She has valid praise as well as valid criticism:
The response for the emergents has been to incarnate their beliefs right in their own neighborhoods—and that’s wonderful. They want to live where they worship, that’s great. The problem is that the emerging church does not have enough organization within itself to get beyond the sound of its own voice. Each little cohort is very limited in its impact.
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Being a non-joiner at heart, I dislike and/or disagree (in just about any arena) with sentiments like this: "The problem is that the emerging church does not have enough organization within itself to get beyond the sound of its own voice." I don't like that everything has to be top-heavy
I recognize that in the modern world, many things need to be. Labor unions arose in part in response to concentration of commercial power. Political action organizations make a bigger impact than most individuals can.
But on many matters, including church and faith, I don't think that large organizations are necessary. The church needs to make a difference in the lives of individuals. The church shouldn't really care about who gets elected or what's on TV; it should care about whether the individual people in its community are spiritually healthy. Let each congregation do what it needs to do. Obviously, some inter-congregational dialogue is healthy, but we don't need an "Emerging" denomination. We don't need an organized "emerging" movement that tries to take over the world. One of the neat things about the emerging church is its decentralization.
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