Probably most people in my congregation still have never even heard the term "emergent church" never mind be able to explain what this movement is all about.
The interview with Peter Rollins addresses a lot of the questions that many are asking and that I would want to ask as well, coming from a much more traditional evangelical mindset. And I love the way Peter uses life illustrations to help us rethink and critique our emphasis on believing "the right things" versus "believing the right way".
Many things that Jesus said make so much more sense looking at it from that angle, like John 8:31-32: "Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. "If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you." (The Message).
The "suspended space" he's talking about probably presents the greatest challenge of all: meeting people and getting to know them on a level where our backgrounds and beliefs become totally irrelevant for a while, for the sake of a real encounter, even if it's never possible in a complete sense. It's something worth striving for.
My favorite part was what he said about belonging first before belief can develop. We've got this all upside down in most of our churches where we ask people first to make a commitment, and only after they have made it we treat them as insiders. I was reminded again of the prodigal in Luke 15 - God treats us as children even while we are lost, far away, and treating Him like an enemy.
