Emerging Church

Twelve of the best sites about the emerging church movement. Know of another site that should be listed here? Leave your suggestion at the bottom of this page.

1. Emerging Church at Wikipedia - Good summary of what an emerging church means, particularly the thought that emerging churches attempt to engage people who might not otherwise attend church through greater relation of religious themes to modern life and through the use of a more casual style. Also details the many criticisms the emerging church movement has had thrown at it. (en.wikipedia.org)

2. The Emerging Church, Part 1 - This transcript of the July, 2005 PBS television documentary about the concept of an “emerging church” more in tune with contemporary lives contains interviews with pastors and religious experts both pro and con concerning the concept. Also includes photographs from the documentary. (www.pbs.org)

3. The Emerging Church, Part 2 - Transcript of the second half of the PBS documentary referenced above. (www.pbs.org)

4. Driscoll on the Emerging Church - Mark Driscoll, considered one of the founders of the emerging church movement, gives an overview of how the concept of an emerging church came about, the different strains of emerging churches, and other thoughts on church in a postmodern world in this video interview. (www.youtube.com)

5. Emergent Village - One of the most well-known of the churches in the emerging church movement; in fact, some people use emerging church and emergent church interchangeably, which may be a reference to this church’s influence in the movement. Site offers details on the church’s goals and how you can get involved. (www.emergentvillage.com)

6. Why Al Qaeda Supports the Emergent Church - July 22, 2007 commentary by Frank Pastore makes the case that radical Muslims like the emerging church movement because it is a weaker form of religion than conservative evangelical Christianity and will not be able to stand up to the religious extremism of radical Islam. (www.townhall.com)

7. Emerging, Changed and Transformed - Blog centered mostly on discussion of the emerging church, including what it means and how it’s done, so to speak. (dwilson.wordpress.com)

8. Exposing the Emerging Church - Series of essays and a “fact sheet” taking the opinion that the emerging church is a movement away from God’s Word and toward a “what’s in it for me” doctrine. (www.understandthetimes.org)

9. More Than A Fad: Understanding the Emerging Church - Written by a pastor in the Presbyterian Church, it contains explanations of the emerging church, a history of the movement, discussion of their religious beliefs and a discussion on how this challenges, both positively and negatively, the more mainstream Presbyterian church. (www.byfaithonline.com)

10. Messy Church - July 23, 2007 blog post in which Scott McDonald discusses the difficulty of pinning down exactly what the emerging church means, and yet finds himself very interested in the movement. (steakandpotatoes.wordpress.com)

11. The Boar’s Head Post #45095 - September, 2006 blog entry details the writer’s unhappiness with advertising done by an emerging church against traditional churches. (www.boarsheadtavern.com)

12. An Emerging Church Primer - Written from a traditional Christian perspective, this article provides information regarding the makeup and belief of the emerging church. It also contains the author’s commentary regarding the emerging church. (www.9marks.org)