Sunday night, our theology study group had a great discussion about the diverse (and sometimes dangerous) perspectives in emerging church circles. On Monday, a friend sent me a video clip that really clears up a lot of the confusion and bad information about the different 'lanes' in the emerging church.

Mark Driscoll (who is really becoming a hero of mine) clarifies the differences in these four lanes. Mark is the founder of Mars Hill Churchand one of the men God used to really mold and shape the emerging church movement. It is the clearest explanation I have heard of to date (having taught on the Emerging Church for the last five years). Driscoll breaks the emerging church down as follows:

1) Emerging Evangelicals

2) Emerging House Churches

3) Emerging Reformers

4) Emergent Liberals

If I had to put Valley Christian Church in one of these lanes it would fit in the 'Emerging Reformers'lane. All of this is quite helpful, as some of the leaders in our church were recently told by a well-intentioned but confused person that Valley could not be considered an 'emerging church' because we emphasize the importance of studying Systematic Theology in our leadership training. What in the world?!?! 

Because I believe it is so important to really understand what's going on in the church today, I've pasted the clip on the homepage of GWM. You can view it here.

Things are buzzing about the Olympics right now and in the center of it all is, of course, Michael Phelps. Tonight Phelps will go for his record 8th gold medal. INCREDIBLE!

Every night I've been glued to the TV watching this amazing run that Phelps is making, I find myself thinking of what it takes to accomplish what he has. So many times when we watch someone enjoy success we make the mistake minimizing the price they had to pay to make something so difficult look so easy. This is often the case with spiritual leadership too.

Here are a few ideas about what it takes to be an Olympic Champion like Phelps and a Spiritual Champion (leader) for Christ:

1. INCREDIBLE Passion

2. INCREDIBLE Discipline

3. INCREDIBLE Focus

4. INCREDIBLE Persistence

5. INCREDIBLE Suffering

What would you add to the list? I'd love to hear.

Mark Driscoll (founder of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington) recently posted some excerpts from a conversation he had with Wayne Grudem, arguably one of the most influential theologians of our day. Grudem's Bible Doctrines book has been the text for the in-depth Theology Study Group I've been having such a great time leading all summer.

Mark Driscoll asked him which doctrines he would encourage young Christian leaders to devote themselves to studying as they prepare for what potentially lies ahead theologically. Below is Wayne Grudem's answers in short:

1. Scripture —He said that every issue ultimately hinges on one’s view of the inerrancy, authority, and truthfulness of Scripture in every way. He encourages all young Christian leaders to make sure that deep within them is a love for and trust in every word of Scripture as God’s perfect revelation to us.

2. Authority — He said that he sees authority as a pervasive problem in our culture. As we talked, it became clear that what he meant is that people profess to be Christians yet refuse to submit to God’s authority, including Scripture, and people God has ordained to be in loving authority, such as godly parents and pastors.

He summarized his points by saying that he aspires for Christians to believe whatever God says and obey whatever God commands.

How awesome is it to hear the wisdom from mature Christian leaders as they pass it on to the next generation (see also GWM post dated August 1). It seems to me that the biggest issue for young Christian leaders today may simply come to down having the humility to listen to those who have gone before us.

Here's a pretty interesting study that was recently sited in Thom S. Ranier's book Surprising Insights from the Unchurched:

Top 13 Reasons that Unchurched People Choose a Church
(research conducted by Ranier)

1. 90% - Pastor/Preaching
2. 88% - Doctrines
3. 49% - Friendliness of Members
4. 42% - Other Issues
5. 41% - Someone Church Witnessed to Me
6. 38% - Family Member
7. 37% - Sensed God’s Presence/Atmosphere of Church
8. 25% - Relationship Other than Family Member
9. 25% - Sunday School Class
10. 25% - Children’s/Youth Ministry
11. 12% - Other Groups/Ministries
12. 11% - Worship Style/Music
13. 7% - Location
    
    How do these statistics compare to your own personal experience? I'd be curious to hear from you. :)