The Church Is Flat: The Relational Ecclesiology of the Emerging Church Movement

The Church Is Flat is the first significant, researched study into the ecclesiology of the emerging church movement. Research into eight congregations is put into conversation with the theology of Jürgen Moltmann, concluding with pragmatic proposals for the the practice of a truly relational ecclesiology. Tony Jones visited eight emerging church congregations (Cedar Ridge Community Church, Pathways Church, Vintage Faith Church, Journey Church, Solomon's Porch, House of Mercy, Church of the Apostles, and Jacob's Well), facilitating interviews, focus groups, and surveys. After interpreting the data, Jones pulls out the most significant practices of these congregations and judges them relative to the relational ecclesiology of Jürgen Moltmann. Finally, Jones proposes a way forward for the emerging church movement, and the Protestant church writ large. "Tony Jones provides an insider’s perspective on the definition, growth, and ongoing challenges of the Emerging Church Movement. In classic Jonesian fashion, you’ll find savvy writing that combines theology, close observation, and a healthy dose of opinion. Jones takes us back through the history of the movement’s development, but the true significance of the work is how Jones pushes the movement forward, urging these religious innovators to clarify an ever more nuanced 'relational ecclesiology' that critically considers the role of scripture, tradition, and experience. He believes he’s found the key to revitalizing Christianity for the coming century -- It remains for the rest of the church to see if he’s right." -Gerardo Marti, L Richardson King Professor of Sociology, Davidson College "Any serious student of, or participant in, Emergence Christianity is going to rejoice in the work contained here. Jones’s hard-core research is scholarly to a fault; but it is also permeated with the experiential knowledge and realistic assessment of one who has been in the movement from its inception in this country. So far as I know, this is the first vetted, validated, and comprehe