McKnight on MacDonald

Scott McKnight does a great job addressing some of the issues that arise out of James Macdonald’s recent examination of the emerging church: part1 part 2
At the end of his analysis, MacDonald says:

Now hear this: the answer we desperately need is a fresh move of God. We need a renewed vision of God’s exalted, infinite holiness. We need an overwhelming sense of our own pride and personal sinfulness. We need our eyes lifted from the bankruptcy of cultural reflection to the crucified, risen, glorified Christ. There must be a returning to the centrality of the unadorned Gospel and the power of God’s Spirit to redeem, restore and rebuild broken lives. We need men and women on fire with passionate confidence in the power of God’s Word proclaimed; not because pagans say they want it, but because God promises to bless it. In short, what we need, what we desperately need is a renewing work of God that will cut a swath of revival across our land like a tornado across a Kansas wheat field.

That’s what we need and nothing else will do. In fact, anything else is window dressing.

Most urgently I am praying that we will repent and turn from the horizontal, man-centered focus that grieves God’s Spirit and prevents the presence of Christ from emerging more fully in our midst.

I agree whole heartedly with MacDonald on this. The big question revolves around the hows. My concern is that too often the hows get reduced to a programme, to something that we can copy (or clone). Whereas the real solution lies in allowing God to do a fresh thing - even when we are uncomfortable with it - even when it rocks our pre-concieved concepts & ideas & theological boxes - even when it emerges out of left (or right) field. Because God is bigger than any of our theological frameworks or systems.