sustain:if:able kiwi

Email to Andrew Jones

Andrew you are probably being drowned under a mountain of words. I pray wisdom and generous grace for you as you attempt to hear God and ponder the way forward. For what’s its worth;

1. One of the key insights of postmodern thought is that language is power. The words we use to name are very easily words to control. The emerging church has lived, has been birthed on the edge of the modern church. We know what it’s like to be named as
“alternative” when our motivation was hearing the heartbeat of God
“emerging” when our motivation is following God
“small” when our motivation is communal
“pagan” when our motivation is Biblical.
“liberal” when our motivation is missionary.
We know what its like to feel language used in ways that define us unhelpfully. It is time we took our experiences and used then to listen to those who currently feel marginalized in the emerging church. If they say the name is unhelpful, then it is up to us to change, out of respect for their voice, their gifts, their insights.

2. One of the key insights of postmodern thought is that context is essential. The experience of females in the church in China is a very different context from that of females in the emerging church in the West.

3. One of the key insights of the postmodern thought is the power of a story. A seeking woman walked into a worship experience. She left, never to return, saying “I’m not interested in being part of an experience in which one man tells people what to think.” The missionary listens attentively, not for the sake of political correctedness, but so that by all means we may win some.