There is a lot of talk about the emerging church. Many people's view of the emerging church is that it's a church movement for young people, with candles, black tablecloths, electric guitars and pastors speaking in shorts and sandals chanting hymns and creeds. The reality is that at the heart of the emerging church is a want to reach people who haven't been reached by the way church has been done until now. Here's a passage from "The Tangible Kingdom" by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, "

It's time to take a serious pause and reflect on the church as it has been in the past and is presently. Although we are wholeheartedly calling for a new church to emerge, we need to be careful with what we mean by emerging. When people are talking about emerging church, they're not talking about brand new ways of doing wild and crazy forms of church. Emerging doesn't have to be about lighting candles, finger painting during worship, offering tattoos in the church foyer, or reducing deep theological truths down to the level of a comic book. It doesn't mean church for young people only.

Have you considered that when the unchurched baby boomers reach retirement age, that they'll represent one of the most unreached people groups? Let's coin a phrase: "GenG" (Geriatric Generation. Therefore, if we're committed to reaching one of the fastest growing segments, "emerging church" may be based in retirement centers and have as its primary culture engagment reruns of Happy Days, Leave It to Beaver, and free denture giveaways.

Certainly, in the real sense, the church has been around for quite some time and might take offense at being considered "nonemerged." In another senzse, the church is always emerging. Therefore, the issue has nothing to do with "emerging," but what is emerging and if the new forms of Christianity and church are authentic to the iriginal ideals if Christ and appropriate to the culture that has lost interest in organized Christendom."

Ok, so that was a lot to digest, but the point is that at the heart of the emerging church isn't to emerge into some new, out of ordinary, weird sect of Christianity. It's heart is to look honestly at the current way of doing church, then look at the culture around us and see if what the church is doing is having an impact on culture. In most cases it's not. It's our calling and followers of Christ to find out why our culture is disinterested in the church and engage those problems, but that requires us to get out into our neighborhoods, coffee shopş, parks, grocery stores, businesses and restaurants not to evangelize, but to befriend, question and relate to a culture that need Jesus, but isn't interested in church the way it's being done.

This is the struggle that myself and other members of my church are working through. How do we ignite a passion to engage the culture around us and befriend the unchurched? Our attempt is a church plant called Incarnate Faith in Gilroy, CA. I'll be updating this site as we journey through the process of engaging the culture around us. Be praying for our church plant as we try to figure out what this all looks like in our context. I pray that you wiil ask God how you can befriend the culture around you and reach those who are currently disinterested in the church.

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