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This forum has had recent parallel posts on questions of leaders and organization. The role of the emergent church versus the home/house motion came into play on organization. Here's some history which may give a perspective on the ties between these groups.
When Simon, the Peter, established his Christian church in Rome (c42CE) he projected a highly organzied, central authority which would rule supreme over the dumb sheep. This became reality in the time of Constantine (321). Any person not toeing the line was declared a heretic which could invite death, explusion or other punishement. This continued until the Protestant Reformation and the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 when religious liberty was formally granted to much of Europe and parts of the Americas.
Tragically, the fallout of the reformation was an attempt by Protestant churches to follow the precedent set by Rome with ICs in big buildings, highly organzied, and Nicolaitane leaders who lorded over the flock. Surely, there were some small home/house fellowships. But the problem here was the same as today. Soon, some big shot takes over the home worship and turns it into IC.
The Reformation came to England in the 16th century with Henry VIII. But the reaction was the IC, Church of England. While not as corrupt and sorry as Rome, the Angelican church was not far behind. SO in the 16th century two motions arrived to supposedly correct things. First, there was a movement called the Puritans which wanted to reform the Church of England from within.
Second, there was a movement called Separatists which thought that the Church of England was as corrupt as Rome and could not be reformed. It wanted to completely break and start its own churches. Many of the Separatists ended up in Holland by 1600 where they linked in with Anabaptists. By 1611, some of them returned to England and started the first organized Baptist church.
This backdrop on the Puritans and Separatists may explain the relationship between the current emergent and home fellowship motions. The emergents are trying to reform the ICs while the home people are separatists.
While there were home fellowships through the years (especially from groups like the Hussites, Anabaptists, etc), most of these eventually turned into IC as Nicolaitane leaders took over and began real organization. With formal leaders and pronounced organization, the result was soon Protestant copies of Rome in many respects. Worshippers attended dead churches where the ritual and liturgy were fixed--sing certain songs, say certain creeds, stand up at certain times, sit down at certain times, etc.
Along with the Baptist entrance, other so-called revivals and changes occurred, like Wesley and the Methodists, the Campellite and Church of Christ thing, and on and on. But all of these developments soon produced ICs with all the bad trappings. The preachers (especially the professional clergy who were school trained) increasingly became arrogant, proud and big headed far removed from the sheep (who were thought of as the dumb sheep). The pulpits were closed and it was extremely hard to have anything new ever introduced.
The sermons became dead, dull and a waste of time to listen to as the preachers rolled out a lot of sweet nothings and frivolous nonsense built on Greek philosophy and humanism (which is big in Christendom). The pulpits were closed. If the preacher could break free of the usual denominational pitch, it was often because he stole or plagiarized something from some other source (most Christian preachers are like the Christian flock--they are Scripturally shallow and really know little about the Word, other than what they have been taught by the IC). So they do sometimes steal ideas and words from others (still the same problem today). Thus, many are sharks and thieves!
In 1906, the modern Pentecostal movement bloomed thru the interracial work of a one-eyed Negro preacher named W.J. Seymore at his Azusa Steet Church in Los Angeles. This motion broke some of the dead routine found in most of the churches. Participants exhibited mass confusion, wild pandemoniun, and great emotionalism as churches were turned into confused circuses. With it, the movement became extremely interracial and sexually promiscious (it produced the likes of Aimee Semple McPherson, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, etc).
The Pentecostals tried to bring their religion back to the old line ICs. But the old churches didn't approve of the fanaticism. SO the Pentecostals linked to the 19th century holiness movement and organized their own churches (like the Assemblies of God, Pentecostal Holiness Church, etc). Over the years, the Pentecostals have become more and more organized and with professional clergy who rule over the dumb sheep to collect as much money from them as possible (by hook or crook).
The year 1959 saw the Charismatic motion bloom in Van Nuys, CA at an Episcopalian church. In this, pentecotalism was allowed into the mainline churches if the pentecostals would tame down the wild fanaticism and confusion (which many were willing do do). The 1960s saw the hippie and Jesus People movements whereby the old time ICs were questioned as to validity. There was a slow turn to something different in worship and something which would attract younger people. Evidently, it was this backdrop which allowed the so-called emergent church to develop, primarily in the 1990s and early 21st century.
The pitch of the emergents seems to be more spontaneity and participation by the flock in worship. Supposedly, much of the old rigidity of the dead ICs have begun to give way to some liberalism and variations in liturgy and worship process (at least as i understand it). But the old time IC problems remain. A professional clergy class is present which is arrogant and rules over the flock like a bunch of sharks and by all means plagiarizers (as they continue to steal ideas and words from others).
While there seems to be some of this emergent stuff in some of the old line churches, it is also true that new community churches are forming on the basis of being emergent. Many of these churches claim to be non-denominational. But they are liars as they quickly become denominational with their own pitches and brands of Christianity. It is clear that the charismatic and Jesus people movements have contributed to and perhaps led the way in the now emergent movement. The really bad features of this is the pentecostalism and a new age approach which is strongly present in the emergent churches. It's hard to imagine a Christian tie to the New Age movment but it is happening right now.
It would be a good thing for Christendom to open its pulpits somewhat. Today, if YESHUA, Shaul, Kefa or any of the early people showed up at a typical Christian Church, they would not be allowed to say anything. Perhaps the emergents would allow some participation but always in the context of Greek Philosophy, humanism and general political correctness as defined by the establishment.
During Apostolic days, the 2d Temple synagogues were extremely open (and this was good as YESHUA authenticated it as being correct). Men had open discussions and were allowed to say whatever they wanted to (and that's why the Talmud is so filled with opinion and whatever a writer might want to say. This is not the real world today in the ICs or politically correct society which is moving toward world government and a one world system of one type of thinking and belief).
2d Temple synagogues had open pulpits and strangers particularly were invited to speak. That's why Shaul and his colleagues could go all over the Roman empire and have an immediate audience and forum for their views. This is not to say that the Nasi (synagogue president) would have incompetently allowed someone to come in and start hollering about Greek philosophy which was alien to the Hebrew mind.
The Home fellowship motion has also bloomed in the last several years; although it seems to have had some presence from time to time for the last 2000 years. It offers independance, freedom of thought and expression, participation by worshippers and truly non-denominationalism (though many of the home fellowships end up with so-called leaders who use the fellowship as a place to spread their own denominational ideas around for consumption).
Some of my words have been critical of the Pentecostal-Charismatic motion. Numbers of people have come to the same realization. One Baptist preacher in Louisiana named Conrad Murrell has quite a ministry of casting demons out of pentecostals. He has written a number of books on the subject. Other writers too have joined in. i would also recommend the work of Marjoe Gortner, a pentecostal preacher who started at age 5. He produced an academy award winning documentary on the pentecostals which is revealing. Also, one can study Hinduism as the so-called tongues thing ties back to Hinduism, where unintelligle sounds are very common. The spirits in charge of this motion are powerful and hooked people almost can never break free. Finally, there is a huge write-up at vol 19, chapters 288-294, Ezekiel and YHWH's Word for the Good News People, on the Internet at www.ageend.com.
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Hi RD, you mentioned the New Age connection and the ties back to Hinduism turning up in the "emergent conversation." Check out this New Age gibberish - especially the altered state of conscience bit - from emergent guru Leonard Sweet.
quote:"The first of these five untheorized observations is that New Light embodiment means to be "in connection" and 'in-formation' with other Christians. Deeper feeling and higher relating go together. The church is fundamentally one being, one person, a comm-union whose cells are connected to one another within the information network called the Christ consciousness." —Quantum Spirituality, P. 122
"Energy-fire experiences take us into ourselves only that we might reach outside of ourselves. Metanoia is a de-centering experience of connected-ness and community. It is not an exercise in reciting what Jesus has done for me lately. Energy-fire ecstasy, more a buzz than a binge, takes us out of ourselves, literally. That is the meaning of the word 'ecstatic.'" —Quantum Spirituality, P. 93
The power of small groups is in their ability to develop the discipline to get people "in-phase" with the Christ consciousness and connected with one another. P. 147
New Lights offer up themselves as the cosmions of a mind-of-Christ consciousness. As a cosmion incarnating the cells of a new body, New Lights will function as transitional vessels through which transforming energy can renew the divine image in the world, moving postmoderns from one state of embodiment to another. P. 48
A surprisingly central feature of all the world's religions is the language of light in communicating the divine and symbolizing the union of the human with the divine: Muhammed's light-filled cave, Moses' burning bush, Paul's blinding light, Fox's "inner light," Krishna's Lord of Light, Bohme's light-filled cobbler shop, Plotinus' fire experiences, Bodhisattvas with the flow of Kundalini's fire erupting from their fontanelles, and so on." P. 235
To learn more of Len Sweet's indebtedness to the New Age cultist leaders and also of the Rick Warren/emergent connection go to:
These quotations are from that site. I am not going to buy any more emergent books, myself. Been burned too many times thinking I might find some real commonality. I didn't. Nor am I interested in being a part of the "house church branch of the emergent church." Forget that.
Jesus, btw, sorely REBUKED the early churches which tolerated junk doctrines and associations with false teachers. Rev. 2-3. So, let US not be overcome with evil but overcome evil with good.
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