I think this both gives a good instance of the concerns of the “emergent church” as well as showing something of the superficiality. I’m sorry but blue jeans are a status symbol and those who where them in places where they stand out are asserting their status. They are not the uniform that shows solidarity with the underclass. They are the uniform of the hip.
Dressing on Sunday the way people who work for Google do when the show up at the office is not a countercultural statement.
That said, I don’t think for a minute that such oddities mean the entire conversation should be written off.
(PS. Churches that look like coffee houses are not counter cultural either.)
The church I grew up in met over a firehall and had folding chairs.
No jeans though
Wow. The guy uses humor and literature in sermons. What an unbelievably novel, contemporary, and counter-culture way of preaching.
I agree we shouldn’t write off the conversation–especially on the basis of this article. I would hope the pastor is showing people how to put their faith in Jesus as well as following him in social justice. The gospel is holistic that way.
I would suspect that pastor is less than thrilled by the things the reporter emphasized in the story and/or left out of the interview.
I am a journalist, and I don’t always get to write my headlines, so I understand the reporter probably didn’t choose the article’s ambiguous title.
I think it was supposed to mean the pastor challenges people’s views of Jesus, not Jesus’ views. 🙂
On another note, a lot of churches that don’t claim to be emerging do the hyper-relevant thing every Sunday–the jeans-and-spiked-hair-and-coffee house-atmosphere shows up in church buildings a lot these days.
I went to a funeral yesterday and there were people attending in shorts!
My reaction proves I’m getting old.