Emerging, Emergent, Evangelical, Orthodox....
Which are you? It seems like there are so many categories, labels, titles, etc. today in America's "Churchianity" that it has become hard to distinguish all the lingo. One blogger has attempted to clarify some of this confusion in the "emerging church" with some pretty neat graphics and a great post. (If you don't recognize any of the names below...don't worry... you are probably better off...but many of you Emerging fans might find this real cool.)
From this chart, where do you fit in? Where does your church or ministry fit in?
What do you think? Do you agree with the grouping? What about Rob Bell, Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, Andy Stanley, Ed Young Jr. and others in the Megachurch camp? Where do they fit in this diagram? What about Joel Osteen? What about influential black pastors like T.D. Jakes, Tony Evans, and Bishop Eddie Long? Anyone else you'd like to see added?
3 comments:
You got to like some Patton, definitely one of the best bloggers on the internet.
I think I agree with most of it, I have read something from everyone of them and it seems to be right on for the most part.
I think Mclaren should be moved under emergent with Doug and Spencer, and I would probably put Rob Bell in the spot Mclaren is in just because of his views on the atonement and because he won't really speak clearly and precisely enough to tell.
The problem with trying to group Osteen, Jakes, Warren, Hybels,and even most of the others already on the chart, is that most of them claim to be evangelicals. When you have people from way different theological backgrounds like McArthur, Warren, Sproul, Osteen, Jakes, etc. all claiming to be evangelicals then the term "evangelical" means everything and nothing at the same time. So traditional evangelicals need a new term to describe themselves. So the chart makes it sort of tough to group Osteen, Jakes and others along those lines who don't line up with traditional evangelical beliefs but aren't emerging either.
the chart was a good attempt, but it will be hard to ever chart the grand scheme of Christian movements in North America at this time on a LINEAR chart.
i thought it was odd that liberals were on the right side and fundamentalists on the left...
even Brian McLaren considers himself to be an "evangelical" in addition to emergent, however he counts his conversations rather than conversions. it is a shame that an ambiguous word has been attributed to a certain group of people. i'm glad to see he was included in the evangelical bubble.
mark driscoll is not emerging; his concrete beliefs and doctrinal adoptions are de-merging if anything. let's not kid ourselves and consider him an emerging thinker.
i like that whoever posted this asked where your ministry fits in. there is a lot of diversity within each mainline denomination and movement, so it is hard to label and generalize groups. i just think that the linear model was a failed attempt because some groups may be both liberal and evangelical, yet not emerging.... but it was a good attempt nonetheless
Chad, I'll have to agree with you on the Driscoll comment. As of recent he seems to be trying to purposefully separate himself from the Emerging Church and many times he even speaks negatively about it because of some of it's practices.
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