As Kevin Deyoung puts it, trying to define and explain what all is included under the umbrella of postmodern/emergent Christianity is like nailing Jell-O to a wall; no matter how hard you try to keep everything together, somewhere or another you’re going to lose something. But here is my analysis of what it is: postmodern (also known as emergent) Christianity is an underground movement of sorts that is very intentional about not putting anyone in the role of leadership. They are intentional about not having spokespeople for someone to ask what specifically they believe, always saying “we’re not experts, just furthering the conversation.” Even Brian McLaren, who coined the phrases “postmodern” and “emergent”, denies being a spokesperson for the group. The people who have been associated with the movement are a group of authors, pastors and bloggers who write about some of the same issues, but because of the lack of uniformity, do not all consider themselves as “emergent” or “postmodern”. The people within this movement look at what they do as having less to do with doctrinal theology and more about furthering the “discussion” or “conversation”. Their mission is to “further the discussion” about how to take Christianity into an ever-changing society. Although Brian McLaren is the unofficial spokesperson for the Emergent Community, other authors/preachers/bloggers who have delved into some of the same themes have been unofficially put into the postmodern Christianity label. Such authors/preachers/bloggers include Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, Brian McLaren, Mark Driscoll, Donald Miller, Rob Bell, Erwin McManus, Spencer Burke, Dan Kimball, Andrew Jones, Chris Seay, Peter Rollins, David Tomlinson, Leonard Sweet, Stanley Hauerwas, Henri Nouwen, N.T. Wright, Stan Grenz, Dallas Willard, Brennan Manning, Jim Wallis, Fredrick Buechner, David Bosch, John Howard Yoder, Wendell Berry, Nancy Murphy, John Franke, Walter Winks and Lesslie Newbigin. But again, because of the lack of uniformity, some or all of these authors may not see themselves as being involved with any of the others.
Now if the so-called “leaders” of postmodern Christianity won’t even stand up to the role, then it is fairly easy to see that figuring out what exactly it means to be “postmodern” or “emergent” will be even more difficult. Here are a few things that either apply to myself or things that I’ve seen come up through the reading that I’ve done: postmoderns long to be the church without having to go to church; they long to live in a community that is more relational, tribal and primal; they believe that doctrines (and denominations) get in the way of having a truly interactive relationship with God; they do not believe (or simply refrain from thinking in these terms) in a sacred-secular divide; they believe that no one goes to hell and chances are it doesn’t even exist; they believe that truth is so pure that humans are incapable of describing it or comprehending it (thus making it unattainable); they believe that to show your love for God it is more about doing the right things than believing the right things; they see life as being one great adventure, not to be held back by any rules or regulations; they believe that there should be less doctrine and more living.
Leonard Sweet describes the postmodern Way as being more of an “experience” that cannot be defined. “The journey is more wandering than directional, more action than belief, more ambiguous than defined. To explain the journey would be to cheapen it. The Christian faith is not a math problem to be solved.” Postmodernists are travelers and adventurists, not tour guides. Spencer Burke has used the same analogy: “Tour guides don’t feel free to deviate from the ‘route’ other Christians have set. Becoming a traveler however enables you to be true to yourself. As a traveler, I am free to love and be loved. I’m not worried about taking a wrong step or losing my position. I’m just one more person on the journey – a beloved child of God.”
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