The Hyphenateds: How Emergence Christianity is Re-Traditioning Mainline Practices [Paperback]

Phil Snider (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2011

"Here a baker's dozen of the most influential Hyphenateds in this country talk boldly and unapologetically about what they are doing, how they are doing it, and why they are doing it. Whether one is an emergence Christian or a mainline Christian or a traditional Christian or even a disaffected Christian, one has the opportunity here to look at the future through the lens of an evolving present. What's written here is intimately told, without apology, and with no holds barred." - Phyllis Tickle, from the Foreword

"I'm normally an upbeat person, but I get a little depressed when I see religious communities retrenching, reacting, defending, and engaging in more boundary-maintenance than bridge-building. That's why I find this volume so helpful and hopeful. It's about faith communities exploring, creating, admitting faults, and bridging divides on all sides. You'll meet Christian leaders who are obviously bright, passionately committed, and downright fascinating, people I'm so glad to know as companions in this wild journey of emergence." - Brian D. McLaren, author/speaker/activist (brianmclaren.net)

"The Hyphenateds will give you a clear sense of a new generation of leaders' hope-filled vision for the church." - Martha Grace Reese, author of the Unbinding the Gospel Series and director of the Mainline Evangelism Project

Though the emergent church was once viewed as a fringe movement with little to offer established congregations, it is now seen as one of the central driving forces shaping the future of postmodern Christianity in North America. As an increasing number of mainline communities wonder how emergence Christianity influences their own structures and practices, this book brings together the perspectives of several of the most prominent Hyphenated Christians, i.e. those with one foot in the emergent conversation and the other foot in the mainline church: Presbymergents, Anglimergents, Luthermergents, Methomergents, and so on. With a passion for both mainline traditions and emergence Christianity, Hyphenateds offer a vibrant and contagious vision of the ways in which the church might undergo the transformation necessary to faithfully embody the love of Christ in the midst of an ever-changing postmodern world.

In addition to a Foreword by Phyllis Tickle and an afterword by Doug Pagitt, contributors include thirteen leading mainline pastors and seminary professors, as well as students and lay practitioners.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I m normally an upbeat person, but I get a little depressed when I see religious communities retrenching, reacting, defending, and engaging in more boundary-maintenance than bridge-building. That s why I find this volume so helpful and hopeful. It s about faith communities exploring, creating, admitting faults, and bridging divides on all sides. You ll meet Christian leaders who are obviously bright, passionately committed, and downright fascinating, people I m so glad to know as companions in this wild journey of emergence. --Brian D. McLaren, author/speaker/activist (brianmclaren.net)

About the Author

Phil Snider has served as senior minister of Brentwood Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) since 2003. Phil received his undergraduate degree from Missouri State University (Springfield, MO), then earned his masters degree at Phillips Theological Seminary (Tulsa, OK) and doctorate at Chicago Theological Seminary (Chicago, IL).

Product Details

• Paperback: 285 pages
• Publisher: Chalice Press (November 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0827214898
• ISBN-13: 978-0827214897
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.5 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Book for Mainline Protestants January 28, 2012

By Robert Cornwall

Format:Paperback

It's no secret that Mainline Protestantism has experienced significant decline over the past fifty years. If you've been to a typical Mainline church you'll likely notice that those present are relatively order than the general population. Many pundits have put this branch of the Christian community on a death watch. Although the theology and social views (especially on issues such as homosexuality) of this brand of Christianity would seem to position it well to attract younger generations (GenX and Millennials), such has not been the case. Despite attempts to contemporize worship and become less traditional, these churches (my church) continue to struggle.

Phil Snider, a Disciples of Christ pastor, with Emergent inclinations has gathered together a set of essays written by other Emergent-inclined Mainliners. The Emergent Church movement had its birth among younger evangelicals who found the theological and social constraints of evangelicalism problematic. As they "moved left," they began to encounter younger Mainline Protestants who also were on a journey toward something new and engaging. They are not, Snider insists, "abandoning the traditions that have shaped them; rather they are attempting to faithfully appropriate their beloved traditions in new and innovative ways." They are, he suggests, seeking to retradition the church so that new life can emerge (p. xvi) As a result of these conversations a new breed of Mainliner developed - a hyphenated Emergent-Mainliner. Thus we have Presby-mergents, Luther-mergents, [D]mergents, Angli-mergents, and more.

The book, which carries a foreword by Phyllis Tickle and an afterword from Doug Pagitt, contains essays from thirteen Emergent Mainliners. In their essays they express appreciation for their varied traditions, hopes for a new way of being church, anger at the way church is practiced, and critique. Some of the writers, including Carol Howard Merritt and Nadia Bolz-Weber are widely known, while other names may be new to many readers. There will be essays that one finds resonating, and others that do not. Each reader may respond differently to the perspective of a given author.

In my reading I found several of the essays especially poignant. The first essay of the book is written by Bolz-Weber, an Emergent Lutheran pasturing in Denver, and carries the title "innovating with integrity." She expresses the desire of many Mainliners who wish to push boundaries, to innovate, but wish to remain true to the core values and theologies of their tradition. The question that flows from this continuum of core and innovative edge is whether there is sufficient respect at both ends, but especially at the core, for the other. Are the voices of the Millennial Generation, for instance, being heard? In a similar fashion, Stephanie Sellers, an Episcopalian, raises the question of how to balance freedom and order in a church that has valued tradition and order. Going forward, however, how does it allow sufficient freedom to contextualize itself so as to be present in and with a new generation?

Sometimes structures, which have served church and clergy well, have conspired to shut down innovation. Elaine Heath, a United Methodist, notes that the principles of guaranteed appointments have made it difficult for Methodists to engage in the kind of bi-vocational ministries that allow for a more incarnational presence. You can serve as a bi-vocational pastor, but such an appointment does not allow one to have the same voting privileges as full-time clergy (ordained elders), or to serve as a district superintendent or bishop. There is in this vein at times deep anger at the way the structures are laid out and how they may conspire against innovation and even radical Christianity - as seen in Christopher Rodkey's "Satan in the Suburbs," which offers what seemed to me to be a diatribe against the church and its use of ordination to control.

Some of the essays, such as Carol Howard Merritt's explore the cultural terrain of emergent/mainline ministry, while Matt Gallion, a graduate student in religious studies explores postmodern philosophy, which has been a key component of the emergent conversation. Gallion calls on emergent Mainliners to face the truth that if it is to "radically enact or incarnate transformative change - as it purportedly desires to do - then it will have to face its overwhelming similarities to classical liberalism and move beyond them" (p. 89).

These essays that I've highlighted offer a taste of what can be found in this very important book for the Mainline Protestant church. I didn't agree everything I read and I didn't find equal value in every essay. That is to be expected from a collection of essays. However, this is, as Doug Pagitt suggests, a family conversation. The idea of being hyphenated reminds us that there is often discomfort in bringing together different families, to form a new family identity. Pagitt writes of the feeling among many Mainliners attracted to the Emergent Conversation - their family of origin is too important to let go of the name.

How all of this will work out is unknown. Will one of the family names get dropped over time, or will this new hyphenated identity enrich the broader Christian conversation? As Matt Gallion notes, this new identity must be more than simply repackaging traditional liberalism. It can't be another gimmick to grow a dying church. It must contribute something of value to the realm of God.

One thing that can be said for the convergence of the emergent church movement, which has evangelical origins, and the Mainline, is that the ethnic and gender representation has been broadened. One of the criticisms of many Emergent gatherings is that the stage is dominated by white males. In this conversation, a significant portion of the contributors are women (six of thirteen), some of whom are persons of color.

Phil Snider is to be commended for making this volume available to the church. May it stir a conversation that can lead to transformation of the church so that it becomes flexible and innovative enough to engage the world that exists and will exist, even as it seeks to be true to its core.