Apparently Chuck Colson gave a "Threatdown" to a gathering of Southern Baptist preachers the other day listing what he felt were the top three threats to truth, Christianity, and the American Way (which of course Colson believes are synonymous). Among his Axis of Evil were Islamo-fascists, militant atheists and... the emerging church.

Yes, that's right, emerging church folks like myself (and my atheist friends) are listed right up there with people who fly planes into buildings as one of the top threats to American Christianity.

According to this article:

Colson also dismissed a burgeoning movement known as "the emergent church" _ popular among younger Baptists and other evangelicals _ as "abandoning the search for truth" in favor of "conversations in coffee shops."

Because of course you could never search for truth via conversation or, heaven forbid, in a coffee shop.

Seriously, that little quip makes me wonder what really bothers Colson about the emerging church. Is it really that we aren't searching for truth (which is patently not the case - every ECer I know is passionate about the pursuit of truth), or is it that we are willing to question the institutionalized arbiters of that Truth who just want us to accept what they say uncritically? What does he fear so much about conversation? Perhaps he would feel more comfortable if there were an evangelical pope that could just tell us all what Truth is so we don't have to talk about it [in coffee shops]? Maybe we should just stop thinking for ourselves and rely on our pastors and seminary professors and radio preachers to let us know what the Truth is?

Anyhow, I don't mind that Colson included people like me on his list. It's an honor to be listed alongside my atheist friends, and Muslims aren't all bad either.

Labels: emerging church