Not Emergent Either

I attended a conference yesterday in Grand Rapids at West Cannon Baptist Church. It was entitled “Don’t Stop Loving the Church” and featured some great speakers: Mike Wittmer is one of of my favorite seminary professor/authors, Kevin DeYoung is one of my favorite pastor/authors, and Ted Kluck is without doubt my favorite former professional indoor football league player/author! (Kurt Warner hasn't written a book yet, has he?)

You may recognize DeYoung and Kluck from their book Why We’re Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be). I was blessed with the opportunity to speak with the two of them at length and really enjoyed getting to know them a little. They both strike me as godly, humble, intelligent men who love the Lord and His bride, the church.

As I made the grand drive between Grand Rapids and Grand Blanc, I considered some of the reasons I am not emergent either. The list I came up with is not really why I’m not emergent, so much as how you can tell that I’m not emergent. So here it is, in Lettermanesque 10 to 1 fashion:

10. I wear slacks to the office every day.

9. When I go to the office, it’s usually at the church, not at a coffee shop.

8. When I do go to a coffee shop, I drink black coffee, not a pumpkin spice latte, a frappuchino, or some other (ridiculously overpriced) concoction.

7. I wear shoes and socks when I preach.

6. In fact, I don’t even own a pair of Tevas/Birkenstocks/sandals.

5. I have neither a goatee, nor a pair of designer glasses.

4. Though I do enjoy most of U2’s music, Bono is not even on my list of favorite theologians.

3. I don’t think that we should have to try to be "authentic."

2. I think that the Word of God is far more “relevent” than any movie clip I could show.

1. I actually believe something, and think you should believe it too.