The Emergent Church Myth
By: M.E. Townsend

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”- II Peter 2:1-3

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” - Romans 16:17-18

Just imagine if you awoke to realize that the church in which you had invested time, effort, finances, love and trust, had slowly slipped into spiritual disrepair? What if it occurred to you that the trustworthiness that you believed would never change was gone and it had become clear that your denomination, yes, even your own local church, had adopted doctrines, practices and beliefs that were not only questionable but were active and useful tools for the devil? What if you, like so many of our brothers and sisters across America and around the world, were faced with the agonizing decision of either turning your head to attempt ignoring reality, fleeing to a safer place to worship, or standing up to expose and resist error?

Today - these scenarios are exactly what many within The Body are facing.

Brian McLaren, leader in the Emergent Church movement reveals a shoddy understanding of God’ sovereign power over His creation when he states:

“Perhaps all along, my deepest joy has never been to have all my dreams come true, but rather to have God’s one dream come true, that this world will become a place God is at home in, a place God takes pride and pleasure in, a place where God’s dreams come true.” [??]

The Word of God clearly tells us:

“Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other, I am God and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning. And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, My purpose will be established and I will accomplish my good pleasure “Isaiah 46:9-10

Francis Schaeffer, during his lifetime, fought courageously and compassionately to defend orthodox Christianity from the ideas that are now labeled post-modern or emergent. Dr. Schaeffer taught and wrote that the only way to preserve a Christianity of reason that truthfully addresses all of life was to adopt sola scriptura, the Reformation view of Scripture. He warned about the despair that results when ideas takes us away from the validity of God’s self-revelation in Scripture.

Sadly today this is exactly what has happened. The serious seeker of truth stumbles into Emergent churches unaware that what is found inside in no way resembles the authentic, biblical Gospel of Jesus the Christ. They remain in a liberal chasm, drowning in their ignorance, while the fate of their lost soul remains the same, and their beliefs become even more twisted. The Emergent Church movement is an association of individuals linked by one very important, key idea: their belief that “God is bringing history toward a glorious kingdom of God on earth without future judgment. Our hope is not in Jesus’ resurrection that furnished proof to all men and thus makes us accountable, but in Jesus’ resurrection as a view of history with a ‘hopeful future.’’

We all must decide what to believe, because competing truth claims can result in disastrous outcomes – especially if one believes the wrong message. It is the our belief that judgment IS coming, and we must have our sins washed away by the blood of Jesus the Christ so that when that day comes we shall be saved rather than damned. McLaren and those who follow the teachings of the Emergent Church claim that the kingdom is coming gradually through social action and we need NOT be concerned about such matters as God’s wrath and the need for the blood atonement.

We cannot have it both ways.

Thankfully, there is a remnant, a growing band of resistors who are standing strong against the tidal-wave of false teaching in their midst. While intellectuals relentlessly attempt to marginalize and demean the Bible-believers among us, true servants of the LORD continue to stand exposing cultic beliefs, liberal theology, and Emergent Church philosophies that contradict the Word of God. We realize that for the sake of both saint and sinner we have no choice but to sound the alarm and blow the trumpet of warning, to stand as "a watchman on the wall." While many Christians relax, thinking everything is okay in their camp, the core values of the Christian faith are under assault by individuals who have become so enamored with their own intellect and human reasoning that they have silently abandoned belief in the Bible and reject the very heart of the Christian Gospel while teaching others to do the same.

Regardless of the cost, if we do not come alongside our fellow Christians who revere the Bible and are battling for the life of their church, then we need to check our own apathy level and repent appropriately.

[Our deepest gratitude to Eric Barger and Bob Dewaay for invaluable information and truth found in their books and articles which led to the writing of this article. To God be the Glory.]