Slippery Slope Gets a Makeover
This diagram by Len Hjalmarson has done a lot of great things for my brain.
Len says, “Each brings their own renewal dynamic to the broader church, and I’m convinced that the convergence zone is where some of the most creative experiments will occur.” I too believe in the convergent zones being the places where the really good stuff happens. And from my own experience, this convergence is inevitable (as I pray all healthy happenings should be).
Len’s doodle reminds me of a whirlpool, or one of those big funnels in the mall where you can roll a coin down into the center. When you enter one of these three worlds (Missional, Emergent, Monastic) you get pulled into the others. In my experience, the more excited I became about the movements and ideas circling within Emergent thought, the further I was pulled into the ideas proposed by the Monastic and Missional movements. I find myself swirling around from one to the other and being pulled toward the inside of the funnel where I am more and more influenced by all three simultaneously. Relationships in one sphere lead to relatioships in the others. There is no sense of having to pick one camp over and above the others. In this way the center is not a crushing place that squeezes all things into one thing, but a broad place where more depth and variety of experiences just seems so much closer and accessible. The closer you get to the center there is more energy and more movement. Life seems to flow even more vigorously.
The center is really a non-center. In my experience it has been like the classic idea of a blackhole that opens up into another world on the other end. There has been a lot of spinning and confusion and joy and sadness and question and answer and question and in the midst of it all a broad horizon is becoming visible. An environment that is experienced and felt, and yet is far off. Allow me to indulge in some quick and dirty photoshopping…
The disappearance of the previously contentious issues is so refreshing – another thing that Len hits on. Gone are the squabbles over musical choice, emotional faith or intellectual faith, dispensational gifting, sheep stealing, or denominational representation. These sorts of squabbles seem to have been left on the other side of the squeeze. The further we all travel into our future, the more these things fade into the past. No doubt there are other issues arising that our children will distance themselves from in time. That’s just humanity. But maybe our journey down the slippery slope will provide a better vantage point for our future to deal with these emerging issues.
