KEVIN DeYOUNG HAS a good analysis of “The New Gospel” as espoused by such characters as Shane Claiborne. Mr. Claiborne will be a speaker at the Church of the Brethren National Youth Conference in 2010, and I hear, at the Southern Pennsylvania District Conference in 2010.
Justin Taylor summarizes DeYoung’s points:
[He] explains that this increasingly popular “new gospel” usually has four parts: (1) it starts with an apology; (2) it appeals to God as love; (3) it invites others to join God on his mission; (4) it is ambivalent about eternity.
Why is it so popular? (1) it’s partially true; (2) it deals with strawmen; (3) it leads people to believe wrong things without explicitly stating those wrong things [this is Kevin's most important paragraph, I think]; (4) it’s manageable; (5) it’s inspirational; (6) it’s non-offensive.
My question is, shouldn’t a speaker to our conferences be one who builds up the church, instead of tearing it down? I commented on this phenomenon just a few weeks ago. That Mr. Claiborne is a proponent of the Emergent philosophy/theology is troubling enough, but then to have him address our conferences seems out of order. Are there not any Brethren speakers who could keynote the conferences?