Think what you may of the emerging church conversation, but to me there is a bigger issue at stake, and that is one of authenticity. In the end, the more I reflect, the more I think we as Christians need to place an exceptionally high premium on authenticity.
At one of our CitySoul feasts a few weeks ago, we spent some time considering this idea of authenticity, and for me, some of the really helpful thoughts came out of discussions about what is not authentic, ie what is fake. As you think about what is fake, you start to think about mass-production, copies, trickery, pretending to be something you're not, plastic...
Authenticity on the other hand is about being genuine, about originality, the real deal.
With that in mind, the question of emerging church (or any other "form" of church, for that matter) can become a distraction from pursuing what it means to authentically follow Jesus - individually and corporately. Trying to "become" (or not become) an emerging/[insert other label] church flies in the face of what it means to say as a community "what does it mean for us, together, to follow Jesus?" (which obviously flows on from understanding that for yourself.) If that looks (or smells...) emerging, then it's not going to die, because it's genuine for the people who are part of your community. If it looks traditional, then it's not going to die, because it's genuine. If it's something new (or old), but it's real, and people are encountering and seeking to become more like Jesus, that would seem to decrease the likelihood that it will becoming a fad, a trend, or a fake.
I wonder what would happen if we spent more time focussing on, talking with and giving opportunities to the people who are part of our communities, helping them discover what it means for them to follow Jesus authentically, and less time either looking at what others are doing and trying to copy that, or looking at what others are doing in the hope it will fail.
