Emergent-cy

I find myself concerned at the angle from which some of the new "emergent' speakers are coming. They speak from a dissatisfaction with the traditional church, I am there too. But it seems now to have gone beyond that to become a discention, a division. Suddenly there is this vein of malice as they make a differentiation between 'themselves' as christians, and 'church christians'.
I am not sure how slamming your past church will make your new church be stronger or better, or even more spirit filled.. It is like building a second marriage on the ruins of the first one. Or building a mansion on a garbage heap. It is as if they are hoping that the better will be established once thay have broken loose and don't see that change starts today, with me and with you. How do I make what I am doing today more right with what God wants?
While a lot of what they are saying is true, many traditional churches have set themselves up as the judge and jury for the people they are supposed to ministering to, it is the exception and not the rule. There was a lot that really stunk about some of those churches. We as lay people have always had the choice, (as adults) whether we wanted to attend or not. Much of what we believed to be true in support of all that odor was taught us from the pulpit. We were not sheep, we were given the spirit to question where that 'truth' was coming from. We have only ourselves to blame for much of what went on.
I believe that the Holy Spirit does cause us to question what we are hearing. Does it measure up with what I am discovering of the character of God? Yes I know Him to be a God of justice, Holiness and righteousness. I also know Him to be a God of love and mercy.
I am rather interested in what the women in the emergent church have to say. It seems to me that the men are still sitting in the sandbox of their youth bemoaning how much they hate the teacher. They aren't moving beyond their dissatisfaction to the place of repentence of their own contribution to the misunderstanding of what God, the true teacher, wants of them. They are still pointing the finger. They spend a lot of time bemoaning the past, the mistakes that they and others have made and don't spend enough time seeking where the spirit would like them to change. Is it necessary, in order to make a complete break from the past, to leave everything behind in complete devastation?
We are little children who must grow up. Can we get beyond this yet? Can we leave what we knew without decimating it in the process? Do we necessarily have to 'leave' it? Does God want us to hurt others in the process of starting something new? Is there really freedom in that?
"Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is useless. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. (Psalm 127:1 NLT)

this is what John Fischer says:
Religious people are stuck in a religious points system that keeps track of everything. They are actually pretty confident that hell can be avoided based on their own point tally. By contrast, keeping track is the last thing spiritual people want to do, because their track record condemns them. They believe that they deserve hell and get heaven by God's grace. Spiritual people are constantly pinching themselves because they can't believe their good fortune. The last thing they want to do is tally up points, because that will only confirm what they already know: they don't have enough. Never will.

Even the pagan king Artaxerxes let Nehemiah go with his blessings to rebuild the walls and the gates that God called Him to rebuild. How much more should the church, who knows the blessing of God's grace move to extend their blessing to a new ministry with a desire to reach out with the gospel?
Do I consider myself to be emergent? Probably, but not in the way that you might think. I have made my faith a relationship between myself and Christ, with Him as my pastor.
I want to see that same deep, deep search in those who are moving to lead in this change. I want to see Christ visible in their lives. I want to know that the Holy Spirit is guiding them. That they are not just running away from authority. That I can question what they are saying or doing without being thought of as 'disapproving' of everything that they are doing. That I am more than just 'one of the flock'.

"A religious person is trying to avoid hell; a spiritual person has already been there."

Been there. Done that. Ready to move on. Are you?