Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures

by Eddie Gibbs, Ryan K. Bolger

The "emerging church" movement is perhaps the most significant church trend of our day. The emerging church offers and encourages a new way of doing and being the church. While it largely resonates with an eighteen-to-thirty-four-year-old audience--the first fully postmodern generation--it is also gaining popularity with older Christians and encompasses a broad array of traditional and contemporary churches. Emerging Churches explores this movement and provides insight into its success.

Filled with the latest research and interesting, anecdotal testimonies from those on the cutting edge of ministry, this book provides pastors, church leaders, and interested readers with an insightful glimpse into the thriving churches of today--and tomorrow.

Genres: Church, Theology, Christian, Christianity, Religion, Cultural, Nonfiction

346 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2005

About the author

Eddie Gibbs (DMin, Fuller Theological Seminary) is director of the Institute for the Study of Emerging Churches at the Brehm Center for Worship, Theology, and the Arts and a senior professor in the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is the author of numerous books, including Emerging Churches and the critically acclaimed ChurchNext (winner of a Christianity Today book award), and is cohost of the popular Church Then and Now Web site.

Reviews

[John Funnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t agree with much of the emerging church. But found this book very interesting. It is always worth learning why those who you may disagree with think as they do.

In many ways they are asking the right questions and are seeking to serve God in spirit and in truth, bringing church to the masses in a new and changing culture. The danger is of course too much compromise! The gospel is clear and unchanging, The church is called to be the counter culture, Don’t sell her short, Christ didn’t at Calvary!

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels like a throwback but the convos in this remain relevant for ecclesiological reflection today! Wonderful read.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gibbs and Bolger provide a very broad picture of the emerging churches. They find nine commonalities among emerging churches: 1) Identifying with Jesus, 2) Transforming Secular Space, 3) Living as Community, 4) Welcoming the Stranger, 5) Serving with Generosity, 6) Participating as Producers, 7) Creating as Created Beings, 8) Leading as a Body, and 9) Merging Ancient and Contemporary Spiritualities. Not all emerging churches share all commonalities equally, some have some, some have all, and these commonalities are present in other communities. None of these are set in stone, none are more or less important and the entire identity of the emerging church movement is fluid. The best part of the book, in my opinion, was the first two chapters that elucidate the current cultural situation and the need for these emerging movements. Still, the entire book was a great, fairly objective (obviously a qualified objectivity), collection of research that acts as a great introduction to the early church.

[Mark Sequeira]

The best on the topic so far. This is THE book to get if you want to know where things are going and why. It doesn't waste time on individual practices but stays more along the broad themes that are challenging/changing the church as we know it. It may cause some fearful souls to realize that some of these changes can actually be for the good! The broad topics are listed as: Identifying with Jesus. Transforming secular space. Living as community. Welcoming the stranger. Serving with generosity. Participating as producers. Creating as created beings. Leading as a body. Merging ancient and contemporary spiritualities.



TallSkinnyKiwi.com says this is simply the best book yet on the emerging church and I would agree. The only other I think I would also recommend is "An Emergent Theology for Emerging Churches"

by Ray S. Anderson

[Shay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Challenging, but Dated

Generally, this was a good read. It helps the average believer better understand the emerging church movement. However, while claiming to have an objective view that does not glorify the emerging church, the authors seem to have done exactly that. There were several points that were (1) not followed to its logical conclusion, (2) not critically analyzed like the traditional or “modern” church was, or (3) were a strength, but not necessarily unique to the emerging church.

Overall, too much attention was given to club culture and communal religion and too little time was given to doctrinal aberrations that are undoubtedly found in many of the emerging church examples given.

Most importantly, its ecclesiology is incomplete and its “generous orthodoxy” proposed by the authors seems to only extend to those of a postmodern mindset.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't agree with all of the emergent church stuff, but I think they are at least asking the right questions. This book is heady and dense, but does a good job covering the bases and the breadth of what's going on in the emergent world. A lot of coverage of UK churches, which apparently have been at this longer than the US, but a lot of those stories (about rave churches and coffee house churches and such) don't resonate.
I am still on the fence about whether I totally disagree with emergent theology or just mostly disagree - but I feel better prepared to talk and think about it now having read this. I love the practices of community, hospitality, etc but I can't get over the pluralism. Sigh.

[Graham Bates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger provide a great introduction to the Emerging Church Movement through interviews and observations of Emerging Church leaders in the USA and UK. Although it is not meant to be a how-to for churches to become emergent, their purpose was to help people understand the positive aspects of this movement. They do not intend to be objective but rather descriptive in their method. In this they succeed marvelously.

[Carl Amouzou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative in regards to understanding the common threads of Emerging Churches. Although it is meant to be a broad stroke and introduction, the book felt repetitive at times as the multiplicity of voices repeat one another. All in all I found the book very helpful in processing and imagining praxis within my own community.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sorry I am so slow on updating my profile. This book had some good thinking in the emerging church, and I would recommend it to those who are trying to learn about the movement. I do think that Joshua Moritz's paper on the need for emerging theology was better...

[John Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too scholarly- a little dated in terms of where some of these people are now and what they are doing. Still, it is must reading for those who in the evangelical community that are suspicious of the emergent/emergence thing.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now I finally understand that Emerging Churches aren't just about 40-year-old pastors with spikey hair and Gap clothes who have kids named Ezra and Damaris. Apparently, that's a Gen X church ;) Really interesting stuff, but I don't think I'm artsy enough to be a part of one.

[Matt Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not 3 stars because of my agreement. I give it 3 because the writing is a clear representation of the movement. Thoroughly researched. Well written. Heartbreaking. Could also have been titled Adventures in Missing the Point.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only satisfying, left me wanting more.

[Steven Gaston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, albeit a bit dry.