Emergent and Anglican

Ijmbooklittle1Ian Mobsby of Moot has been a good friend of mine and he’s one of the guys in UK who always seems to be thinking ahead of the pack. He has good instincts and I like the stuff he comes up with. His dissertation has now become a book called Emerging & Fresh Expressions of Church.How are they authentically Church & Anglican? Buy it or download the PDF here. It confirms my suspicion that when denominationally [oops – I accidentally typed ‘demoninationally’ ] committed churches intentionally focus their efforts on the emerging culture, the emerging churches that spring up carry the same denominational DNA and do not necessarily deviate from core convictions or identity. Read it yourself and decide.

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Andrew

Andrew Jones launched his first internet space in 1997 and has been teaching on digital things ever since. He founded The Boaz Project in 2000 and the virtual Suddenly Seminary in 2004.

7 Comments

  • Oli says:

    Andrew, I’ll read the book with interest, what do you mean by ‘carry the same denominational DNA and do not necessarily deviate from core convictions or identity’ and is this a bad thing? or make them non emergent?
    I’m currently trying to see what being an anglican pushing boundaries in an emergent way means. Indeed I’m actively thinking about starting something emergent under the umbrella of a church while maybe even becoming ordained!

  • andrew jones says:

    good thing. most emergent groups i have come across stay connected to the denominations/networks/streams that formed them. its not a rebellious anti-authoritarian movement, despite what some people say.

  • Oli says:

    I suppose there needs to be some balance, good things being born out of frustration while acknowledging that there is plenty to learn from tradition. It feels to me like the emerging church is now healthily acknowledging and incorporating its roots in a way it might not have seen the need to do five years ago.

  • andrew jones says:

    yeah . .. and ten years ago it was (in the usa anyway) trying to establish its unique contribution through its DIFFERENCES with the churches that spawned them and with the churches down the street.
    now that the movement is more mature and secure, it seems to be looking for common ground and shared heritage.

  • Dan Wilt says:

    Looking forward to the read. Thanks for this Andrew.

  • phil_style says:

    From my persoanl experience I can affirm the notion that EC communities tend towards holding the doctrines of the communities form which they were born. At least as far as the EC churches were not bron out of doctrinal dispute, which lukcily I have not had to endure in this respect.

  • Tom Allen says:

    Where are the “emergent churches” which do not carry some previous DNA? I think that to posit such an idea is pure evangelical illusion of the kind which means that people are simply missing previous influences or moving towards a cult-like model of emergent which says that we have got it right and other have got it wrong. At the heart of the Anglican tradition is a breadth of ecclesiology which is currently under threat by the newly dogmatic traditions of so-called Global South etc.

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