rediscovering Christianity as an eastern religion

i picked up a very compelling quote on faith as a way of life in a new christianity today article on the emerging church. written by andy crouch, the article begins with andys' visit to talk with rob bell, pastor of mars hill bible church in grand rapids michigan. in defending their way of doing church, bell has this to say, and i think it is right on:

"This is not just the same old message with new methods," Rob says. "We're rediscovering Christianity as an Eastern religion, as a way of life. Legal metaphors for faith don't deliver a way of life."

this has been and is today a problem for training of pastors and empowering lay christians. if we focus on cognitive and propositional beliefs, we've taught something. but i find rob bell's insight much more interesting. christianity was very early on called "the way." hmm.

one more quote from crouch's article, this time reflecting on the work of brian mclaren, another innovative pastor helping to lead the emerging church conversation:

"If critics overlook the evangelistic energy of the emerging church, they also often lump together two very different kinds of postmodern thought. The most notorious postmodern thinkers have been the "deconstructionists"—French intellectuals like Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault who seek to show that the cherished ideals of Western society (and Christian faith) are fatally compromised by internal contradictions.

But another stream, less well-known outside universities and seminaries, has taken dissatisfaction with modernity in a more constructive direction. It is these thinkers—the late philosopher Michael Polanyi and Notre Dame professor Alasdair MacIntyre, along with theologians like Newbigin—who are gaining the attention of the emerging church's more theologically inclined leaders.

From Newbigin, McLaren has drawn the idea of the church as "missional"—oriented toward the needs of the world rather than oriented towards its own preservation. From Polanyi and MacIntyre, he concludes that the emerging church must be "monastic"—centered on training disciples who practice, rather than just believe, the faith."