Don’t Assimilate Me!
My wife has been reading a book by Gary McIntosh called “Beyond the First Visit: The Complete Guide to Connecting Guests to Your Church.” This is not my type of book, but she liked it and thought I’d enjoy the next to last chapter which is titled, “Don’t Assimilate Me” and is focused on the emerging movement. She was right because he had some interesting observations from the perspective of an outsider (non-emerging).
One of the first things the McIntosh did was lay out what he viewed to be the ten characteristics that, while all don’t, many emerging movement faith communities espouse.
- They see Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount as central to faith. Thus social and ethical concerns are just as important to them as spiritual concerns.
- They see God’s fingerprint everywhere. Thus there is no secular realm as such, but many, perhaps most, things in the secular realm are considered spiritual.
- The see community as more important than church. Thus community happens first, leading to church; rather than church happening first, leading to community.
- The see dialog as more important than debate. Thus they focus on building relationships first by stressing similarities, and work on differences after the relationship has been forged.
- The see hospitality as central to discipleship. Thus welcoming others takes place in the secular realm as well as in the church.
- The see worship as an authentic encounter with the living God. Thus prefab worship services are replaced with individual creative expressions.
- They see shared leadership as the ideal model. Thus gifted people are free to lead without constraint in a highly collaborative atmosphere.
- They see culture as organic — fluid, shifting, and dynamic. Thus spirituality, community, and faith must be elastic, creating an uncharted journey with unexpected detours, but always progressing.
- They see spiritual life as holistic. Thus spiritual growth and expression happen not just in traditional acts of devotion, but in all realms and activities of life.
- They see church as missional. Thus they see themselves on a mission from God to transform their world.
Using these ten characteristics, he then lays out a different paradigm of connecting the guest than that common to the Baby Boom generation. The following is almost verbatim including the language and terms he uses.
Sharing Compelling Stories
Emerging churches reject the use of formulas and simple solutions. The use of simplistic approaches to ministry, such as “The Four Spiritual Laws,” “The Roman Road,” or the newcomers’ class, are not welcome. Deep sharing of one’s personal story through intimate conversations is the preferred model to salvation, as well as assimilation. Connection happens naturally as newcomers are drawn into personal stories, the story of Jesus, and the story of the church.
Embracing People into the Community
Approaches that look or feel like they serve the institutional church are deplored. Since the church is a community of faith, the relational is highlighted over the institutional. Normally, traditional church expect newcomers to commit their lives to Christ and be baptized before they are embraced into the community of faith. Emerging churches often turn this around and accept people into the community before they are believers. Thus guests are allowed to serve and participate in church ministry and activities in the hope that they will embrace Christ in the process.
Doing Life Together
Emerging churches sense that advice given without request is rarely accepted, so answers to life’s troubling questions are not immediately dispensed as though from a “Bible answer man.” Doing life together allows life’s questions to rise naturally, and guests can see the truth of God’s word internalized in the lives of real people, as well as exegeted from the pulpit. As guests see God’s word lived out authentically in people, they are drawn to become part of the church.
Engaging the Senses
God’s propositional truth is valued, but emerging types desire to learn truth through all the senses. They find that art, music, poetry, media, Internet, drama, and lots of stories are powerful ways to engage guests and draw them into God’s story and the church’s story.
Learning Together
Communities of faith are learning environments where fellow learners gather to discover the truth of God’s word. In such a context pastors and other teacher must approach guest as parent-like mentors who have traveled further, rather than as know-it-all Bible teachers. Newcomers are drawn to connect with churches that treat them as fellow travelers.
Hitting the Streets
Understanding the basic facts, figures, and outlines of Scripture is not enough in emerging churches. Experiential knowledge that is acquired by seeing God at work in the lives of real people and honest situations is more meaningful. As guests see God’s truth evident in people’s lives, they are enticed to become part of the church. Thus helping newcomers get involved in the lives of needy people in the larger church community is a powerful way to connect them to the church.
Challenging the Culture
Emerging churches resist a blind acceptance of the predominate culture. They are drawn to churches that provide a biblical critique of the culture. This churches that seek to redeem the world as well as individuals will fined guests connecting with them.
When I shared some of the ten characteristics above with my non-emerging boomer “church” friends, it didn’t resonate with them at all. A blank stare was more common than not. I’m interested in your reaction and comments on what Mr. McIntosh has laid out here.
I think this is a pretty accurate summary.
The practical “downside” is the time involved.
If the urgency of the gospel is utmost, than all this belonging before belief stuff is relational waste. Skip the relationship, go straight to the 10 commandments and humble them with the law.
Some of our denominational structures cannot implement this. Belief is required before belonging as a formal member.
However, i firmly believe these approaches described above are effective in our current culture. Stories communicate more powerfully than linear outlines (Jesus didn’t give any linear outlines, but told stories). As an evangelist, I find that what McInstosh describes is pretty accurate.
The danger is theological drift, where connecting is more important than truth.
Pastor Chris
EvangelismCoach.org
Hey Chris, thanks for the input. Always welcome.
I agree that the urgency of the gospel is a powerful motivator, that is why we can’t skip the relationship building. It has been and always will be the primary door to sharing the gospel.
You certainly can belong without being a formal member, no? You certainly would not have a not-yet-Christian leading a bible study, but why not have them helping with the refreshments, go going out with teams to feed the poor, or helping collect, organize and distribute clothing to the needy? There are lots of place they can “belong” and see the true nature of a Jesus follower.
Can I politely and with all respect say that this “truth” argument so many want to through out is bogus. I’ve never met an emerging movement Jesus follower who was not concerned with truth. I’m not suggesting there are not the rare few who question certain orthodox beliefs, but pointing to the rare few (you haven’t, but many others do) as representative of the whole and then condemning a movement of God is disingenuous and dishonest. Oops, got into rant mode. Sorry.
I must be an anomaly, because I am a tail-end member of the boomer generation (turning 47 in July) and I agree with all the points outlined in your post wholeheartedly. Unfortunately there is nothing like that in the conservative, mid-sized (50,000) Midwestern city in which I live. So I worship and volunteer in a mid-sized church with decent, loving, God-fearing people, while still seeking out mission (not church-growth, not outreach) opportunities here.
And I, too, wouldn’t worry much about truth-drift. For one, even though I see some “hero worship” in the emerging movement that is disturbing from afar, for the most part it seems to me that everyone in it completely understands “Sola scriptura”, because that’s part of what brought them there in the first place - their own reading of the Bible and trying to match that up with what they were seeing in traditional church, its members and leadership, and deciding it is better to “do” than to “attend” (”go forth” to the world as opposed to “go to” church).
Good post, thanks.
Jim
Jim, thanks for stopping in and commenting. There is nothing wrong with that decent, loving, God-fearing people. Keep praying and looking for what God is doing in your city, then join him. He is out their working in the lives of people.
Rick
I believe McIntosh nails it square on with both the 10 characteristics and the following shift description. I find each of his points to resonate deeply with me but I also know they do for my friends who are not followers of Christ (yet) .
The only part that I struggle with a bit is couching all of this in “what the emerging churches do” discussion. I believe this description is at the heart desire of MANY people. Not just those who are part of the emerging movement but also many who are struggling with today’s church and are “checking out” or thinking about checking out.
These thoughts from McIntosh represent where we are as a culture as the result of post-modernism being the dominant seat of our culture and I say praise God. I believe thinking along the lines of what McIntosh shares is many times more biblically faithful than a (sometimes) fabricated, inauthentic, dare I say modernistic approach to church and sharing the gospel.
Thanks for posting this.
[...] is a very helpful post by Rick Meigs over at The Blind Beggar where he summarizes the last chapter of Gary McIntosh’s book “Beyond the First Visit: [...]
“I believe thinking along the lines of what McIntosh shares is many times more biblically faithful than a (sometimes) fabricated, inauthentic, dare I say modernistic approach to church and sharing the gospel.” Amen Brad!
I think the list is accurate. As I read it, I was thinking (oh so humbly and constructively) “of course, isn’t this the way church should always be?!”
Julie, How true. This is the way our faith communities should always be. Which makes me wonder who has theologically drifted, the modern evangelical church or the emerging church? Just wondering out loud.
Wow, I have not really been identified as emerging or identified myself necessarily in that way, but I have to say that those ten points all resonate with me and are many of the things God has been showing me in the past year. Great stuff.
Bryan: My journey could be described much the same. I don’t consider myself “emerging,” but as an old Jesus Freak, the points McIntosh makes resonate with me. The making it practical is as he has done is important to me. I like to see how the points can be worked out in the everyday.
Rick, I can relate on both accounts. Great list and the lack of it resonating with so many of my non-emerging/missional friends. I don’t pretend to understand why this is such an either/or deal. It seems like a no-brainer.
I’m going to be in Portland on Sunday. Not sure exactly when or for how long yet. Should know later today. I’ll have my friend’s van to use. Stacey is with me. If we don’t catch up then, it looks as though I’ll be getting there frequently. I’d love to meet and talk missional shop a bit. I’ll buy lunch. ;)
Webb:
I dropped you a direct email. Looking forward to a visit!