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Emergent Manifesto of Hope, An
Many have heard of the emerging church, but few people feel like they have a handle on what the emerging church believes and represents. Is it a passing fad led by disenfranchised neo-evangelicals? Or is it the future of the church at large? Now available in trade paper, An Emergent Manifesto of Hope represents a coming together of divergent voices into a conversation that pastors, students, and thoughtful Christians can now learn from and engage in. This unprecedented collection of writings includes articles by some of the most important voices in the emergent conversation, including Brian McLaren, Dan Kimball, and Sally Morgenthaler. It also introduces some lesser known but integral players representing "who's next" within the emerging church. The articles cover a broad range of topics, such as spirituality, theology, multiculturalism, postcolonialism, sex, evangelism, and many others. Anyone who wants to know what the emerging church is all about needs to start here.
320 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2007
About the author
Doug Pagitt
20 books7 followersDoug Pagitt is the head pastor of Solomon's Porch in South Minneapolis and a Senior Fellow with Emergent Village: a generative friendship of missional church leaders around the world and a leading architect of the emergent church discussion.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 15, 2025
AN INSIGHTFUL COLLECTION OF ESSAYS ABOUT THE EMERGING CHURCH MOVEMENT
Doug Pagitt (born 1966) is founding pastor of the Solomon's Porch church/community in South Minneapolis. Tony Jones (born 1968) is national coordinator of Emergent Village, as well as a theologian, author, blogger, and speaker.
Jones explains in his Introduction to this 2007 book, “Like a coffee-table book, this book… is meant to sit at the middle of a relationship, to provoke conversation, and consequently to deepen the friendship… I have found these essays to be compelling and brilliant, each in its own way. Be mindful that in this book a wide variety of authors are granted… And each author comes from a different field and values a different expertise. One is a missionary, another a philosopher, another a beat poet, and another a writer… So it’s a bit artificial for us to ask each of these individuals to write three thousand words of prose to be fitted into this book…” (Pg. 13, 15)
Mark Scandrette points out, “The terms ‘Emergent’ and ‘emerging church,’ like the word ‘Christian,’ have quickly become catchall phrases to which people and groups bring their independent meanings. The result is that we are misrepresented and misunderstood. The increasing visibility, perceived credibility, and for some, scandal, of the emerging church are threats to the spirit of what we mean by ‘emerge’----the primal humility, vulnerability, and passion of a search for a way with God together in the world we live in.” (Pg. 23)
Heather Kirk-Davidoff notes, “When a network of respectful relationships is in place, churches can become places where people learn to share their faith with honesty and integrity in a way that does not manipulate the relationship into a recruitment possibility… We’ve had so many negative experiences with evangelism and evangelists that we think twice before we start talking with anyone about being a Christian. We’d rather be silent than risk damaging our relationships because our friends or acquaintances might confuse us with the recruiters we so dislike.” (Pg. 39)
Troy Bronsink recalls, “In my early evangelistic youth ministry experience, license was granted for innovation in church evangelism practices, but conservatism restrained any critical examination of our story. Sadly similar restricting took place in seminary… innovation was reserved for … the realm of theological ideas---while practices remained protected as ‘rituals of an exilic people.’ We were invited to see ‘life as sacramental,’ but the sacramental life of the church was separated from everyday life by high pulpits, liturgical robes, and magisterial prayer language awkwardly different from everyone’s conversational voices.” (Pg. 66)
Tim Conder explains, “Emergent Village has been in the business of theological dialogue throughout its short existence. One thing we have done well is to create safe places for theological inquiry and exploration… we have seen respect, friendship, and creative initiatives grow like kudzu across many of the deepest chasms of Christian tradition. This final path of dialogue may be the most sacred. On its heels, one can see far beyond the first steps of credibility and respect to the sacred places of missional collaboration and generative friendship.” (Pg. 106-107)
Adam Walker Cleaveland observes, “Those involved in the emerging church movement … strive to seek alternative visions and third ways beyond the polarities that have so dramatically seeped into our culture and our faith. This involves a true openness to the Spirit and a desire to avoid squelching anything that might be from and of the Spirit… where people can come and be involved in the process of deconstructing ideas and practices… Some have criticized Emergent for focusing too much on deconstruction, implying that somehow Emergent will prove itself to be nothing more than one more fatalistic nihilism. It is clear to me, though, that Emergent’s deconstruction is simply a necessary means to an end, and that end is clearly reconstruction, revitalization, and reform---the emergence of a new way of being Christian and a new way of being the church.” (Pg. 125)
Ryan Bolger states, “If the church today is to follow Jesus in relation to power, the church must create a space for the governing of a dominion-free-movement---a community of true freedom. It must ascertain how to operate while refusing to exercise certain types of power, even for legitimate ends, and refusing to practice coercion of any kind, either physical or psychological. Even those with the gift of leadership submit themselves to the kingdom of God---a sphere free of domination, finding ways to lead that exclude coercion of any kind.” (Pg. 137)
Brian McLaren suggests, “we do not see ourselves as ‘the emerging church’---meaning a slice, sector, or division that is roughly analogous to ‘the charismatic church’ or ‘the seeker church.’ Instead, we see ourselves as the ‘church emerging,’ meaning a growing edge of the church at large in all its forms, stretching from the margins into the new territory beyond modern, Western Christianity.” (Pg. 149)
Samie Selmanovic says, “If we believe that the ultimate method of spreading the Good News is through loving people, why do non-Christians so rarely feel loved by Christians? My thesis is that love accepts what others have to offer and we think non-Christians don’t have much of anything to add to what is most valuable to us, namely the gospel. Although we accept their virtues with admiration and their brokenness with compassion, we do not seriously expect them to add to what matters most to us---our knowledge of and our relationship with God. We withhold from them the possibility of being our teachers… The world is withholding from us what we are withholding from the world.” (Pg. 196)
Dwight Friesen explains, “Orthoparadoxy represents a conversational theological method that seeks to graciously embrace difference while bringing the fulness of a differentiated social-self to the other. Through the methodology of orthoparadoxy, competing ideas, practices, and hermeneutics are seen as an invitation to conversational engagement rather than as something to refute, reform, or revise… Orthoparadoxy is less committed to solving or resolving apparent antinomies, contradictions, differences, and paradoxes and more committed to relational engagement, allowing for the other perspective(s) to impact and transform the self.” (Pg. 207)
Dan Kimball argues, “It is not a weakness to be open to theological rethinking. At the same time we hold to certain truths, it is also a wonderful thing to be open to discussing all types of new thinking [and] rethinking and to be willing to learn… It is not a weakness to be open to hearing other viewpoints and even to be challenged in what we may believe. In fact I think it is a weakness when we are not willing to do this, as it may mean either we don’t have confidence in what we believe or we are afraid or close-minded (in a negative way) and unwilling to discuss anything.” (Pg. 223)
This is one of the best collections of essays about the Emerging Church, and will be “must reading” for anyone interested in the movement, or similar modern developments of Christianity.
Doug Pagitt (born 1966) is founding pastor of the Solomon's Porch church/community in South Minneapolis. Tony Jones (born 1968) is national coordinator of Emergent Village, as well as a theologian, author, blogger, and speaker.
Jones explains in his Introduction to this 2007 book, “Like a coffee-table book, this book… is meant to sit at the middle of a relationship, to provoke conversation, and consequently to deepen the friendship… I have found these essays to be compelling and brilliant, each in its own way. Be mindful that in this book a wide variety of authors are granted… And each author comes from a different field and values a different expertise. One is a missionary, another a philosopher, another a beat poet, and another a writer… So it’s a bit artificial for us to ask each of these individuals to write three thousand words of prose to be fitted into this book…” (Pg. 13, 15)
Mark Scandrette points out, “The terms ‘Emergent’ and ‘emerging church,’ like the word ‘Christian,’ have quickly become catchall phrases to which people and groups bring their independent meanings. The result is that we are misrepresented and misunderstood. The increasing visibility, perceived credibility, and for some, scandal, of the emerging church are threats to the spirit of what we mean by ‘emerge’----the primal humility, vulnerability, and passion of a search for a way with God together in the world we live in.” (Pg. 23)
Heather Kirk-Davidoff notes, “When a network of respectful relationships is in place, churches can become places where people learn to share their faith with honesty and integrity in a way that does not manipulate the relationship into a recruitment possibility… We’ve had so many negative experiences with evangelism and evangelists that we think twice before we start talking with anyone about being a Christian. We’d rather be silent than risk damaging our relationships because our friends or acquaintances might confuse us with the recruiters we so dislike.” (Pg. 39)
Troy Bronsink recalls, “In my early evangelistic youth ministry experience, license was granted for innovation in church evangelism practices, but conservatism restrained any critical examination of our story. Sadly similar restricting took place in seminary… innovation was reserved for … the realm of theological ideas---while practices remained protected as ‘rituals of an exilic people.’ We were invited to see ‘life as sacramental,’ but the sacramental life of the church was separated from everyday life by high pulpits, liturgical robes, and magisterial prayer language awkwardly different from everyone’s conversational voices.” (Pg. 66)
Tim Conder explains, “Emergent Village has been in the business of theological dialogue throughout its short existence. One thing we have done well is to create safe places for theological inquiry and exploration… we have seen respect, friendship, and creative initiatives grow like kudzu across many of the deepest chasms of Christian tradition. This final path of dialogue may be the most sacred. On its heels, one can see far beyond the first steps of credibility and respect to the sacred places of missional collaboration and generative friendship.” (Pg. 106-107)
Adam Walker Cleaveland observes, “Those involved in the emerging church movement … strive to seek alternative visions and third ways beyond the polarities that have so dramatically seeped into our culture and our faith. This involves a true openness to the Spirit and a desire to avoid squelching anything that might be from and of the Spirit… where people can come and be involved in the process of deconstructing ideas and practices… Some have criticized Emergent for focusing too much on deconstruction, implying that somehow Emergent will prove itself to be nothing more than one more fatalistic nihilism. It is clear to me, though, that Emergent’s deconstruction is simply a necessary means to an end, and that end is clearly reconstruction, revitalization, and reform---the emergence of a new way of being Christian and a new way of being the church.” (Pg. 125)
Ryan Bolger states, “If the church today is to follow Jesus in relation to power, the church must create a space for the governing of a dominion-free-movement---a community of true freedom. It must ascertain how to operate while refusing to exercise certain types of power, even for legitimate ends, and refusing to practice coercion of any kind, either physical or psychological. Even those with the gift of leadership submit themselves to the kingdom of God---a sphere free of domination, finding ways to lead that exclude coercion of any kind.” (Pg. 137)
Brian McLaren suggests, “we do not see ourselves as ‘the emerging church’---meaning a slice, sector, or division that is roughly analogous to ‘the charismatic church’ or ‘the seeker church.’ Instead, we see ourselves as the ‘church emerging,’ meaning a growing edge of the church at large in all its forms, stretching from the margins into the new territory beyond modern, Western Christianity.” (Pg. 149)
Samie Selmanovic says, “If we believe that the ultimate method of spreading the Good News is through loving people, why do non-Christians so rarely feel loved by Christians? My thesis is that love accepts what others have to offer and we think non-Christians don’t have much of anything to add to what is most valuable to us, namely the gospel. Although we accept their virtues with admiration and their brokenness with compassion, we do not seriously expect them to add to what matters most to us---our knowledge of and our relationship with God. We withhold from them the possibility of being our teachers… The world is withholding from us what we are withholding from the world.” (Pg. 196)
Dwight Friesen explains, “Orthoparadoxy represents a conversational theological method that seeks to graciously embrace difference while bringing the fulness of a differentiated social-self to the other. Through the methodology of orthoparadoxy, competing ideas, practices, and hermeneutics are seen as an invitation to conversational engagement rather than as something to refute, reform, or revise… Orthoparadoxy is less committed to solving or resolving apparent antinomies, contradictions, differences, and paradoxes and more committed to relational engagement, allowing for the other perspective(s) to impact and transform the self.” (Pg. 207)
Dan Kimball argues, “It is not a weakness to be open to theological rethinking. At the same time we hold to certain truths, it is also a wonderful thing to be open to discussing all types of new thinking [and] rethinking and to be willing to learn… It is not a weakness to be open to hearing other viewpoints and even to be challenged in what we may believe. In fact I think it is a weakness when we are not willing to do this, as it may mean either we don’t have confidence in what we believe or we are afraid or close-minded (in a negative way) and unwilling to discuss anything.” (Pg. 223)
This is one of the best collections of essays about the Emerging Church, and will be “must reading” for anyone interested in the movement, or similar modern developments of Christianity.
March 2, 2008
This prescription from the Old Testament prophet Micah appears both early and late in this collection of 25 essays from emergent practitioners from many different parts of the US.
Emergent is the term in 2007 being used to describe a collection of people and communities critiquing and challenging Christian thought and practice in late 20th-early 21st-century America. It was previously called "postmodern," but on further review, that was a misleading term, because it gave the impression that it was primarily a philosophical project. For example, in reading Brian McLaren's essay "Church Emerging: Or Why I Still Use the Word Postmodern but with Mixed Feelings," I get the impression that McLaren is weary of telling people "No, we haven't rejected the idea of truth."
I'm not crazy the use of the word "Manifesto" to describe the emergent community, as it has the connotation as the declaration of a group of people who believe they are going to save the world, or usher in some great new way of thinking and acting. This is not that kind of book. There's a lot of humility expressed its pages.
So what is emergent community about? Some of the threads have been around for a while, some are newer. There are probably better ways of saying it, but here's what I grasp from reading this book.
Being conformed to the image of Christ is so much more than book learning. It involves honoring and leveraging the different kinds of intelligences people have.
People don't want to think of themselves as a target of someone's gospel marketing technique.
A Christian is not merely a consumer of a body of ideas and the services of a church, but part of a creative, creating community.
A lot of Protestants are historically prejudiced. There were the apostles, then 1,500 years of more-or-less nothing, then the Reformation, then 500 years of more-or-less nothing, then now.
Being culturally prejudiced is part of the human condition, and transcending cultural prejudice is part of the redemptive work of God in people and communities.
If you're a church leader, and you're not considering the consequences of acts of cultural prejudice done in the name of Jesus Christ, you're not paying enough attention.
Christians in America need to get out more, both historically and culturally.
God didn't put pastors in the body of Christ to implement the next church growth fad. Churches are not businesses.
This book is a snapshot of the emergent community in 2007. Each of the essays are generously footnoted, and the notes section at the end of the book gives some good suggestions as to what books to read if you wish to examine this further. I don't give the book five stars because of the misleading word in the title and the lack of an index.
Full disclosure: I attend Solomon's Porch in Minneapolis, where Doug Pagitt (co-editor) is the pastor, and Tony Jones (co-editor), Carla Barnhill (contributor) and Thomas Olson (contributor) are members.
Emergent is the term in 2007 being used to describe a collection of people and communities critiquing and challenging Christian thought and practice in late 20th-early 21st-century America. It was previously called "postmodern," but on further review, that was a misleading term, because it gave the impression that it was primarily a philosophical project. For example, in reading Brian McLaren's essay "Church Emerging: Or Why I Still Use the Word Postmodern but with Mixed Feelings," I get the impression that McLaren is weary of telling people "No, we haven't rejected the idea of truth."
I'm not crazy the use of the word "Manifesto" to describe the emergent community, as it has the connotation as the declaration of a group of people who believe they are going to save the world, or usher in some great new way of thinking and acting. This is not that kind of book. There's a lot of humility expressed its pages.
So what is emergent community about? Some of the threads have been around for a while, some are newer. There are probably better ways of saying it, but here's what I grasp from reading this book.
Being conformed to the image of Christ is so much more than book learning. It involves honoring and leveraging the different kinds of intelligences people have.
People don't want to think of themselves as a target of someone's gospel marketing technique.
A Christian is not merely a consumer of a body of ideas and the services of a church, but part of a creative, creating community.
A lot of Protestants are historically prejudiced. There were the apostles, then 1,500 years of more-or-less nothing, then the Reformation, then 500 years of more-or-less nothing, then now.
Being culturally prejudiced is part of the human condition, and transcending cultural prejudice is part of the redemptive work of God in people and communities.
If you're a church leader, and you're not considering the consequences of acts of cultural prejudice done in the name of Jesus Christ, you're not paying enough attention.
Christians in America need to get out more, both historically and culturally.
God didn't put pastors in the body of Christ to implement the next church growth fad. Churches are not businesses.
This book is a snapshot of the emergent community in 2007. Each of the essays are generously footnoted, and the notes section at the end of the book gives some good suggestions as to what books to read if you wish to examine this further. I don't give the book five stars because of the misleading word in the title and the lack of an index.
Full disclosure: I attend Solomon's Porch in Minneapolis, where Doug Pagitt (co-editor) is the pastor, and Tony Jones (co-editor), Carla Barnhill (contributor) and Thomas Olson (contributor) are members.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 19, 2015
If there were ever a manifesto that outlined the modus operandi of the Emerging Church, "An Emergent Manifesto of Hope" is certainly it. Written by numerous movers and shakers within the EC they touch upon a range of issues such as: evangelism, community, ecclesiology, ecumenism, theology, orthopraxy, inclusiveness, sexuality, social justice, racial reconciliation and so much more. The beliefs and practices outlined in this book are what Brian McLaren terms, "a generous orthodoxy". An orthodoxy that is culturally relevant, inclusive to all, and a step away from the modernistic Enlightenment approach that today's Evangelical Christianity has become complicit with. This is not liberalism or conservative ideology wrapped with religious speak. It is simply a self examination on how we as Christians currently live our lives, do church, and what we can do differently in order to make an everlasting impact upon the world in which we live. Let's face it, the church today has become complacent and apathetic, often engaging in fruitless battles with one another and struggling against the post-modern culture that surrounds it. In order to come out from this rut, we must embrace a new paradigm. A paradigm that embraces a new hope in a church that emerges from the ash heap of modernism and a return to a vintage Christianity that involves a major change in how we do things. This book offers that hope; at the very least a starting point in a new direction. A new direction that I embrace and will instill upon my children effecting many generations to come.
April 4, 2008
I figured some accused so much in the past of being Emergent that I better read a book to find out what it is that I am. ;o)
I have to admit that I did enjoy reading this. I didn't agree with every chapter, but I resonated with a lot. It's good. And I guess, yeah, that in some ways I'm more emergent than I thought. I don't agree with some theological positions, but I do love many of the concepts of practice, church, and Christian lifestyle that are presented.
This is an "overview" book though, and I'd like to read some of the various contributor's own works to dive a little deeper into things.
I have to admit that I did enjoy reading this. I didn't agree with every chapter, but I resonated with a lot. It's good. And I guess, yeah, that in some ways I'm more emergent than I thought. I don't agree with some theological positions, but I do love many of the concepts of practice, church, and Christian lifestyle that are presented.
This is an "overview" book though, and I'd like to read some of the various contributor's own works to dive a little deeper into things.
April 28, 2012
Read two books now on the Emerging Church, and a few people have asked me about it.
X: "So what is the Emergent Movement?"
AW: "I don't know."
X: "But you just read two books about it."
AW: "Yeah, but I have no idea what it's about."
X: "Is it really that difficult?"
AW: "No. I just don't think the Emergents even know what they're about."
That is basically what I've learned. It's a movement without a direction. And far from saying that in a negative sense, I think it makes them one of the more promising and honest church movements around. They wear uncertainty and an openness to Spirit that's more refreshing than pushing another heavy doctrine around.
X: "So what is the Emergent Movement?"
AW: "I don't know."
X: "But you just read two books about it."
AW: "Yeah, but I have no idea what it's about."
X: "Is it really that difficult?"
AW: "No. I just don't think the Emergents even know what they're about."
That is basically what I've learned. It's a movement without a direction. And far from saying that in a negative sense, I think it makes them one of the more promising and honest church movements around. They wear uncertainty and an openness to Spirit that's more refreshing than pushing another heavy doctrine around.
January 14, 2013
This is an edited volume of some 30 individuals associated with the Emergent Church movement. Much like all emergent writing, it focuses on missional living and missional ecclesiology. Some of what they have to say is good; some of what they have to say is atrocious; it is all theologically deficient.
July 25, 2008
If you are working in or a part of a non-dom or an emergent church, this is something you should check out. Some of the essays are a little convoluted and lose track, but most are spot on and give good insight to where the church should be heading in a post-christian world.
July 12, 2007
A few of the essays are really good. It's at least a broad perspective.
Want to Read
October 22, 2007a couple different people i know contributed to this.
Currently Reading
November 6, 2008awesome collection of small essays that give a taste of where each person/author is coming from. The essay by Dwayne Friesen on orthoparadoxy is amazing.
Currently Reading
October 1, 2010Found this whilst looking for books on postmodern art. Looks pretty interesting.
May 28, 2011
A collection of essays, many of which are outstanding and really useful.
August 10, 2016
Although it gave an overview of different ideas from leading emerging church people, I found the book rather boring most of the time.
January 29, 2016
Liberal theology repackaged as all beef hotdogs but same ingredients.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews