~ by Samir Selmanovic
I love this book not only because of its great content but because it reminds me of the hope my generation of pastors and other leaders have for the future of the Christian church. When I came to the United States and came to know American Christianity, it was editors and contributors to this book that helped me deal with the struggle within me. Emergent Village was not about professional networking, about personal growth, or even about our relationships, as precious as these aspects are. This web of friends is for me, a God’s gift of hope.
I was privileged and somewhat lucky to be asked to be a part of this book. If you are inspired by the Faith House project, I suggest that after reading this book you go and Google some of the contributors and continue learning from them. These authors will take you to the roads you always hoped existed.
The book is published by Baker, coming out April 1st. To read comments by the contributors and others like you, you can visit the Emergent Manifesto Blog. Also, you can visit Emergent Village website where you can find recources, links, information, and sign up for Emergent Village mailing list.
I have contributed with a chapter entitled The Sweet Problem of Inclusiveness: Finding Our God in the Other. Following is a short excerpt from the introduction to the chapter.
For many of us, the problem was not immediately apparent. Discovering the God of the Bible felt like puzzle pieces of all that is truthful and beautiful coming together. A flat world turned 3D, the grayscale turned to color, as if someone had turned on the light. We were bathed in light. In time our eyes adjusted and we became aware of shadows.
It has always been that way. Every generation of those who decide to follow Christ learns that there are Bible texts to be reinterpreted, theologies to be reconstructed, faith communities to be reimagined. Those of us who are a part of the conversation about the emerging church believe such transformations are God’s doing. And for our generation, the shadow is not to be seen in the flaws of Christianity itself. Our religion has become a Christ management system.
We have experienced great joy in God’s embrace of humanity through Jesus Christ. It has filled our lives with light. But Christianity’s idea that other religions cannot be God’s carriers of grace and truth casts a large shadow over our Christian experience. Does grace, the central teaching of Christianity, permeate all of reality, or is it something that is alive only for those who possess the New Testament and the Christian tradition? Is the revelation that we have received through Jesus Christ an expression of what is everywhere at all times, or has the Christ Event emptied most of the world and time of saving grace and deposited it in one religion, namely ours? And more practically, how can we have a genuine two-way conversation with non-Christians about our experience of God if we believe that God withholds his revelation from everyone but Christians?
Because we believe that there are no shadows in Christ, we want nothing less than to reinterpret the Bible, reconstruct the theology, and reimagine the church to match the character of God that we as followers of Christ have come to know.
… to continue reading, order the book from here.
Recent Comments