Book Review: Reforming or Conforming?

Over the last few years I've amassed a fair few books on and by those in the 'Emerging Church' movement. For the purposes of this book review I'm not going to explain that topic in much detail - this is a technical book and probably not very interesting to the majority of people! "Reforming or Conforming: Post-Conservative Evangelicals and the Emerging Church", edited by Gary L.W.Johnson and Ronald Gleason. If you aren't interested in these topics, I wouldn't bother reading any further, but if this is your type of thing, then do. This is a niche, but important book, aimed at leaders, thinkers, and those wanting to really grapple with what it means to be/do church in the current culture.

At the outset of this review it is worth emphasising that this is a conservative book written by conservative scholars and leaders. But don't give up - it is one that is very insightful, penetrating and usefully critical. I'm somewhat interested in the whole post-conservative/post-evangelical/emerging paradigm - yet often dissappointed by the drift we see in some people who use those labels. This, then, is a critical and thoughtful assesment, continually asking and re-asking the title question, are these churches Reforming (in a good way, under God, for his glory), or Conforming (to culture and the world). This question underpins every essay in this book.

Taking a different tack (though coming from a similar place) than Don Carson's "Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church", or DeYoung and Kluck's "Why We're Not Emergent", this book is a collection of polished and wide ranging essays. With a foreword by David F. Wells, and a chapter from Paul Helm, this is no lightweight tome, and few punches are pulled.

I personally found this book slightly frustrating: there were some absolute gems in an almost prophetic voice (like the opening three chapters, the first on "The Doctrine of Scripture: Only a Human Problem", the second on "Sola Scriptura as Evangelical Theological Method" and Paul Helm's "No Easy Task: John R. Franke and the character of Theology), there were also some that were overtly critical and not as gracious. I personally struggled with Guy Prentiss Waters treatment of N.T.Wright in his chapter, "Its "Wright" but Is It Right? An Assessment and Engagement of an "Emerging" Rereading of the Ministry of Jesus", as I came away feeling that endorsing or appreciating Wright puts me in the same boat as some writers I'd really rather not voyage with. I'm no mug - I'm well aware that Wright goes theologically off-piste in a few areas, but he is an immensely gifted and godly theologian. 

The inner theologian in me (supressed somewhat since graduating, it must be admitted), and the tiny inner philosopher somewhere in him rather enjoyed Jeffrey Waddington's chapter; "Cornelius Van Til: "Principled" Theologian or Foundationalist?". This is helpful, and grounded usefully in statements such as "Van Til's epistemology arises out of his commitment to Scripture and the Reformed confessional tradition as the truest articulation of Scripture". This sort of grounded, historically aware thinking is a strong anecdote to some of the woolier or vaguer elements of the emerging/emergent church. 

The two penultimate chapters were perhaps the most helpful. Martin Downes has penned a provocative but hard-hitting and ultimately true piece in "Entrapment: The Emerging Church Conversation and the Cultural Captivity of the Gospel". If you are interested in this area of church and theology, the title alone will act as a carrot. This chapter is hard hitting and clear - but very helpful. It also serves as a useful warning to those of us seeking to communicate the Gospel in specific contexts. As someone who was disappointed by a lot of the debate over Rob Bell's "Love Wins" (See this post, this post, and this book review of a more orthodox evangelical articulation of Hell), I was grateful to see Greg Gilbert's essay in chapter 11; "Saved from the Wrath of God: An Examination of Brian McLaren's Approach to the Doctrine of Hell". Gilbert is very clear, for which we can be grateful when thinking about as prolific and delightfully vague an author as McLaren; " A person who has read only The Last Word - or only this essay, for that matter - could easily make the mistake of thinking that the problem of hell is McLaren's primary concern. It is not... Placed within its context, McLaren's subbiblical and ultimately untenable proposal for reimagining hell is only one symptom of the much larger malady that afflicts his entire theological project". Blunt stuff! But needed, because the business of the church is the Truth of Eternity.

In closing, then, this book is somewhat of a mixed bag. Overall, it is fair to say that a tone of Grace could be heard a little louder, but it is encouraging to see that there are men willing to stand up for truth. There is much to be thankful for - and that is useful here - with a few specialist essays that relate so well to the debate at hand (The Paul Helm essay and the Waddington chapter come to mind), but this is tempered by what occasionally can become ad-hominem attacks. Ultimately, I agree with the general conclusion of this book and its authors - though I am saddened at the way N.T.Wright sometimes gets more stick than he perhaps deserves. If you have an interest in this area, if you are a church leader or are studying the modern church, this book is well worthy of your time and interest. If not, I hope this review has been interesting - you may well be better off (as I probably was before I read it!) with Don Carson's book or "Why We Are Not Emergent". Thanks for reading, your comments are welcome and I'd love links to other reviews or opinions.