Abstract
This article seeks to clear up the conceptual confusion around the identity and practices of congregations labeled as Emerging. This research is motivated in part by Chaves (J Sci Study Relig 49(1):1–14, 2010) recent diagnosis of the social scientific study of religion literature as suffering from a religious congruence fallacy in which behavior is assumed to follow one’s religious label; rather than assume similarity as a result of the Emerging label this article seeks to uncover the distinctive practices of congregations labeled as Emerging and to offer a comparative analysis. Additionally, this article fills a gap in the social scientific literature by providing description of the actual practices and worship of Emerging congregations from a multi-site, congregational field research project in the Pacific Northwest. Drawing on participant observation, pastor interviews, focus groups, and paper/web resources this paper clarifies what is meant by the term the emerging church. It is shown that the emerging church in Seattle is comprised of a spectrum of congregations that are adept at attracting young adults. Despite their apparent similarities, the congregations on the ends of this spectrum are shown to belong to distinct subcultures. These are then compared to the existing dominant, Protestant subcultures in the Pacific Northwest.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
It should be noted that the terms Emergent and Emerging are not interchangeable, although they are often used that way. Emergent refers to those involved in the Emergent Village network. This group was created by a number of the leaders from the original conversation notably: Doug Pagitt, Brian McLaren, Chris Seay, Dan Kimball, Tony Jones, and Andrew Jones. Emergent can be thought of one stream that feeds the Emerging river (Gibbs and Bolger 2005; Driscoll 2006).
The importance of story as a communicative truth is a common theme in literature written by Emergents. Sweet et al. (2003) make a clear distinction between deductive, inductive and abductive methods in communication: “Deductive method: Start with abstract principles and build towards concrete reality. (Preachers use this method when they begin with doctrine and move to application.) Inductive method: Start with a concrete reality and build toward abstract principles. (Preachers use ‘biblical induction’ when they observe Scripture, then articulate doctrines or principles based on their observations…). Abductive method: Seize people by the imagination and transport them from their current world to another world, where they gain a new perspective. (Preachers use this method when they speak in parables. These sermons are so different from either inductive or deductive that some practitioners are calling them, not sermons, but ‘phd’s’ or ‘post-homiletical discourses.’)”(Sweet et al. 2003, p. 31).
References
Barnett, Erica C. 2006. Cross purposes. The Stranger. May 3, 2006.
Becker, Howard S. 1998. Tricks of the trade: How to think about your research while you’re doing it. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Berger, Peter. 1967. The sacred canopy: Elements of a sociological theory of religion. New York: Anchor.
Carroll, Jackson W. 2006. God’s potters: Pastoral leadership and the shaping of congregations. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Press.
Carson, D.A. 2005. Becoming conversant with the emerging church: Understanding a movement and its implications. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Chaves, Mark. 2010. Rain dances in the dry season: Overcoming the religious congruence fallacy. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 49(1): 1–14.
DeYoung, Kevin, and Ted Kluck. 2008. Why we’re not emergent: By two guys who should be. Chicago: Moody Press.
Driscoll, Mark. 2006. A pastoral perspective on the emergent church. Criswell Theological Review 3(2): 87–93.
Gibbs, Eddie, and Ryan K. Bolger. 2005. Emerging churches: Creating Christian community in postmodern cultures. MI: Baker Academic.
Glaser, B.G., and A.L. Strauss. 1967. The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine.
Hughes, Everett C. [1971] 1984. The sociological eye. NJ: Transaction Books.
Jones, Tony. 2008. The new Christians: Dispatches from the emergent frontier. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Kanter, Rosabeth Moss. 1972. Commitment and community: Communes and utopias in sociological perspective. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Killen, Patricia O’Connell, and Mark Sil, eds. 2004. Religion and public life in the Pacific Northwest: The none zone. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.
Kimball, Dan. 2003. The emerging church: Vintage Christianity for new generations. Zondervan/Youth Specialties.
McCracken, Brett. 2010. Hipster Christianity: When church and cool collide. MI: Baker Books.
McKinney, Jennifer. 2009. Real men don’t wear sweater vests: Masculinity in an evangelical megachurch. Paper presented at 2009 SSSR Conference. Denver, CO.
McKinney, Jennifer, and Fitzwater, Laura. 2009. I’m your father but not your daddy: Conservative Christian ideals of men in families. Paper presented at 2009 SSSR Conference. Denver, CO.
McKnight, Scot. 2007. Five streams of the emerging church. Christianity Today. 51 (2). Accessed at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/february/11.35.html, on April 21, 2010.
Pitchford, Susan, Christopher Bader, and Rodney Stark. 2001. Doing field studies of religious movements: An agenda. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 40(3): 379–392.
Poloma, Margaret M., and Ralph W. Hood Jr. 2008. Blood and Fire: Godly Love in a Pentecostal Emerging Church. NY: NYU Press.
Silk, Mark, and Andrew Walsh. 2008. One nation divisible: How regional religious differences shape American politics. Lanham, MD: Rowan and Littlefield Publishers Inc.
Sine, Tom, and Shane Claiborne. 2008. The new conspirators: Creating the future one mustard seed at a time. Downers Grove: Inter Varsity Press.
Smith, Christian. 1998. American evangelicalism: Embattled and thriving. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Suddaby, Roy. 2006. From the editors: What grounded theory is not. Academy of Management Journal 49(4): 633–642.
Sweet, Leonard, Brian D. McLaren, and Jerry Haselmayer. 2003. A is for abductive: The language of the emerging church. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Tu, Janet I. 2003. ‘Emerging churches’ drawing young flock. Seattle Times Newspaper. Thursday, January 16, 2003.
Webber, Robert. 1999. Ancient-future faith: Rethinking evangelicalism for a postmodern world. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.
Wellman, James K., Jr. 2008. Evangelical vs. liberal: The clash of Christian cultures in the Pacific Northwest. New York: Oxford University Press.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Lindsey Beach, Marion Goldman, Jim Wellman, Steve Pfaff and the rest of the participants in the Religion Working Group for their comments; as well as his research assistants Lindsey Beach, Brittney Dolfay, and Kylie Kenyon for their labor. However, all errors of fact and omission are those of the author.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wollschleger, J. Off the Map? Locating the Emerging Church: A Comparative Case Study of Congregations in the Pacific Northwest. Rev Relig Res 54, 69–91 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-011-0042-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-011-0042-1