“Jesus is not just a Christ principle, not just a moral influence, but the living reigning Lord. He has not shut up; he is a noisy Lord. Loquacious. And he is here now.”
— Andrew Purves
Jesus is at work in the convergence of the emerging church conversation and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Andrew Purves told those at the Presbymergent’s “Always Reforming” conference*, which was held October 12-13 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Purves holds the Hugh Thomson Kerr Chair in Pastoral Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
The meeting was co-sponsored by Emergent Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary’s Presbyterian Student Fellowship and Continuing Education department. Seminarians, authors, professors, and pastors discussed the intersection of these two segments of the Church and themes such as the relevance of theology from a plurality of perspectives for the post-modern church.
John Franke, professor of theology at Biblical Seminary in Hatfield, Pa., lectured on the need to listen to the theologies of ethnic and cultural minorities within the Church. Building on an earlier presentation about the plurality of truth in Karl Barth’s dialectical doctrine of the Word, Franke encouraged Presbyterians and those in the emerging church to explore such theologies. As the gospel is constantly bearing witness to Jesus Christ in different cultural contexts, different articulations of the gospel emerge that must be held in “multilectical” tension in post-modern theology, he indicated.
As an example, Franke cited James Cone’s claim that classical confessional Christianity does not address distinctly African American concerns. Noting that Black evangelicals often run into the same boundaries as Black Liberation theologians, Franke spoke of how dominant Euro-American culture has often rejected the cultural manifestations of the gospel in non-dominant people groups. To bear authentic witness to the gospel’s manifestation in a variety of cultural contexts, “We must be willing to subject the dominant theological traditions to critical scrutiny and intentionally de-center them,” he said.
Franke also addressed a way to achieve that goal. Those in the predominant cultural majority must assume a place at the ethnic roundtable and thus “receive the witness of the other and be liberated from cultural imperialism.” Recalling the example of Christ in Philippians 2, Franke said, “We must relinquish power for the sake of the gospel.”
Vera White, director of New Church Development for Pittsburgh Presbytery, spoke about the relationship between the denomination and its emerging NCDs (new church developments) such as Pittsburgh’s The Open Door and Hot Metal Bridge. Noting that people often perceive new church developments and emerging churches as drains on denominational resources, she said her experience has proven otherwise: “We need you. … If there is hope for us as a denomination, it’s as we learn to redefine ourselves.”
BJ Woodworth, lead pastor of The Open Door, shared the story of the origins of The Open Door as well as his own personal theological journey. Citing Abraham Kuyper, Woodworth shared how he has been led to a holistic understanding of Reformed theology, which informs his life and work in The Open Door.
Scott Sunquist, professor of world mission and church history at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, spoke about how he has noticed two distinctive characteristics of Christianity throughout his study of world Christian history: an emphasis on the centrality of Jesus Christ and a commitment to cross cultural boundaries. The presence of participants from a wide conservative-liberal theological spectrum bore witness to a post-modern Church centered upon the Lordship of Jesus and a commitment to articulate the gospel across cultural barriers.
Karen Sloan, author of Flirting With Monasticism (IVP 2006) spoke about the inception of presbymergent and its hopeful future as a network of Presbyterians engaged in the conversations about the church emerging. Adam Walker Cleaveland, a Princeton student who blogs at www.pomomusings.com , led a seminar on the freedom the Book of Order allows for experimentation and artistic expression in worship.
Practical aspects of theology were explored in workshops, such as Sloan’s conversation about Presbyterian streams of spiritual formation and Woodworth’s seminar preaching which is artistic, dynamic, and multi-sensory. Echoing Franke’s lecture about the importance of ethnic and minority theologies, Derrick Weston, Mission Advancement Manager of the Pittsburgh Project, addressed the crucial but often overlooked place of racial reconciliation in the church as an essential component of the gospel.
In both formal presentations and informal talking sessions, participants affirmed that Presbymergent is gaining momentum and such movements offer hope for the mainline church. Purves remarked: “Emergent Church experience in some shape or form is having a very significant impact on who our students are, especially in the past two or three years. It’s all bubbling up from below. And I think this is what you’re leading us into, a theology for life.”
*More information about the event, including audio recordings of some presentations, is available at presbymergent.org.
Chris Brown is a senior at Pittsburgh Theology Seminary.
