Perimeters of Light: Biblical Boundaries for the Emerging Church

INTRODUCTION In the opening pages of "Perimeters of Light" is found a parable of two missionaries spending the night in the jungle. As they sleep, they are safe from danger so long as they stay within the perimeter of the light cast from the fire. Elmer Towns and Ed Stetzer expound on this theme as they examine the biblical boundaries of the practice of "doing church" in the modern context. This book is written by two men with very different backgrounds of church practice who have together to present a balanced treatment of the biblical principals associated with church practice in the modern context. BRIEF SUMMARY The author's apparent purpose is to challenge the reader to come face to face with their ideas regarding what is truth and what is preference in regard to the Christian faith. Many believers are under the impression that whatever methodology they employ in their church service is the right one. They are under the impression that everything that happens in a church service is more than a matter of preference and some will even defend their particular way of worshiping God as though it were the only correct way. Towns and Stetzer set out to suggest a new way of thinking about church methodology. They suggest that it is appropriate to be creative in taking the unchanging light of the gospel into the ever changing world in which we live. This book does not suggest or assert how specifically that should be done, rather, it merely puts forth ways of helping the church think biblically about the issues. They do not present all of the answers to the questions facing churches, but they do encourage Christians everywhere to think biblically about these things. The authors explore very practical areas of concern for pastors and laity alike. How much biblical content must be present in a sermon for it to be considered valid? Within what boundaries must a group of believers fall to consider themselves a true Church? Is there a type, style, or genre of music that is more pleasing to God when presented as worship? The authors explore these and many other relevant topics for the emergent (modern) church. While the authors do present ideas in response to each of these questions, ultimately they leave the answers up to the reader. They assert that it is only within the context of the local church and its unique setting that answers to these questions can be found. As church leaders and members are testing their methodologies in the light of scripture they are likely to come to biblical - God pleasing - conclusions. CRITICAL INTERACTION WITH AUTHORS WORK The authors stated purpose in writing this book is that "ultimately, this book is about a theology of methodology." The goal of the author is to present the issues facing the modern church as it seeks to be relevant to the culture and, at the same time, faithful to scripture. Each of the authors clearly holds scripture in high regard. They write in an obvious fashion in reg

Every person knows the difference between pure light and pure darkness. But what is harder to discern is where the light ends and the darkness begins. Where is the point where the light has ended and dark has overtaken? To take this question to a spiritual realm, when has a Christian left the edge of the light of truth and entered the darkness of error? It is this daunting question that Ed Stetzer and Elmer Towns seek to explore in Perimeters of Light: Biblical Boundaries for the Emerging Church. Before I proceed I would like to point out that throughout this book, "emerging church" is not capitalized. Hence the authors are referring to the evangelical church as it struggles to find its identity in our newly postmodern society (as it emerges from modernism into postmodernism), and are not referring to the subset of this, popularly known as the Emerging (or Emergent) Church. This book contains no references to Brian McLaren, Dan Kimball, Leonard Sweet, or any of the other leaders of the Emergent conversation. Having said all of that, this book is still relevant to that discussion, as the authors seek to define biblical boundaries for what is and what is not Christian. They try to define just how much the church can change and adapt before it is no longer the church. Woven throughout the text is a parable of two missionaries, which describes two men who are trying to reach an isolated tribe in Papua New Guinea. Their trek through the jungle emphasizes the importance of keeping a light flickering in the darkness, and their struggles in presenting the gospel to the tribesmen describes many of the issues we face in presenting the gospel to our postmodern family, friends and neighbors. The authors correctly believe that in a post-Christian culture like our own, the difficulties we face are much the same as those faced by missionaries taking the good news to cultures that have never known God. There are surprising similarities between a post-Christian culture and a non-Christian culture. Among the difficult issues the authors wrestle with are: what makes something Christian? (when has a Christian left the light and entered darkness?); the difference between meanings and forms (how and why are decisions in Christian ministry often based on preference and culture instead of the truth of Scripture?); and boundaries in practice (where is the perimeter between true evangelism and unbiblical evangelism?). Following discussion of each of these areas, they seek to apply them to five spheres: church, worship, music, preaching and evangelism. In discussing the church, Towns and Stetzer define the church and describe the elements that identify a body we can legitimately refer to as a church. They also try to help the reader understand when a church is no longer a church according to biblical standards. The chapter on worship avoids becoming bogged down in discussions about the "worship wars" which plagued the church until recently (and in many places continue