80-somethings, 50-somethings

This note came in recently …

During our stay with my folks, who are former Evangelical missionaries, my mom was talking about her views of the church at present, and how it seemed many were overly upset about recent trends, and just too protective of past ways. I threw in my two cents about the emerging crowd’s comments on the need to challenge certainty of such positions and she got this curious look. She’d been thinking the same thing, albeit in different terms. Then she sort of smiled and said–so it’s like that Brian McLaren fellow wasn’t so crazy after all.
I was a little surprised by this. She and I have talked over the years about emerging stuff, and I’ve tried to explain what you’ve been proposing/advocating/etc–but I wasn’t quite sure where she was with it all. That comment, however, dropped a few things into place. Also sounded like she had a lot of sympathy for your views on this, as well as some ire that you’re getting so much flak.
So, I wanted to pass this along, to let you know that there are still some 80+ year-olds out there who think you’re on to something. More than a few 50+ year-olds as well.

That’s one of the things that’s been most encouraging to me, increasingly so, over the last few years: seeing both the number and diversity of people grow who are seeking a new kind of Christianity. Thanks for the encouraging note.