Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be (Faith and Freedom)

by Kevin DeYoung

Paperback, 2008

Status

Available

Genres

Religion & Spirituality

Nonfiction

General Nonfiction

All Topics

Publication

Moody Publishers (2008), Edition: New, 256 pages

Description

You can be young, passionate about Jesus Christ, surrounded by diversity, engaged in a postmodern world, reared in evangelicalism and not be an emergent Christian. In fact, I want to argue that it would be better if you weren't. The Emergent Church is a strong voice in today's Christian community. And they're talking about good things: caring for the poor, peace for all men, loving Jesus. They're doing church a new way, not content to fit the mold. Again, all good. But there's more to the movement than that. Much more. Kevin and Ted are two guys who, demographically, should be all over this movement. But they're not. And Why We're Not Emergent gives you the solid reasons why. From both a theological and an on-the-street perspective, Kevin and Ted diagnose the emerging church. They pull apart interviews, articles, books, and blogs, helping you see for yourself what it's all about.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member hnkemp

This is a relatively balanced view of both the pros and cons of the Emerging Church "discussion" currently under-way in the Western world. The authors try to address both the material and those with differing views with respect in their choice of words and tone of the material. This should be a

good read for anyone wanting a relatively thorough review of the Emergent movement and what that means for Christian religions.

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LibraryThing member brazilnut72

After reading "Jesus for President", I needed some sound theology to cleanse my palate. I found it in "Why We're Not Emergent" by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck. Their style is hip, their tone is gentle, and their critique relentless.

DeYoung is a pastor, and Kluck is a sportswriter. Together they

offer two perspectives on the Emerging (or Emergent) Church--a movement that at times defies definition ("trying to nail jell-o to the wall" is one way it is put in the book). The chapters written by DeYoung are quite theological, while those written by Kluck are personal and anecdotal.

Both authors go out of their way to be fair, and to express areas where they think the Emergents have good points. Their chapters are extensively documented with copious footnotes.

If you are unaware of what the Emergent movement is or represents (and considering that the leaders of the movement consistently refuse to define it, I suspect many fall into this category) pages 20-22 will be quite helpful. If you have encountered the movement through the numerous blogs of it's adherents, then the rest of the book will provide you with some thoughtful, biblical analysis and critique.

I highly recommend the reading of this book by Christian leaders and laymen alike.

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LibraryThing member bsanner

DeYoung and Kluck seek to provide corrective boundaries for the theological exaggerations and abuses that they perceive within the emergent movement. While seeing some perspectives and emphases to be admired, DeYoung and Kluck identify a number of themes within the emergent church that seem

contrary to historical orthodoxy, whether explicitly or by omission. Why We’re Not Emergent is generally fair and accurate, if at times a bit uncharitable in its characterizations (Kluck’s chapters seems especially quick to mock rather than engage emergent leaders). The book asks, appropriately, where are the theological boundaries of the emergent church, a movement which often spurns theological definitions and creeds. B+

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LibraryThing member wbc3

Kluck and Wells do a good job looking at the flaws of the Emergent Movement. What they don't seem to do is show much grace about it. They seem far more intent on showing inconsistencies, silly stances, and general problems than they do on looking at why the Emergent Movement exists and what we can

learn from it. The book is well worth reading for Evangelicals who are wondering curious about Emergent thought, but I would recommend reading some Emergent works as well.

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LibraryThing member cabematthews

Does offer a few decent critiques of Emergent (and a few bad ones as well), but what they would replace it with is often undesirable. I'm also unconvinced that they understand Emergent that well.

LibraryThing member NGood

This book would land somewhere around 7 stars. It is a bit of a slow read, especially at the beginning. The chapters alternate - one by Kevin followed by one by Ted. Kevin's chapters are very deep (although not always that content laden...) while Ted's chapters are very fluffy and fun (and

definitely not content laden). They definitely make a good case against the Emergent teachings, although the book is written specifically for those in Emergent circles and therefore is a bit weak in some areas. Overall, it is a good book with a good message and hopefully one that is widely read amongst young, dissatisfied evangelicals as well as those solidly in the Emergent camp.

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LibraryThing member Violet_Nesdoly

Why We’re Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be, by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck is a great resource if you want to find out about Christianity’s Emergent Movement. In eleven chapters DeYoung and Kluck tag-team their way through the maze that is the Christian postmodern (emergent, emerging)

belief system.

It’s tricky in that it comes from no one spokesperson but a network of people across denominations who endorse each other’s books, interview each other, and seem to be generally affiliated.

DeYoung is definitely the heavy hitter of the two authors. Using examples from the writings of prominent emergents such as Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Tony Jones, Spencer Burke, Leonard Sweet, Doug Pagitt and more, he ferrets out the emergent position. With his gifts for analysis and logic he exposes it as: against formal doctrinal statements; for questions, doubts and uncertainty; super-critical of the modern evangelical church; controversial concerning Jesus especially regarding the significance of His death and resurrection; almost completely silent on what happens after we die, and more. As a Reformed pastor he has a rich and broad-based knowledge of the Bible and church history, and is able to compare the teaching of postmodern Christianity to what the Bible says and previous theological movements.

Kluck is the color commentator of the two. His chapters consist of vignettes of his experiences, visiting an emergent church, interviewing apologist D. A. Carson, attending the funeral of an old saint etc. They give us a break from the DeYoung’s heavy braininess and do a little showing versus telling.

Here are a few quotes that give a flavour of some of the conclusions DeYoung comes to (of course where needed he cites footnotes for statements like the below, and examines and explains the ideas at length):

Postmodernity: “The postmodern Way, as Leonard Sweet puts it so candidly, is an experience. The journey is more wandering than directional, more action than belief, more ambiguous than defined” - Kindle Location 417.

Propositions: “Few things are so universally criticized in the emerging church than propositions” – K.L. 1033.

Theology: “The task of theology in the emergent model is to express communal beliefs and values, to set forth that community’s particular ‘web of significance,’ and ‘matrix of meaning’” – K.L. 1161.

Kingdom of God: “For those in the emerging church, Jesus’ message of the kingdom is a manifesto about God’s plan for humanity here and now. It is the secret, and subversive announcement that God is working out His plan for peace, justice, and compassion on earth …. Joining the kingdom is not a move in status (i.e. from unsaved to saved) but a move in practice” – K.L. 2847.

Atonement: “So the atonement did not accomplish anything on our behalf. God’s attitude toward us didn’t change. Jesus simply enacted and represented the forgiveness that was already in the heart of God” – K.L. 3037.

Hell: “…hell is just one imagery among many to describe the negative consequences of rejecting God’s way” – K.L. 3075.

If, up till now, you’ve only heard about the emergent church or skimmed the surface of what its champions believe and teach, DeYoung and Kluck’s book will take you deeper.

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