{"id":8,"date":"2011-02-03T17:59:54","date_gmt":"2011-02-03T17:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/corbanblogs.wpengine.com\/ministry\/?p=8"},"modified":"2011-09-28T20:50:54","modified_gmt":"2011-09-28T20:50:54","slug":"deepchurch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.corban.edu\/ministry\/index.php\/2011\/02\/deepchurch\/","title":{"rendered":"Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Jim Belcher, InterVarsity Press, 2009.<\/p>\n

Reviewed by Dr. Sam Baker, Associate Professor of Student and Family Ministries, Corban University <\/em><\/p>\n

Concerning recent \u201ctensions\u201d over emerging and traditional views of church, author Jim Belcher states, \u201cThe vast majority of people are confused by the debate. Many have read emerging authors, agreeing with their assessment of the problem and aspects of what they are proposing. But they also have read traditional authors and are drawn to parts of their vision of the church as well. The majority wants to learn from both sides \u2026 Those in the middle want to find out.\u201d Deep Church<\/em> is written for those in between.<\/p>\n

The book is divided into two main parts. \u201cPart I: Mapping New Territory,\u201d focuses first on the author\u2019s personal journey in assessing and understanding the emerging church movement from theological, epistemological, and ecclesiological perspectives. He then moves into a more formal explanation, complete with helpful definitions of key terms and associated ideas. Here Belcher makes a convincing argument for differentiating between the \u201cemerging church movement\u201d and the \u201cEmergent Village\u201d\u2014the organization most notably connected to author and leader, Brian McLaren. The reader is aided in recognizing three broad categories or groups associated with the movement. The \u201crelevants\u201d are conservative evangelicals who are \u201cnot as interested in reshaping theology as they are in updating worship styles, preaching technique and church leadership structures.\u201d The \u201creconstructionists\u201d are those who \u201chold to a more orthodox view of the Gospel and Scripture, but are rethinking the current form of the church and its structure.\u201d The \u201crevisionists,\u201d who Belcher says, \u201cget the most attention,\u201d are \u201copen to questioning key evangelical doctrines\u2026 [and are]\u2026 wondering whether these dogmas are appropriate for the postmodern world.\u201d As one can logically assess, recognized tensions between traditional and emerging church leaders result primarily from ideas expressed by this last group<\/p>\n

Part I of the book concludes with a proposed \u201ctwo-tiered approach\u201d for dialogue between the two camps.\u00a0 Agreed-upon, universally held orthodox beliefs would reside in the top tier, and diverse, contextually-based characteristics within individual churches would reside in the bottom tier. The author notes, \u201cWhen we become more humble in our beliefs, we are willing to see that our own denominations or traditions do not have a corner on all truth, and we become more open to dialogue with other traditions. We might find that we are sometimes wrong and the different perspective will correct our error.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part II, \u201cProtest, Reaction and the Deep Church,\u201d concentrates on seven major concerns, or \u201cprotests,\u201d of the emerging church. Belcher observes, \u201cWe will see that in each of these seven protests the authors have a well-thought-out critique and plan for renewal. We will also listen to the traditional church and its pushback, assessing whether the critique is accurate. Then I will demonstrate the strengths and weakness of both groups, and move beyond them to a third way, the deep church.\u201d In broad terms, the protests address:<\/p>\n