The Emerging Church

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a place for the presence of God

I've Heard the Cry on Four Continents: "We want more than the organized, traditional church has delivered. We want more than religion can produce or organization can provide. We're not satisfied with a song and a sermon and a social club - we want God!"

Somehow, somewhere, we've lost something essential in the church. Somehow, we must retrieve what we lost if we are to fulfill the promises of God for our generation.

Do You Identify With These Words?

Some of us have grown apathetic within our traditional church structures -- our gifts and callings were not allowed to be released by those in authority and God’s demonstrated power was rarely experienced.

Some of us are burned out by the superficiality of going to the same church building week after week, staring at the backs of the heads in front of us but rarely connecting at a heart level with others; rarely being allowed the opportunity to be “real”.

Some of us have grown fearful of the rejection or harsh judgments we received from others within the church structure when we tried to be “real” and honest about our lives.

Some of us simply have heard the voice of the Holy Spirit, urging us onward, telling us that the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire have moved; that the God Who's mercies are "new every morning" is leading us to a fuller, more intimate and powerful expression of His Body in the earth.

Some of us, although we love God very much and want to be connected with others, have stopped going to church altogether.

What the church did not deliver was what the institution of the church cannot produce. Religion is not sterile or powerless: It possesses power, but it is the power to kill, not to heal - Jesus came that we might have abundant life and it's through His mercy and grace that His life comes to us.

All our religious attempts are little more than cheap sideshow tricks we perform to get God's attention - and our tricks have discouraged, injured and maimed countless people who have come into our churches seeking healing and encouragement and purpose.

Do not misunderstand me; I do not oppose the church. I am not angry with the church. Jesus gave His life for the church. I am simply pointing out that a New Wineskin is needed for New Wine to be poured into. I am not suggesting that the name "Ichabod" has been written over the door of every church in existence. I am merely pointing to the obvious; that God is in the process of changing our understanding of what His church is, and that this change is drastic, cataclysmic, painful and necessary. Instead of denying the obvious, I want to embrace the unmistakable fingerprint of God on the blueprint of the Emerging Church.

The mission of g2k is to establish an atmosphere, not a denomination or another "church": An environment for the presence of God to possess and indwell; a habitation for His Spirit. A place for Him to abide and not to visit. With Moses we cry: "If Your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here."

1. I Am Righteous I am the Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. It's no longer My Righteousness, derived by the law, but the Righteousness that comes from God.

2. I Am Important I Am Part of One Body and each part is no less important than any other part. As such, each part's unique contribution (Gift, Role, etc.) is ENCOURAGED.

3. I AM Preferred Each Prefers the Other Out of Love, The Spirit is allowed to move freely and there is Divine Order. Man's structured agenda must GIVE WAY to God's order.

4. I AM The Church I Am Not Going to Church, I Am the Church. I am not entering a "Church", I AM The Church -- Before I Enter This "Place" and After I Leave This "Place."

5. I AM The Glory of God Not Because I'm Special, But Because He's Special and He has chosen to pour His nature into my life that I might take on His characteristics and accurately represent Him to the world around me.

I have felt as though I've been in the company of a few million refugees, walking through a hot, sandy desert with Egypt behind us and some kind of "Promised Land" before us. We haven't seen the land that was promised, but we have seen our share of sand fleas, serpents and dry creek beds. Some time ago I climbed up to a mountain-top with Moses and he pointed out towards the horizon and said, "There it is." I guess that's good enough an explanation and direction - after all, we've been eating some really good stuff we find on the ground every morning called, "What is it?" So, with a fresh supply of "What is it" and our compass heading leading us to "There it is" we are making good progress towards the promised "He is there" (that's 'JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH' to you Hebrew scholars).