Eye Doctor and the Emergent Church

Have you ever been to the eye doctor when they do that one test where you have to say which one of the things looks better? Like they bring that machine over to your eyes and the eye doctor is like "Okay, which one is clearer - one or two?" and then he shows you two different things that are really similar but there is just a little bit of a difference? Do you know what I am talking about? I think for me it was usually like a row of letters, and he would show me one and then the other and they both would be pretty good, but then he would say "Which one is better - one or two?"

Have you ever experienced that?

It is actually a really interesting situation. It is interesting because both of the things usually work. It's not like one is completely blurry where you can't read it at all and the other is just crystal clear. But one is simply slightly better than the other. They both could totally work. But in your view, one is just better.

I think that this is one of the concepts of the Emergent Church. Many people are confused and probably a little scared about this controversial new topic of the Emergent Church. But the Emergent Church is not saying that we need to just completely get rid of the church like it is now or the church like it has been in the past. Not at all.

The Emergent Church is trying to focus on ways that we can better reach out to This Generation - a younger generation of people that have grown up in a different world full of technology, internet, communication, and many other things. Life for people in the younger generation is much different than life for Baby Boomers or even Generation X. The Emergent Church is trying to find relevant ways to minister the same message through different means to this generation and others alike.

So it is kind of like the eye doctor thing. The Emergent Church is not saying that traditional churches are wrong or blurry. Again, not at all. Just like the eye doctor - they both totally work. But one is just a little bit better in the person's view.

The Emergent Church is trying to reach out to a generation that sees life and church a little differently. They are trying to change the means of our ministry just a little bit so that it is clearer to This Generation. Their concept is to provide a church and a community that is just a little bit better, a little bit clearer.

Hopefully, if we diversify our style of church a little bit, then we can find a middle road that will allow us to minister to people by asking the same question as the eye doctor:

"Which one is better - one or two?"



That's the concept of the Emergent Church.