Church in the Present Tense: A Candid Look at What's Emerging (mersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith) [Paperback]

Scot McKnight (Author), Kevin Corcoran (Author), Peter Rollins (Author), Jason Clark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2011 | Series: mersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith

Now that the emerging church movement has aged a bit, the time has come for a rigorous, scholarly analysis. Four influential authors discuss important cultural, theological, philosophical, and biblical underpinnings and implications of the emerging church movement. Church in the Present Tense helps readers better understand the roots of the movement and the impact that it has had and is having on wider traditions. (64)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Provocative Perspectives on Emerging Conversations

"This is the most complete, detailed, critically sympathetic, and totally remarkable overview I have yet seen of where Emergence Christianity presently is and appears to be going. McKnight's two essays alone are worth the price of admission."--Phyllis Tickle, author, The Great Emergence

"At root, the emerging church movement is a set of conversations about living more faithfully into the way of Jesus and the implications of this for the life and witness of Christian communities. This book offers a series of reflections from some of the best-known voices on a range of important questions. These essays extend the conversation in significant ways and make it clear that the questions stirred up are worth pursuing."--John R. Franke, Biblical Seminary; theologian in residence, First Presbyterian Church of Allentown

"Over its short history, the emerging church has both challenged and inspired the practice of church in our time. Church in the Present Tense brings together in one volume some of its finest thinkers to reflect on the theological and practical contributions of this movement. In concise and helpful essays, they lead us through the impact of 'emerging' on our views of God, salvation, Scripture, the end times, and the practice of worship. Whatever you might think of the movement, you cannot ignore its impact, and this volume won't let you!"--David Fitch, Northern Seminary; author, The End of Evangelicalism?

"Rather than retreading old ground, Church in the Present Tense looks at the still-evolving emerging church movement from new angles, and readers will be rewarded with new insights. We are in very good hands with Scot, Pete, Kevin, and Jason--they appreciate the movement, but they aren't playing Pollyanna. They're tough, smart, articulate interlocutors. I think this book will be seen as among the best interactions with the emerging church movement."--Tony Jones, theologian in residence, Solomon's Porch, Minneapolis; author, The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier

About the Author

Scot McKnight (PhD, University of Nottingham) is the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University in Chicago, Illinois, and the author of more than twenty books, including A Community Called Atonement. Peter Rollins (PhD, Queen's University, Belfast) is founder of Ikon, an emerging collective in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is the author of several books, including How (Not) to Speak of God: Marks of the Emerging Church. Kevin Corcoran (PhD, Purdue University) is professor of philosophy at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and author of Rethinking Human Nature. Jason Clark (PhD candidate, King's College, London) coordinates the Emergent UK online resource network, is founding/senior pastor of Vineyard Church Sutton in Sutton, England, and is adjunct professor at George Fox Evangelical Seminary.

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Brazos Press; Pap/DVD edition (February 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587432994
• ISBN-13: 978-1587432996
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Emerging theology by McKnight, March 16, 2011

By 

Joseph W. Holbrook "josenmiami" (miami) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Church in the Present Tense: A Candid Look at What's Emerging (mersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith) (Paperback)

I am recently began reading Church in the Present Tense. I began with the last chapter by Scot McKnight on the theology of Atonement and then read his chapter on the emerging view of scripture, and finally went back to the first chapter on Philosophical Realism by Corcoran. All three chapters were delightful and refreshing. The book (as far as I have read) is very good. It deals with various aspects of what is broadly called postmodernism and how these aspects may influence our society, culture, and consequently the Church.

The Church in both the sense of theological content and methods of communications. Scot McKnight writes two chapters in the final section of the book. Since I have not read the whole book, I will only comment on the final chapter.

What it boils down to is this: the Evangelical church of the last 50 years (more or less) has focused on a clear, logical exposition of what is called the "plan of salvation." This includes concepts such as atonement and propitiation for sins. The thinking has been that new converts need to understand cognitively how salvation works in order to believe and receive it logically.

The postmodern churches and fellowships that are popping up among 20-something young adults (otherwise often referred to as "emerging" churches - but not always) tend to play down the emphasis on such legal or forensic concepts as atonement and propitiation (in other words, the legal substitutionary death of Christ on our behalf in order to grant forgiveness) in favor of telling a story of Jesus as the liberator or Jesus the messiah bringing social justice and reconciliation to the earth.

Before you react, give McKnight a good reading. He is very balanced, and he clearly affirms that he does believe in the substitutionary death of Christ. However, he balances the scale with a careful critique of the Evangelical tendency to replace "the Gospel of the Kingdom" with the "Plan of Salvation" and equate the two ... nevertheless, McKnight demonstrates that no where in the New Testament do we see Paul or Peter actually preaching a sermon based on the so-called Plan of Salvation. Instead, they told the story of the Messiah and the good news of his kingdom and most often connected that story with Israel's history.

Sorry to belabor the point, but this is very important if we are going to be attempting to lead 20-something millennials to faith in Christ. We need to rethink and re-theologize our message for this current culture (I know many will disagree with me).

Based on the 3 chapters I have read, this is an excellent and balanced introduction to many of these philosophical and theological issues that will continue to grow around us in the coming years.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Collection of Essays, April 8, 2011

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Scandalous Sanity (Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Church in the Present Tense: A Candid Look at What's Emerging (mersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith) (Paperback)

This collection of essays on the Emerging Church is a fascinating look at the philosophical underpinnings of a controversial and popular movement.

Some of the topics covered:

Kevin Corcoran discusses emergents and philosophical realism, and what side of the fence they fall on. Peter Rollins has a couple of essays, and shares some interesting thoughts on the conflicting nature of accepting an identity in Christ while still retaining an identity that makes up a person. Jason Clark talks about consumerism and its effect on Christianity, focusing on the construction of one's religious identity by picking and choosing the aspects of spiritualism that one likes.


Other topics include emerging eschatology, liturgy in the emerging church, the difference in rhetoric and action, and Scot McKnight discusses the role of scripture in the Emerging Church.

This is a well-thought out work that covers many topics I've never heard discussed before. It comes with a DVD featuring interviews and speeches by the authors.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Church in the Present Tense, January 12, 2012

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Ellensburguy12 - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Church in the Present Tense: A Candid Look at What's Emerging (mersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith) (Paperback)

For those Christians or anyone out there that wants to have a better understanding of where church is going or has come to (with postmodernity in mind)then this is the book for you.