Steve Addison has just posted an extract from a book review of The Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay. Steve comments that the review raises concerns that, if correct, will derail the emerging-missional movement. John Zxerce’s review says: “The authors claim the gospel isn’t the answer of Jesus to the sin-problem of men and women. Rather, it’s ‘[God’s] love and acceptance and vision for every human being… God’s love for his created humanity.’”
I must admit that I did not notice this point as I read the book. The book describes a church of sojourners (temporary, spiritually curious but disoriented God seekers) and missional people (those who are committed to the cause of the gospel). Sojourners can come and go as they like within the inclusive Christian community without judgment or pressure, while the missional people live according to clear rules of life. My main concern was that the book seemed to imply that the effectiveness of the gospel is limited by how effectively Christians try to act like Jesus.
There are many different “emerging” and “missional” voices and I do not think that there really is a single “emerging-missional” movement capable of being “derailed”. As Jim Belcher discusses in Deep Church, there are some for whom “emerging” means a postmodernising and reinterpretation of the Christian faith itself, and others for whom “emerging” simply means recontextualising the historically accepted core tenets of Christianity.