Just thinking about evolution

Why is this "emerging church" [or whatever the buzz word is these days] thing happening?

Maybe I'm going out on a limb here, but it occurred to me today...call it prophetic or not (haven't had one of those in a looong time) ... I just wonder if there isn't a bigger picture to all this disillusionment that is going around.

There has to be a higher purpose to the mass exodus from "church". It's thoroughly evident that God is in it because He is the master of Exodus. Maybe we ought to look deeper for what His purpose might be; look beyond the divisions and the arguments and into the expansive future. I believe the purpose is far more than just God's desire to change the inner workings of the church; more than motivating people to expand their definition of what church is; even more than bringing us back to what some call the "NT church".

I was thinking a few years back that current christianity as a whole is endangered ... how rather than us who live in religion-liberal nations (in other words being allowed to practice religion freely) making headway into the persecution that exists in places like China (see The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun); instead the persecution is making headway into us.

I'm certainly no expert, and I know that many will dispute that statement. Yet, if we look broadly beyond the battles we are winning and see the war we are losing, I think it might be true.

Even if you don't believe much of the currently popular eschatology, you probably will agree that it's only a matter of time until Christian persecution exists in first-world countries. I don't just mean just the liberal left passing laws that conservative Christians believe are immoral, but persecution in the realm of being forbidden to meet or practice Christianity at all. I'm sure it won't look as malicious as it does in those books ... it's more likely we will be blindsided by it through "tolerance" channels, and it will likely seem very nearly benevolent to the masses.

Is this persecution imminent? No, but I don't believe it is impossible. I'm not looking for it in this lifetime (or any specific time frame), I only mean that it's possible God is planning ahead.

I just wonder if the growing discontent with the mega- and institutional- church is a tool God is using to prepare us for the eventual undergrounding of the church in America.

I am not a doomsayer ... I am not looking for the eventual realization of the tribulation as described in popular literature . I honestly have no beliefs about the end-times, or whatever you would call it. I am not praying for the end to be near [Lord help us, there is still so much work to be done!]. So please don't get my heart wrong. I am just looking at a trend, and I can't deny how it looks from where I sit. I honestly don't have an opinion about what this undergrounding would mean in any eschatological sense, only that it's bound to happen.

He is preparing people and places that are equipped to deal with this eventuality. Maybe?

I see the moving away from church as business and the institutional organizations they are ... the moving into church as a family and a network.

The moving away from church as an entity and the moving into church as a lifestyle.

The moving away from church as a building and moving into church as a movement.

I'm not suggesting that we "emerging" types are God's special chosen ones to whom He has bestowed "inside knowledge" ... for I believe if you ever find yourself cracking a Bible you are a "chosen one". This is not about favor and privilege. I don't believe the IC church folks will be running for their lives towards the EC folk; looking for guidance and salvation.

I'm just thinking that we might not be seeing the entire picture. Maybe we should stop with the bickering and embrace this evolution of the church as part of God's plan ...

Hm. Maybe that's a good new terminology:

Instead of the "emerging church",

we are the evolving church.

That's sure to raise some fundamentalist hackles. Oh well. If we look at the definition of "evolution" we might see the relevance:

"A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form. Change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations, as a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals, and resulting in the development of new species."[from the American Heritage Dictionary]

Or as Darwin put it : individuals best adapted to their environments are more likely to survive and reproduce.

Maybe our spiritual DNA is evolving into something more capable of survival in harsh circumstances. Maybe it is the process of natural selection [don't get me wrong here...it's not about the natural selection of the "better" or "stronger" individuals or churches, but the overall selection of the most adaptable and resilient aspects of Christianity as a whole] in order to create a stronger entity, more easily able to reproduce and more suited to it's environment.

Evolving.