The Emerging Identity Part 1

  Who are the emergent Christians?  Is there a common flag that can fly over all of us or most of us?  I've been wondering this for some time.  Having read most of the popular books from most of the leading authors - informal spokesmen for the emerging church, if it were possible - I've seen many labels used to describe this growing group of ragtag radical followers of Christ, from "Post-evangelicals" to "new reformers" to "barbarians" to - from the other side, "liberals" or even "heretics". (Surprise me, why don't you?)
  But what I have been watching for is a common orthodoxy or doctrinal identity.  Like a denominational platform.  Not that I want one.  The whole idea of signing on to a new doctrinal creed is repulsive to me... I mean, I just recently got rid of the old one!  And the new believers are understandably all over the map on their positions, because the new Way is in the process of developing and solidifying as we speak.
  Anyway, I think I may have found it - or it found me, or my cousin's husband found it for me.  Dave gave me a book titled, The Naked Anabaptist, by Stuart Murray, thinking that he saw me in there, I think: the Neo-Anabaptist.
  This just may be the common orthodoxical homeland for many of us, simply because there are so many similarities between the direction of the new reformers and this little-known 500-year-old tradition.  If you are one of the "new" Jesus-followers, you just might see yourself in these core convictions held by most contemporary Anabaptists:
  1. Emphasis on emulating/imitating Christ as a lifestyle, as well as worshipping him.
  2. Jesus-centered doctrine.  Emphasis on the gospels - the life and teachings of Christ - as a filter for interpreting all of the Bible.
  3. Commitment to learning from the experience of movements that have rejected standard assumptions of Christendom and pursued alternative ways of thinking and behaving.
  4. Commitment to exploring ways of being good news to the poor, powerless, and persecuted.
  5. Strong sense of community.  Churches will be places of discipleship and mission, friendship (not just fellowship), mutual accountability, multivoiced worship.  Young and old are valued, leadership is consultative (the group makes decisions together), roles are related to gifts rather than gender, baptism is for believers.
  6. Spirituality and economics are interconnected. Simple living, generous sharing, caring for creation, and working for justice.
  7. Nonviolence. Commitment to finding ways to make peace between individuals, within and among churches, in society, and between nations.
  You probably noticed right away that, as Murray puts it, "these statements say nothing at all about foundational theological subjects... Nor do they pretend to cover every aspect of the subjects they do address, such as Scripture, the church, and mission.  These core convictions are not intended to be comprehensive, to substitute for creeds or statements of faith....  They introduce a way of being followers of Jesus that is unusually holistic."
  So, you saw Shane Claiborne (The Irresistible Revolution) in there, right?  And how about Brian McLaren (A Generous Orthodoxy)?  And I also see my young counterparts, Sam, Ben, Jordon and Ricky in there, along with tens of thousands of new radicals who are leaving the traditional institutions on pilgrimage to something more authentically Christ-ian.
  I think Stuart Murray speaks for many Post-evangelicals when he points out the similarities between certain Anabaptist convictions and the common direction of many radical, authentic Christ-followers of today.

Pacifism, Pure & Simple

  Last night we hosted a peace rally that we named "Jesus, Bombs, and Hot Dogs", and friends came from several towns nearby-- all over the map, you might say-- to take part in the discussion.  The views expressed were "all over the map" as well, which added a delightful element of diversity to the conversation.  I love diversity, and I had a very enjoyable time last night.  One of our primary objectives was the creation of a venue where it would be safe to talk about Christian pacifism-- and even to identify oneself as a pacifist-- without the usual judgement and criticism that is so pervasive in the normal evangelical environment.  We were successful in that, probably for the most part because we had participants who were so magnanimous and respectful toward each other.

  As the host, I was privileged to direct the discussion a bit, though after getting things going, it really didn't need much direction, and many of the essential aspects of Christian pacifism were covered after my brief introduction sharing a bit of the history of pacifism and even my own personal history of being a pacifist since I was a teenager during the Vietnam era.

  Some of the discussion last night left me thinking that sometimes we think too hard about various philosophies, when a really simple view seems much more obvious.  I'm talking about the convoluted logic of complicated theologies of God's love versus God's justice and similar ideas that are used to explain the need for war or a global police force and so on.  

  Now usually I think that simple-minded people, in large numbers, are dangerous because they can be persuaded to sign on to almost any sort of bandwagon or group think, and can become a voting block or a mob that takes things in the wrong direction.  But in the case of Christian pacifism, I think that a very simple view is the most logical, and this is it: Jesus said, "Love your enemies."  Now there are many ways that we, as his followers, may express love for our enemies, but bombing them is not one of those ways.  It's hard for me to imagine that killing our enemies can ever be described as an expression of Christ's love, and Christ's love is what we are supposed to be all about.  Period.  That is really simple.

  So pardon me for being simple-minded at this point, but when the truth is so obvious, it doesn't take a whole lot of explanation.  In fact, it's the circumventing of the obvious truth that takes a boat-load of convoluted haranguing to explain.  Unfortunately, there will always be a Titanic-load of folks who are willing to do that haranguing, because violence and retribution are such strong elements of human nature, and we want to feel that we are justified in blowing up fellow human beings who happen to have the misfortune of being born in foreign lands and being indoctrinated to serve opposing ideologies.

  I feel it myself.  Though the life-long pacifist, I sometimes want to get even with my nemeses.  I take pleasure in standing up to bullies-- more often religious bullies of late-- and being the savior who liberates the oppressed. 

  So there is a great need for tolerance on this, and I've spent most of my life tolerating the overriding militarism of the American evangelical culture, and will certainly have to continue doing so, as Christian pacifism will continue to be a minority view.  It was nice to be in the company of some fellow dissidents last night.

  May God continue to bless not just America, but all nations and all earthly citizens, whether civilian or military, and may God help us, his followers, to get it right-- to increasingly understand and express the essence of Christ and His love to our neighbors-- and our enemies, here and around the world.