Although I'm not much into labels, some would probably peg me as part of the emerging church crowd. For those unfamiliar with the vernacular, "emergent" is generally associated with liberal theology while "emerging" is generally associated with any form of church (and associated theology) that departs from what most of us would classify as Evangelicalism (Protestant or Catholic). In this regard, I am certainly "emerging."

 

What's interesting about me, I think, is that I am "emerging" not only because of what the New Testament says, but because of what the Old Testament proclaims as well. For example, while many of today's emerging churches are the result of believers wanting to be more in line with pre-Constantinian expressions of the church (e.g., Acts and Corinthians), I'm finding that the theology undergirding my organic ecclesiology is rooted in Torah (Interestingly, although inadvertent, this is the argument Gene Edwards makes in his book The Organic vs. the "New Testament" Church).

 

A little over a year ago, I asked my friend Neil Cole if he knew of a good book that covers a theology of the organic (i.e., a book that covers the topic exhaustively). To date, neither he nor I know of such a book. Roger Gehring's watershed book House Church and Mission dances around the topic, but it doesn't hit it head on.

 

Again, all this is to give you a heads up. While some will have to bear with theological claims that will, for some, prove uncomfortable over the coming year, let me assure you it will prove good reading (and, for me, thoughtful writing) nonetheless. After all, it's those uncomfortable thoughts that often stretch us the most. So, with you, I'll look forward to what lies ahead.