on emergent figureheads

There has been a large blogosphere conversation going on about the state of emergent, specifically Emergent Village. The eruption of comments was started by one blog post which worried about the fizzling out of Emergent, focusing on specific figureheads as proof.

As far as a direct response, I’m not going to give anything of the sort. What I do want to respond to is the direction that the conversation is focused. For my perspective, it seems more focused on certain men, certain brands—basically fleshly kingdoms and not Spirit kingdoms. For a movement which is largely focused on decentralizing leadership, ground up approaches, they seem very bent on erecting figureheads to gather under.

But even a bigger question beyond leaders is why is anyone so concerned over a movement? Isn’t the whole point is that is that we are all under the same roof, Christ. We don’t need to separate over silly demarcations. Who cares about carrying banners, who cares about labels. Shouldn’t the whole conversation dissolve into itself and the Other.

I’ve never really been apart of the main stream of emergent conversations. I haven’t really even thought of myself as “emergent”, or baptist (which I grew up as) or methodist (which I currently attend), in the same way that I have thought the liberal/conservative divide missed the point. I’ve never really been into identifying myself with any group, so maybe that is why the whole emergent identification baffles me.

That being said, who cares about emergent?

Who cares about some man made name, erected to said for some thing. Being in a Methodist church, when I don’t even get methodism, has really helped me in the past year to get past the hang ups of labels. I don’t really care who or what you are, just so we can love Jesus together and in the community.

The biggest worry that I have gotten from this conversation of the state of emergent, is that it seems more worried in the state of an organization than the state of the kingdom. Maybe this is implicit, but I’m not hearing the prayerful words of one who is looking to the Holy Spirit for guidance & instruction; instead I am hearing men worrying about man-made institutions & the leaders who created them.

So I conclude with this prayer, Lord that you may guide us all in your ways. Your kingdom come Your will be done on Earth and it is in Heaven. Thanks be to God, our one and only salvation. Please help us see the way, the way to You.