My response to Andrew Jones' letter to American Emerging Churches.

Andrew, The emerging church has a blessing and a problem that are two sides of the same coin; no one is in charge of the emerging church, and thus, no one gets to say what it is and what it isn’t. The idea of emerging church, or at least the words, have captured peoples’ imaginations and many people are beginning to wonder what the Spirit is up to in the new formations of faith community that are developing. Yet, the emerging church is a true open source project and everyone has an equal right to claim to be emerging and however that person or group means it. However, people are pretty smart; they will find and stick with good stuff. If you believe the emerging church has something good to offer, which I know you do, then help people find and connect with what you think is good.

The emerging church has also received a lot of positive press in the last few years which has been a great opportunity to get the word out about what is going on. Hand in hand with notoriety comes criticism. If you are concerned about the critics, focus your message. If you want to concentrate on the work of the Triune God, then continue to do so, and encourage and support those in the US who are trying to do the same. You are clearly a leader in the worldwide emerging church conversation, so please continue to help all of us be able to articulate what the emerging church is, not what it isn’t. Work hard on things that are worthwhile and trust that the Sprit is at work.