What is Emerging...Exactly? (Part 1?)

So after seeing how many friends and acquaitences rank the book "Blue Like Jazz" among their favorites I decided to give it a try.

The book is definitely easy to read, and interesting.  It also reinforces my opinion that the new "Emergent Church" really only relates well to people who were raised in the church and become disillusioned in some way.

The biggest plus, I would have to say, so far, is how he sees clearly problems that exist in the modern church.  I haven't read many of this solutions yet, but I'm not sure that I'll like them.

I think the most worrying thing is the Christianity he presents seems emasculated.  I can just imagine him saying everything he does while wearing a tight, pink shirt and jeans that he had to sew himself into (Emo-Style).  He's like a man who's trying to stay a man, all the while everything he thinks he's supposed to love is feminine.

Most clearly this can be seen in his evangelism.  He definitely goes after unbelievers with the gospel, even when he's not sure that he believes it.  Yet he always has a hard time "convincing" himself that he really believes this stuff.  He even says that he has a hard time not making it sound like believing in Santa Claus or the Easter bunny.  It's like you have to drum up this feeling of "belief" or "faith" that's really just an emotion.  When it's gone, you have doubt.

If Jesus is king, then it doesn't really matter what you believe about it, but you had better obey it!  I don't always "feel" like George W. Bush is my president, but what I feel about the matter doesn't really make any difference.  He is the president and if he exercised his power I would have to respond.

Christ functions in the same way.  He is King of kings and Lord of lords.  We don't have to drum up a feeling of "belief" in him, because He IS.  Our job is to submit ourselves, not work ourselves into a feverish emotion that will get us to evangelize.

An merely emotional savior is an emasculated savior.  He can plead and hope and wish, but in the end He can't really do anything.  He has to wait for His creation to convince themselves, emotionally, to believe in Him.  When their emotions fade, His authority disappears over their lives.