Postmodernism/Emerging Church FAQ (Version 2.0)

In keeping with the general tone of this board, I have decided that upon the death of the previous “Postmodernism/Emerging Church FAQ,” I would rewrite the FAQ to make it as informative as possible with as little persuasive material and/or ranting and raving as I can possibly muster.
I have taken one definition from wikipedia and created one definition from my pool of knowledge for the purposes of this FAQ, and I'd like to ask you all to understand these in the light of current cultural shifts and the world today. This is not an academic article, and it should not be taken as such. If anything, take the entirety of this with a grain of salt and read up on it yourself. This is a different take on the Emerging Church and Postmodernism than what you are likely to hear from 99% of TFC, possibly because I am attempting to correct a general bias against Postmodernism based on faulty information that has become widespread in the Evangelical community.
I feel a connection to this movement called Postmodernism, and I am voicing that here in a way I hope you will at least consider. This is another perspective on a big issue today, and I hope you at least consider it.
The objective of this composition is not to make you Postmodern or Emergent, but to inform you of just what those things are so that if you do object to anything, you can do so after becoming informed about it. Hopefully you will do so in a loving way, but that's up to you.

The first thing that must be understood before trying to understand the Emerging Church are Modernism and Postmodernism, because the clashing of these methods of thought are where the majority of problems are encountered.

Modernism - a trend of thought that affirms the power of human beings to create, improve, and reshape their environment, with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology and practical experimentation.

Some characteristics of modern thought are logic, critical analysis, scientific methodology, and empiricism. In general, the modern man relies on their five senses and their logical capability to discern truth, and believes this to be not only possible, but something that people have been doing all along, and should continue to do to make progress.
The secular modernist believes this circularly. I think therefore I am...and can think more. The spiritual modernist believes that this capability came from a divine source, and the Christian modernist believes this to be a part of the Image of God. Regardless, modernism is characterized by an optimism regarding man's analytical and logical ability to discern truth.
There are some (like Dr. Williams) that prefer to call this Western thought, and designate Modernism to Secular Modernists in order to make a separation. That is their prerogative, but for the purposes of this composition, I will be referring to Modern and Western thought as Modernism.
Regardless, Biblical Exegesis and Systematic Theology are products of a Modern mode of thought within the Christian faith, and are what characterize the Conservative branch of Modern Christianity, as opposed to the Liberal branch, with their higher textual criticism and lack of belief in miracles. Of course, not all are strict Conservatives or Liberals, and these are simply stereotypical examples.
Anyway, the branch of Conservative Modern Christianity you are all probably the most familiar with is Evangelicalism. Evangelicals principally believe in Scripture's inerrancy as a doctrine because of its' necessity in conversation with secular Modernists or liberal Modern Christians, to give them a logical base from which to argue.
Hence, Modern Christians are characterized by a logical defense of their faith based on their presuppositions, which they defend as coming from the Bible, the inerrant source of truth. Modern Christianity has been a good thing, and still is where applicable.

But something happened in the course of Modernity, something that made many people question its' validity. This was the second World War, and it lead to a critical and negative change in Modern thought, which some now term “Post Modernism.” Modern thinkers began to realize after WW2 that Modern thought could not explain or help the disillusionment they felt, and Modern Christianity hence had no real answers for them, since it was operating within the cultural realm it was used to: Modernism.
Though it is still in its' defining phase, one can make a working definition of just what Postmodernism is, mainly by highlighting what it is not.

Postmodernism – A skepticism toward absolute truth claims including metanarratives, stemming from a recognition of human subjectivity leading to a skepticism toward our ability to come to understand truth.

In the Postmodern (or late and current Modern) mode of thought, people have become skeptical of just how capable man is of comprehending truth through simple logic and the scientific method of experimentation. Though progress is still emphasized, postmodernists are generally skeptical of whether modern progress has been good or not, especially if it lead to something like World War 2. People began to seek answers beyond what can be offered from critical analysis and purely logical thought, or a “glimpse of the divine.” Because of the failure of man to improve themselves, people have begun to turn toward the spiritual for hope, as they are desperately lacking it in themselves. Additionally, many Modern Christians have also lost their hope, and questioned the existence of God in the Postmodern world, wondering why they can not logically find His work or scientifically test His existence. This has led to many “just have faith” reactions and movements such as Creation Science, seeking to make God's existence as creator reasonable to the disillusioned Modern world.
Unfortunately, most definitions of Postmodernism in Christian circles are a result of a very Modern analysis of Postmodern writing, and so we come up with a definition of Postmodernism such as “absolute truth does not exist, and God is nowhere in those that call themselves Postmodern, because they're unreachable with the truth.” This definition completely ignores the reason behind why the Postmodern world is questioning truth claims in the first place, lumping it in with simple relativism. Naturally, in a secular Postmodern world, absolute truth does not exist, because there's no place to anchor it without man's ability to comprehend it.
The point of this overview is to point out that both modes of thought have good things to contribute to society. Indeed, man is capable of grasping truth as Modernism would tend to say, but he is also subjective as Postmodernism posits, and his anchoring point for truth is Jesus Christ. They both are also not things that should be fully and blindly devoted to, because of their limitations. Modernism relies on the scientific method and logic almost exclusively for a grasp on the truth, while Postmodernism as a mostly reactionary view comes with the danger of being too cynical regarding those things, while blindly grasping at any mystical experience of God, sometimes without thinking it through.
The point is: a movement of thought is just what it is: a movement of thought. Neither Modernism or Postmodernism are intrinsically good or evil things. What matters is how they are applied. Enter the Church, and the point of this composition.

The aim of the rest of this composition is to help you understand the Emerging Church as a way of relating to the Postmodern world, and why it is even necessary. To do that, first we must understand why Modern Christianity has become insufficient, in its current form, at relating to the Postmodern world, especially in the light of those that come to know Christ that still think in a Postmodern fashion.
The Church has always gone through movements. The one you are probably the most familiar with is the Reformation, but there have been many. Indeed, the Church did not start off as the Institution (or Institutions) it is today, it started out as “The Way,” or what we term the Early Church. There were many movements that gradually progressed the Church to where it is today, split between Eastern and Western modes of thought, and further between the Modern Church and more Medieval variants. The Catholic Church in recent history has had Vatican II as a sort of redefining, and Protestantism has been full of them, including things such as early Fundamentalism, the Jesus Movement, and now includes the Emerging Church. These movements have been fundamental in shaping and reshaping the Institutions of the Church, and whether their success spawned an institution or not, they have invariably been a positive thing, even if it shows the Church what NOT to do.

It is from this backdrop that Emergent Leaders are seeing changes in society and the world, and moving to understand the Gospel in light of the Postmodern world and beyond.
The concept of an “Emerging Church” is a way of interpreting history and Christianity in such a way that God has always been progressing the Church through different levels and modes of thought, through historical events, and bringing them closer to all things true and right via a “memory” of sorts, that shapes the Church not to repeat past mistakes, and to always be relevant to culture without compromising the core of the Gospel. The Biblical model for this is Paul, who was “all things to all people,” the intellectual to the Greeks, the Roman to the Romans, the Jew of Jews to those of Judaism, and anything else he could be. He challenged the status queue, and saw the core issue of the Gospel to be God's Love and desire to redeem mankind, like the Early Church did when adapting the Way of Jesus for the Gentiles, a movement initiated by the Holy Spirit.
So, we have a Postmodern world, a world that has been torn up by World War II and various other cultural changes. A world that no longer believes that Christ and the Bible are the most logical choices for living, and doesn't care if they are, because it has ceased to work for them in their despair and lack of direction. Christianity, in its' Modern, traditional and pragmatic form, is no longer an option for them.
There are two reactions to all of this. The first is to label the Postmodernists as relativistic and completely unreasonable, condemning them because they won't accept the most “reasonable” faith. The second is to try to understand the Postmodern world and relate to them where they are, understanding that there is nothing new to God, and the Gospel, being true to all, is infinitely adaptable, because God's Grace that meets mankind where they are is also this way. There are, of course, reactions in between these extremes, and one need not be Postmodern to talk to those that are about God. But it sure helps, especially when there are Christians that have begun to see their own pragmatic and traditional faith as lacking something that they desperately need. The conclusion is the same: we're missing something, and the world is experiencing a crisis because of it.

There has arisen a distinction in the Emerging Church, perhaps one of the first that it actually has as a movement. The distinction comes between the Emerging and Emergent.
Emerging is a wide category meant to encompass all who believe the Gospel to be amorphous and adaptable to culture, and powerful enough to withstand the things present there, because God wishes to meet all people where they are. In this way, the only movements that really threaten the Gospel are those that are explicitly contrary to it, or movements that destroy and cause hatred, deception, and selfishness. The Emerging Church does not believe Postmodernism to be one of these movements, and though some embrace it fully, the dominant reaction is to carefully and openly engage the culture, understanding this movement of disillusionment with Modern thought and bringing Christ to them in a Missional way, even if it's service that does not involve explicitly sharing ones' beliefs.
Emergent is the name of the organization that first brought forth the idea of an “Emerging Church,” but it also refers to those who are Postmodern in their thinking regarding Theology. This is a smaller percentage, because not all who share the burden for the Postmodern world are Postmodern themselves (or even of the Emerging Church), but those that are are beginning to think of Jesus and the Church in new (yet old) ways, and trying to understand the Church as a whole rather than focusing purely on evangelism or doing Church the right way. Because of the inherent skepticism in Postmodernism, all of Christianity has begun to be questioned, and logical answers have stopped cutting it. Logic is inherently built upon presuppositions, and since we are not purely logical beings, it stands to reason that we can experience and understand God and His heart for humanity in ways that transcends that. The solution then, is not to abandon logical thought and a reasonable faith, but to balance it with forgotten ways of pursuing God, and understand it all in the light of Community, and what people need.

It is a forgone conclusion that not only is the Emerging Church not the end-all of the Christian faith, but it is not even for everybody. Indeed, those that believe Postmodernism is a bad thought process should disagree with the Emerging Church movement, and should do so respectfully, openly, and honestly. I believe that one of the strengths of the Emerging Church is a willingness to admit to being wrong, and an openness to conversation. So don't be afraid to express your opinion in love, but be informed about it when you do.
The Emerging Church may be based on a cultural shift that has already been dealt with in some areas of the world, but its' spirit hasn't died out, because a term that most people are using to describe the world today is “Post-Christian.” As the Church, it is my belief that whatever we do next, we should show the Love and compassion that Christ showed to all those around him, never mince words with the truth, just as Christ did, and always be humble, just like Christ. Unfortunately for us, we don't have nearly the pool of knowledge or wisdom that God Incarnate did, and so we must learn to accept that even though we are followers of Him, there may be those that do not claim to follow his teachings that have some very good ideas, and can point out our blind spots far better than we can. We also must admit that even though we may know things that are true, we do not necessarily understand their implications entirely, and even if we believe we can grasp truth in the Modern sense, we are not omniscient, and hence we could be missing something, especially since we are not only culturally influenced, but are all subjective. We can do this while remaining confident in our faith, because it's not a set of purely logical premises, but a way of life, one that seeks the God of Love and Truth that meets us in our world, as evidenced by the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.
If the Gospel really is true, then let's hold onto the God we serve with everything we've got and dive into the Postmodern world as we are, asking Him to guide us to all things true, and to forgive us when we don't listen to Him.
It is my hope that despite my obvious biases and lack of complete clarity regarding this subject, you now have a better working knowledge of what Postmodernism and the Emerging Church are, and we can have discussions that address things that actually have to do with these movements, rather than spend a long time clarifying misunderstandings. Let's seek to intelligently dialogue about these things rather than being blindly reactionary.

Original Context: http://www.thephilosophyclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1048