Posted by Dave on 05/09/07 at 09:53:38 am
Categories: Theological Ravings, Community

Take a look at some of the recent conversation about the similarities between the Emergent Church and Anabaptist churches.

• Jesus Creed: What is the Emerging Church? Pro-Aplenty


• Jarrod McKenna: Emerging Peace Church Movement & the "Open Anabaptist Impulse"


• TallSkinnyKiwi: Anabaptism and the Emerging Church

I have been part of an Anabaptist/Mennonite Church for the last several months, and I also have experience with the Emergent Church philosophy, and I can say firsthand that the two ecclesiologies are very similar.

The Anabaptist, and specifically Mennonite, tradition has a few key tenets that sets it apart from most other church traditions. These traits are typically a theology of non-violence, a practice of living simply, and an emphasis and true and authentic community. And while the Emergent Church has not typically take a non-violence stance, the other two tend to be key attributes of post-modern Emergent churches.

The largest difference I see is that the Emergent philosophy makes for of an effort to be "cool" or trendy, while Mennonite churches typically could care less. Because of this, you tend to see a greater sense of age diversity in Mennonite churches (which I love!).

It is funny to me when you hear people talk about the new ideas of the Emergent churches. What they really tend to be are trendy Anabaptist churches with less stringent theological stances on things like violence and homosexuality, which definitely has its pros and cons.

But I love to see the Emergent folk engaging with the Anabaptist tradition. As the Emergent church progresses, we will see more and more similarities between the two.

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