What are we for?

I have been reading a lot of John O'keefe these days. Here is a great post from him that really explains the emerging church and what it's all about.


what are we for?
why is it that people seek to find a universal agreement in the emerging? why is it that people can not see what we are for? people say, "we know what you are against, but what are you for?" that got me thinking, and that can be a very dangerous thing [me thinking]. here is what i think we are for in the emerging:

we are for a walk in faith that allows people to read and understand for themselves what is found in God’s Word, and we, as servants in the church, help guide them and ask more questions then we require answers too.

we are for people of all races, ages, genders, understandings, orientations, expressions or other human limit to come together and explore the reality of God, and the reality given to us by God's son jesus the christ.

we are for the different kinds of communities of faith that allows for different kinds of expressions of that faith and takes from different traditions to take us from our lives on the streets to the face of God.

we are for a personal [not private] relationship with a real creator God that is meaning-filled, expressive-oriented, relationship-building and people-connective.

we are for knowing jesus as our salvation, and our redemption; to walk in the teachings of christ and to live our faith as best we can with the human limits we have.

we are for knowing that we may not have it right, and in that "knowing" we are open to hearing the voices of others, and their expressions of faith; either learning from them, or growing with them.

we are for helping people connect with each other in a way that moves them past brief, surface friendship and into each others lives where we touch the soul, and help clean out the garbage that fills our life.

we are for knowing that we seek to experiences a reality in God and share that reality with others; if that happens via candles, chanting, incents, art, touching, expressing, silence, sharing, walking, or anything else we can think of that engages the five senses of our humanity.

we are for, all that God offers, all that community can bring, all that mystery holds and mostly we are for knowing that there is a real God that loves us deeper then we can imagine.

we are for a personal expression of faith, as we find it in scriptures, as we read, pray, meditate and explore the reality of God's Word in our lives.

we are for knowing others, loving others, caring for others, lifting others, accepting others, forgiving others, walking with others, eating with others, crying with others, laughing with others, embracing others, watching others, mostly, we are for others and seeking them out for who they are and who God desires them to be.

there is no "universal agreement" to what an emerging church is, or should be. they can differ in style, location, name, expression and even denomination. to be "emerging" does not mean you have a set pattern, or game plan that looks like everyone else. being emerging simply means we desire a closer walk with christ, a deeper understanding of who God is and a richer expression of faith in its mysteries. why does there need to be a singular definition as to what is to be or what it is not to be an emerging church? for me, i seek a reality in christ that shows as i live my daily walk in God.

i am not "against" anything, but i for a great many things. when people tell me that they know what we are against, i wonder if they are reading our words, or if they are reading the words of others? sometimes we do get upset and we share that, but all in all we are for a great many things, and our prayer is that others are for them also. time will tell, and God leads.
posted by john o'keefe at 14.2.06