A careful and informed assessment of the “emerging church” by a respected author and scholarThe “emerging church” movement has generated a lot of excitement and exerts an astonishingly broad influence. Is it the wave of the future or a passing fancy? Who are the leaders and what are they saying? The time has come for a mature assessment. D. A. Carson not only gives those who may be unfamiliar with it a perceptive introduction to the emerging church movement, but also includes a skillful assessment of its theological views. Carson addresses some troubling weaknesses of the movement frankly and thoughtfully, while at the same time recognizing that it has important things to say to the rest of Christianity. The author strives to provide a perspective that is both honest and fair.Anyone interested in the future of the church in a rapidly changing world will find this an informative and stimulating read.D. A. Carson (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He is the author of over 45 books, including the Gold Medallion Award-winning book The Gagging of God, and is general editor of Telling the Truth and Worship by the Book. He has served as a pastor and is an active guest lecturer in church and academic settings around the world. A careful and informed assessment of the “emerging church” by a respected author and scholar The “emerging church” movement has generated a lot of excitement and exerts an astonishingly broad influence. Is it the wave of the future or a passing fancy? Who are the leaders and what are they saying? The time has come for a mature assessment. D. A. Carson not only gives those who may be unfamiliar with it a perceptive introduction to the emerging church movement, but also includes a skillful assessment of its theological views. Carson addresses some troubling weaknesses of the movement frankly and thoughtfully, while at the same time recognizing that it has important things to say to the rest of Christianity. The author strives to provide a perspective that is both honest and fair. Anyone interested in the future of the church in a rapidly changing world will find this an informative and stimulating read. D. A. Carson (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He is the author of over 45 books, including the Gold Medallion Award-winning book The Gagging of God, and is general editor of Telling the Truth and Worship by the Book. He has served as a pastor and is an active guest lecturer in church and academic settings around the world. D. A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has been at Trinity since 1978. Carson came to Trinity from the faculty of Northwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he also served for two years as academic dean. He has served as assistant pastor and pastor and has done itinerant ministry in Canada and the United Kingdom. Carson received the Bachelor of Science in chemistry from McGill University, the Master of Divinity from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto, and the Doctor of Philosophy in New Testament from the University of Cambridge. Carson is an active guest lecturer in academic and church settings around the world. He has written or edited about sixty books. He is a founding member and currently president of The Gospel Coalition. Becoming Conversant with the Emerging ChurchPREFACEA simplified form of the substance of this book was first delivered as threeStaley Lectures at Cedarville University in February 2004. I would like tothank the president and faculty who welcomed me so warmly, and thenumerous students who went out of their way to engage thoughtfully withwhat I was saying.As I attempt to make clear in the opening chapter, the 'emerging (or'emergent') church' movement, though scarcely a dozen years old, exertsan astonishingly broad influence. An entire literature has sprung up, withthose on the inside quoting and supporting one another in publicationsand conferences. In other words, a self-identity has already been established.Nevertheless, the diversity of the movement, as well as its porousborders, ensure that I have not found it easy to portray it fairly. I have triedto be accurate in description and evenhanded in evaluation. Even so, I mustunderscore the fact that when I am forced (for the sake of avoiding endlessqualifications) to resort to generalization in order to move the discussionalong, one can almost always find some people in the movement forwhom the generalization is not true, and others who do not think of themselvesas belonging to the emerging church movement who neverthelessshare most of its values and priorities. (Also, let it be noted that some of theleaders feel that this has not yet reached the dimensions of a movementand prefer
