About a year or so ago, a friend of mine was in a small used bookstore in Texas and found a copy of a book called "The Emerging Church" by Bruce Larson and Ralph Osborne. 
It was published in 1970 and sold for $1.25 (although it now sold for 25 cents in the used book store).
Having written a book with the same title in 2003, it was funny seeing this one. I didn't know there was a book with that title, since it must have gone out of print years ago. The cover of this "The Emerging Church" book, has a somewhat 1970's psychedelic feel, with a plant representing the church in a true organic way.
When reading the beginning of the 1970 Emerging Church book, it says:
"When historians of the future look back at the 1970's, they will doubtless see this is an era of chaotic change in the Church, a day of new beginnings, a strange mixture of despair and hope, frustration and boldness. disillusionment and expectancy."
Over 35 years have past since this was written, and how true those same words can be said of today's church. Chaotic change, new beginnings, frustrations and boldness, disillusionment and expectancy, despair and hope. Culture has changed since then, and quite a significant change in the church has emerged since then.
35 years ago, there was no Willowcreek, nor a Saddleback. The church growth movement hadn't started yet. No such thing as video venues. Mike Yaconelli and Wayne Rice of Youth Specialties were just making copies of youth ideas books in their garage and had their very first YS Convention the year this book came out. So the church emerged and many things happened in the past 35 years by leaders and followers of Jesus who have done their best to discern the times, understand culture and make Jesus known in their emerging culture, whether 1970 or 2005.
With all this recent "emerging church" talk and books and conferences and blogs etc. all happening, it is good to remember that 35 years ago there were others thinking about "the emerging church" of 1970. There will always be emerging churches throughout history, until Jesus one day returns. We are simply in yet another "emerging" time period - and the same Spirit moves in people to lead and develop and discover what church looks like as culture changes. What's weird is even as I write "what church looks like as culture changes", I immediately think of those who bristle and say "church never changes - you don't cater to culture, sola scriptura! blah blah blah (I am not criticizing sola scriptura, I am criticizing how so many who use that as a rally cry against anything that is at all "emerging church" and condemns most changes in church, and what they really mean is "sola-the-way-I-interpet-Scriptura -and-there-is-no-room-for-anything-else-but-my-way-of -thinking-about-what-church-is-supposed-to-be-a").
I am always amazed at those who react like that to that, as looking at the New Testament church it was constantly changing and emerging due to cultural issues in what they did. It seems like some think the Reformation locked in the final point for when churches stopped emerging - and then it was over and the church was finalized and shouldn't emerge anymore. I am getting off track, but I never understand why some get so angry and freaked out about admitting each emerging culture does in fact change how we go about church, as it did in the New Testament church itself.
Anyway, as we talk about "emerging church" things today, I think the biggest question one day isn't going to be bout about "how historians will look back on this", as the 1970 Emerging Church books asked, but it is how Jesus will look back (I guess, Jesus doesn't look back, He just knows) on the emerging church of our time. Most of us are just trying our best to follow Jesus, and doing our best to discern the times and be faithful to the inspired Scriptures, led by the Spirit and make Jesus known and be salt and light to others as His disciples. Jesus won't be asking if we "emerged" or "if we read the latest emerging books, or did body prayers, or lectio divina, or used art in worship or rethought theology.......but whether we were faithful to what He entrusted us with as leaders in His church. Whether our hearts grew in love for God while we served Him - and as a result, did our hearts then soften and grow in love for other people? I think Jesus will be concerned about whether the fruits of the Spirit were growing in our life as we yielded to His Spirit in the emerging churches we are part of. Whether we represented Jesus as ambassadors and His disciples in the emerging culture we lived in. Did we really go out of our way and out of the Christian sub-culture to "be His witnesses" to others in our emerging culture and day? Whether we "served God's purpose in our generation"(Acts 13:36) (*it is also weird how you can't say or read the word 'purpose' anymore and not have Rick Warren's face pop into your mind or others wonder when you use the word 'purpose', if you mean Purpose-Driven ® or not). 
Emerging in 1970, or emerging in 2005. I hope we are more concerned about Jesus and His thoughts of our service to Him than anything else. I am still going to fully engulf myself in "emerging" ministry and culture more than ever. I see this as only as being faithful as a missionary today and desiring to teach others to be disciples in the most effective way in our culture. That is what I pray I will never lose sight of. That is what is underneath at least all that we do in our church in the "emerging" way of things.
And one day, as my "The Emerging Church" book sits in a used bookstore for 25 cents in Texas somewhere, and there is another book out called "The Emerging Church" published in 2040 by someone who is probably right now 6 years old, may the generation of leaders at that time still be concerned and passionate about serving Jesus - so in 30 years in whatever the emerging culture of 2040 may look like, they are serving Him faithfully in the emerging chaotic change, new beginnings, frustrations and boldness, disillusionment and expectancy, despair and hope of the future emerging church.
