While the Emerging Church has been hotly
debated among Evangelicals, some of whom
are staunch critics, the term "emerging"
is far less known within Catholicism.
Equally as unknown and confusing even
among Evangelicals is the term
"emergent," which some use
interchangeably with "emerging" and
others have distinguished as a segment
of a wider Emerging Church movement.
Today,
Rohr is in conversations with Brian
McLaren, one of the more well-known
speakers of the Emergent Church, and is
preparing to host an event next week
around issues of the Emerging Church. It
is expected to be the first
time Roman Catholics have ever hosted
such an event.
With Catholics
just entering the Emerging Church
conversation, Rohr says
the conference is
"no more than an opening of a very new
and wonderful door. "We have no
goal in sight now,
except the excited conversation itself,"
he said. "There is
a post conference, with those who want
to talk about 'Where do we go from
here?'"
Though some have labeled it a movement,
McLaren prefers to call the Emergent or
Emerging Church a conversation, saying
that it is still
in its "embryonic stages" and just part
of a larger movement that is coming
together.
Conservative Christians, however, have
already begun to criticize leaders of
the Emergent Church
for denying doctrinal truths
such as the substitutionary nature of
the atonement and rejecting absolute
truth.
Rohr believes what
is emerging is not a new denomination
but a new kind of reformation
that won't focus on opposing existing
structures.
"In the future, I don't really expect to
be talking about 'the Emergent movement'
... I would hope that the conversation
we're encouraging would take root and
stimulate generative friendships
across many if not
all denominations around the world,"
he added.
"So, in my mind, if the Emergent
movement succeeds, it becomes invisible
and brings new vision and new resources
and new freedom to followers of Christ
of all kinds."
