Stetzer and Sweet on the emerging church

Ed Stetzer has written a good piece on the emerging church from a missiological perspective. I appreciate Ed’s approach. It’s well researched. Ed is honest, but he doesn’t appear to have an axe to grind.

You can read some of Ed’s background or download the issue that contains Ed’s article, and reactions to it, in PDF.

I was surprised to read this quote by Len Sweet about Emergent. “So far, [Sweet] asserts—rather than reach back into 2000 years of Church history, Emergent stopped at the ‘liberal turn’ wherein the Gospel became all social and no gospel.” Sweet emailed Stetzer:

The emerging church has become another form of social gospel. And the problem with every social gospel is that it becomes all social and no gospel.  All social justice and no social gospel.  It is embarrassing that evangelicals have discovered and embraced liberation theology after it destroyed the main line, old line, side line, off line, flat line church.

Agree or not, it’s certainly worth exploring this issue. It’s not the first time I’ve heard this statement from someone who has been a friend to the emerging church. Wounds of a friend?

Check out more at Ed Stetzer’s site.