items of interest

with contributions from Eric Gorski, Sentinel staff, Jeffrey R. Young

"Welcome to the Journey. Church starts when the lights go down at 10:30 a.m. The room is bathed in yellow, dancing candlelight. Don't feel like listening to the sermon? No problem. Spend the time writing a prayer request at the journaling station, a table off to the side with parchment and six Celtic crosses. Since the Journey began meeting three years ago in a rented room at Front Range Community College in Westminster, worshipers have sought to connect with God in ways most people don't associate with church. They paint. They read their own poetry. The imitate the chanting of monks. 'The Journey is just a little different,' said Michael Noel, the Journey's 29-year-old, Baptist-trained co-pastor.... Noel is among a small but growing group of young evangelical Christian pastors preaching the gospel of the 'emerging church,' a movement that began as an effort to reach young adults but now is attracting a wider audience by emphasizing community, freedom in worship style, and connection to Christianity's past....

"Defining a church as emerging can be difficult because such groups take so many forms. That elusiveness, in fact, is part of the character of a movement that shuns structure and hates being put in a box. 'There is no formula,' said Sally Morganthaler, a Denver author and consultant who works with emerging churches nationwide. 'If you're going to become a model, then you become a franchise.'...

"Throughout its history, evangelical Christianity has shown it can change with the times, altering methods but not the message. Generally, evangelical Christmas stress a conservative theology, the authority of the Bible, and the importance of winning new converts."

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