"Emerging churches seek first the kingdom. They do not seek to start churches per se but to foster communities that embody the kingdom. Whether a community explicitly becomes a church is not the immediate goal. The priority is that the kingdom is expressed." - Emerging Churches, p. 61
For emerging churches, the life of Jesus, more than His death and resurrection, is the focus of the mission. Emerging churches tend to strive for ways to establish here and now the perfection God will one day bring to completeness on the earth. They're not about "getting people saved"; they're about proclaiming salvation to all creation - natural, political, institutional, and individual.
I think this is why I find it difficult to talk about the kind of community I want to form. I don't want to start a church; I want to encourage myself and others to live as if heaven is here and to work to bring heaven here. I don't even want to start another form of church. I want the local congregation to continue. I just want to be part of a group of people who are trying to live like Jesus.
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