Review of The New Christians, by Tony Jones

 A Great Introduction to the Emergent Church

A review of The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier, by Tony Jones

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Tony Jones' latest book, The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand a growing movement of the Christian Church.

Jones is a part of what has been called the Emergent, or Emerging Church. More than a movement, or a even Reformation, it is best viewed as a conversation among those who see God's work in the world as unable to be contained within the rationality debates that dominated Western Protestantism in the 20th Century. This is a conversation taking place across denominational lines and among real people, and Jones excels at bringing the voices of those real people into this book. The reader will hear from some usual Emergent suspects, like Tim Keel and Karen Ward, as well as a trucker, some mainline women and others. The ability to put, as another reviewer stated, "flesh and blood" on the participants in this broad conversation is one of the greatest strengths of The New Christians. It is, in essence, an ethnography of the church that is emerging.

Along the way, Jones manages to hit on many of the main points of the Emergent Church, including its refocusing on both theology and praxis. Chapter 5, in particular, was terrific reframing of the truth debates, during which he called for a reading of the "whole Bible, the glory and the pathos." In this very balanced work Jones takes on both the conservative critics of the Emergent conversation, as well as what he characterizes as the "legalisms of the left."

The tone of this book was direct but not confrontational. It is an honest, open invitation to find out more about this growing phenomenon. If you wish to truly become conversant with the Emergent Church, The New Christians is a great place to start.

Comments

[John Galt]

i wish the emerging church would speak more about ethics. does the emerging church have an ethic? some of the emerging church movement is interesting as it challenges orthodoxy on its creedal confessions. is the emerging church now shaping a new church ethic and aesthetic and morality? i would be interesting in knowing.

[Will]

Good question, John.

I might suggest that a core question of the emerging church is ethics. Most of our theological questions are not oriented right thinking, but toward the synthesis of right thinking and right action. A failure of the Church in modernity, it seems to me, was the peddling of action-free theology. This is not only a failure of ethics, but a failure of theology.

Most of the communities that one might characterize as emerging or emergent would have a heavy emphasis on ethics, aesthetics and morality. Solomon's Porch, Doug Pagitt's community, is deeply involved in their local community in very hands-on ways. The same could be said for Karen Ward's community, and for Tim Keel's. In the more Neo-Monastic communities, such as The Simple Way or Communality (my family's community), ethical living is at the heart of all we do.

Hope that helps. Feel free to comment back if you need more information.

[bob c]

i agree will - connecting with local communities in the emergent stream gives a deeper insight

the community here in austin we are part of - journey (http://www.journeyifc.com/) - places the tension between individualism & the greater good at th center of our dialogue

[John Galt]

But what about the coinciding of ethics and "orthodox" theology. Some of the people who I see and hear associated with emerging movements still want to cling to "orthodox" theology in its creedal expressions. Is emerging moving beyond the apostles creed and the nicene creed? Is it still hung up on these things?