I spoke last week at the National Outreach Convention in San Diego. I love the people who put this convention on and they put on this event very well. I think there are around 2,000 people I think at this one. Also, because the focus of this event is outreach and evangelism - the people who go are already have a mission-minded heart, so there isn't too much need to be trying to convince people of the mission of the church.
I have spoken at this convention every year since they started, I think it was 4 years ago. Last week at the convention I got to meet up and have coffee and chat with with Lee Strobel and Mark Mittleberg, catch up with Randy Frazee, Kevin Harney, Lon Allison and others who are tremendous encouragements to me in keeping an evangelistic focus to the call and existence of being a follower of Jesus.
This year they added on discussion forums in addition to workshops. One forum discussion that I led was called "Focus on the Emergent Church: Friend or Foe?" (I didn't title it that).
It is interesting the questions that consistantly come up as they did in this discussion forum as well as on an ongoing basis at various events about the whole emerging/emergent church. It is odd as there seems to be a dichotomy of thinking that the emergent or emerging church is either a friend or it has to be a foe. There is usually the thought that all emerging or emergent churches are the same and sort of like a denomination. So much confusion about all this.
There is a usual pattern of the same questions being asked, and at this conference there were questions people asked such as:
1) What is the difference between the "emerging church" and "emergent"?
2) Do you believe in absolute truth?
3) Has Brian McLaren gone too far? (that was an exact question asked in the forum)
4) Do "postmoderns" want to hear apologetics?
5) Can a modern contemporary church have an "emerging" ministry and worship gathering in it and not have conflict with the senior pastor and emerging leader?
6) Does being "emerging" mean you don't preach or teach the Bible but only use experiential and contemplative prayer in a worship gathering?
7) Does the emerging church believe in hell?
8) How many "emerging churches" are there? Is this a fad or something growing?
Very interesting.... very interesting......
