Dec 132004
On more than one occasion, I’ve been pushed into the corner by onlookers of the “emergent” conversation and to explain what McLaren is all about. Not an easy thing to explain, even though I attend his church and have read most of his books cover-to-cover. I know it’s unfair to give sound bites, and he is far more nuanced about his theological and spiritual perspectives.
Until I came across this Christian Century article titled “New kind of Christian: Brian McLaren’s Emergent voice” [tip to Pomomusings]. This article is the best piece to date that deconstructs McLaren, and adeptly finds the loci and emphases of his spiritual explorations.
Tha’s funny…I, too, have had to explain McLaren (in Spanish) to onlookers. The evangelical culture in Nicaragua is very modernist-based – they’re just now discovering that whole “Purpose-Driven Church” thing. So that means that emergent thinking is really out of left field for many Christians here. But, little by little I’m challenging this not by being an evangelist for emergent-friendly theology but by asking the hard questions that challenge the church status quo.