The early Church was characterized by controversy, discussion, and debate concerning most things that were very dear to them (namely the Law of Moses and it's application- whether it was the Pharisaic view, these new radicals called Christians, Gnostics, or the Gentile people). Even consider the debate between believers(Peter and Paul- Galatians 2:11-21, and Paul and Barnabas-Acts 15), or even more consider all the councils and reformations throughout church history where we get much of the facts of our faith from (Council of Nicaea, Council of Constantinople, or the Council of Ephesus- just to name a few). The greatest thing about this was that even with all the discussion and difference going on, everyone (namely the body of Christ) knew the reality of things, that which really mattered- expression of the New Covenant brought to fruition through Jesus Christ (although there was a lot of debate on how exactly it applied in certain contexts).
As a 27 year old male, who aspires to be a church planter and lead a congregation, the emerging trends coupled with denominational traditions have been disturbing at times, but more so very inspiring. As I always say, "I have a lot of hope in the next generation", especially in context of bringing unity into the Church (and I mean that in aspects of mission, theology, exemplifying our faith with integrity, loving God and others, passion, and ultimately changing the world through the gospel of Jesus (kingdom of God type of stuff).
However today there seems to be a gap in the church between the "traditionalists" and the emerging thoughts of what could be called "radical traditionalists". Both camps are ever-reforming in certain contexts yet fail to consider what the other camps brings to the communion table (pun intended). So here is where we must challenge ourselves to consider what has changed in the church, and why do so many fear the aspects of critical realism? In the Word of God we are challenged to study for the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2), which is a constant thing, and should continue and allow for the challenge of paradigm shifts.
The definitive unity that is somewhat missing is contexts of the body of Christ as a whole is the lack of willingness for discussion, debate, and challenge. For example, Rob Bell a pastor of Mars Hill Church, recently made this statement:
“What if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus had a real, earthly, biological father named Larry, and archeologist find Larry’s tomb and do DNA samples and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the virgin birth was really just a bit of mythologizing the Gospel writers threw in to appeal to the followers of the Mithra and Dionysian religious cults that were hugely popular at the time of Jesus, whose gods had virgin births? But what if, as you study the origin of the word ‘virgin’ you discover that the word ‘virgin’ in the gospel of Matthew actually comes from the book of Isaiah, and then you find out that in the Hebrew language at that time, the word ‘virgin’ could mean several things. And what if you discover that in the first century being ‘born of a virgin’ also referred to a child whose mother became pregnant the first time she had intercourse? What if that spring were seriously questioned? Could a person keep on jumping? Could a person still love God? Could you still be a Christian? Is the way of Jesus still the best possible way to live? Or does the whole thing fall apart?…If the whole faith falls apart when we reexamine and rethink one spring, then it wasn’t that strong in the first place, was it?”
When I first heard about this I was shocked that a fellow-Christ follower would say something so ludicrous, yet now that I put it in contexts of what he was trying to say, it made perfect sense (it is somewhat interesting that I have experienced this a lot as a person willing to learn- that many times when people say something that is seemingly crazy, upon research and context, it actually makes a lot more sense than I originally thought. This is what we call a paradigm shift, and it is something a majority within the body of Christ are in dire need of in order to create- definitive unity.
I realize- sometimes we dig to deep and get hung up on the "deeper issues" that divide us as the body of Christ ( although I add the disclaimer that many times some of these issues really do matter) but all in all- what is the main thing? THE GOSPEL. We can all agree that the message of the Messiah was good news that the kingdom of God is at hand, and yes, even with that statement I know where defenses and debates arise, but let us focus on the simple aspect and the mission to be ambassadors. As the body of Christ- outwardly we need to be on mission and defined by unity, yet inwardly we need to be open to discuss and debate- emerging thoughts.
I salute the body of Christ- in efforts of emerging thoughts and definitive unity,
Michael Miano
For more thought:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1374/is_5_59/ai_55722258/
http://ad70.net/variety-helps-to-prevent-an-isolated-society/
Consider watching the movie "Accepted", a hilarious comedy in which an emergent minded individual should ask- what is tradition? How do we look at the fruits of our traditions?
LOL- Did I find God, or did He find me? hmmm...
