Knowing Where You Stand

My thanksgiving weekend was definitely not what I expected it to be. Eye opening, at the least, it made me aware of just how important it is for me to know why I believe what I believe. After a hefty dinner on Thursday, I was on my way to visit a friend whose church held a youth conference. Somewhat aware of the negative sentiment that that church's leadership held towards Mars Hill, I nevertheless did not attempt to hide that it was a church that I considered home. Naturally, this created several occasions for debate.

It's difficult for me to weave the complexity of what happened into just a few paragraphs. Many factors contributed to the formation of widely accepted opinion about Mars Hill at that place. The leadership's goal for the past year has been to raise awareness about the Emerging Church, and warn their "flock" about the pitfalls and dangers of that movement. However, they seem to be unaware of the difference between Emerging and Emergent. All the attributes that they've given to an Emerging Church are really those of an Emergent Church, which Mars Hill is NOT. But what the leaders have been doing is listing it in the same category with Emergent Village.

Because of that sentiment, those in the church who never bothered to do their research, but zealously stand behind their pastor's opinion, actively participated in the naturally created debates with us, people from Mars. As funny as it sounds -- and always what the enemy's goal is for Christians to do -- the debate centered around appearances. Mars Hill just doesn't LOOK godly. The music is too loud. After that conversation one of my friends admitted that she hated how those were the only arguments they could think of because we are right, it DOESN'T matter. And that she wants to do more research to figure out what is REALLY wrong with Mars Hill.

I could sense the disappointment when upon the question of "did you get anything out of the conference?" all I could say is that it was a nice review. Andy Snider did a basic overview of Modernism and Postmodernism. But Pastor Mark has already done several way more in-depth sermons on these, as well as on the pitfalls and dangers of the Emergent Church movement. All I can say is that it was a difficult situation for me to be in. I didn't enjoy the conference. I didn't enjoy the tremendous effort it took for me to be loving towards people who were hating on my church. But I'm glad that the experience made me more aware of the importance of ME knowing the difference between Emerging and Emergent.

It also made me more thankful. Thankful that God has placed me in an amazing city where there is an amazing church that I can be a part of. Thankful for Mark Driscoll and the in-depth way in which he teaches the Bible. Thankful for the rest of Mars Hill team who make his sermons easily accessible. Thankful for my parents, who have taught me the importance of discernment from a VERY early age. Thankful for like-minded friends from Mars Hill, and especially those who were also at this conference, with whom I can share my thoughts and feelings about this experience. But most importantly, I'm thankful for God's Word. I'm thankful that He left us something to rely on, and that it's alive and talking today to everyone individually, always applicable, no matter what the situation.

This is a helpful sermon that Mark preached on the topic of the Emerging Church.