Community Publishing, 2007).
La Red del Camino (DC Network) ‐
14. Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones eds., An Emergent
www.lareddelcamino.net
Manifesto of Hope (Baker Books, 2007).
Emergent Africa ‐ www.emergentafrica.com
15. Mark Scandrette, Soul Graffiti: Making a Life in the
Way of Jesus (Jossey‐Bass, 2007).
Tom’s Book List
16. Leonard Sweet, The Gospel According to Starbucks:
from the extensive bibliography of Tom Sine’s upcoming
Living With a Grande Passion (WaterBrook Press,
book, The New Conspirators: Creating the Future One Mus‐
tard Seed at a Time [working title], IVP, Jan. 2008. 2007).
17. Scot McKnight, “Five Streams of the Emerging
1. Gerard Kelly, RetroFuture: Rediscovering Our Church,” Christianity Today (February 2007),
Roots, Recharting Our Routes (IVPress, 2000). accessed August 29, 2007 at
2. Mike Riddell, Mark Pierson and Cathy http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/febru
Kirkpatrick, The Prodigal Project: Journey Into the ary/11.35.html.
Emerging Church (SPCK, 2001).
3. Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Tom’s Blog List
Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey (Jossey‐Bass, from the extensive bibliography of Tom Sine’s upcoming
2001). book, The New Conspirators: Creating the Future One Mus‐
tard Seed at a Time [working title], IVP, Jan. 2008.
4. Leonard Sweet, Andy Crouch, Brian McLaren,
Erwin McManus, Michael Horton and Frederica
Jonny Baker: jonnybaker.blogs.com/
Matthewes‐Green, Church in Emerging Culture,
Ryan Bolger: thebolgblog.typepad.com/thebolgblog/
Five Perspectives (Zondervan, 2003).
Alan Hirsch: www.theforgottenways.org/blog/
5. Johnny Baker and Doug Gay, Alternative Wor‐
Andrew Jones: tallskinnykiwi.com
ship: Resources From and For the Emerging Church
Tony Jones: theoblogy.blogspot.com/index.html
(SPCK, 2004).
Ian Mobsby: ian‐mobsby.blogspot.com/
6. Stuart Murray, Church After Christendom (Pater‐
Doug Pagitt: pagitt.typepad.com/pagittblog/
noster, 2005).
Mark Scandrette: www.markscandrette.com/
7. Steve Taylor, The Out of Bounds Church: Learning
Steve Taylor: www.emergentkiwi.org.nz/
to Create a Community of Faith in a Culture of
ASBO Jesus: asbojesus.wordpress.com/
change (Zondervan, 2005).
The Church and Postmodern Culture:
8. Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger, Emerging
churchandpomo.typepad.com/
Churches: Creating Christian Community in Post‐
Emergent Village Weblog:
modern Cultures (Baker Books, 2006).
www.emergentvillage.com/weblog/
9. Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy, (Zonder‐
Emerging Church UK Weblogs:
van, 2006).
www.emergingchurch.info/blogs/
10. Kester Brewin, Signs of Emergence: A Vision for
Moot: moot.uk.net/blog/mootblog.htm
Church That Is Always Organic/ Networked/ Decen‐
tralized/ Bottom‐Up/ Communal/ Flexible/ Always
Evolving (Baker Books, 2007).
11. Dan Kimball, They Like Jesus But Not the Church
(Zondervan, 2007).
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