Let'em Eat Cake

"Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her,rejoice greatly with her, you who mourn over her."

Phyllis Tickle, in The Great Emergence, divided American Christianity into four groups: Liturgists, Social Action Christians, Conservatives (Evangelicals), and Renewalists (Pentecostals and Charismatics). It has not been unusual to find "bleed-over" between any random two of these groups-- conservative Charismatics, liturgical social activists, etc. What is unusual is that at the center where the four points meet there is a melting of these four that makes the lines indistinct and even meaningless-- much like the swirl created in a mixing bowl as new ingredients are added. Folks caught in this whirlpool of delight simply define themselves as "cake," as opposed to seeing themselves, let's say, as good old fashioned powdered batter that doesn't really like milk and thinks that all eggs are heretics.

That doesn't mean that a given ingredient doesn't know its name or history. It does means that it submits itself to the mixer and both yields and adds its tastiness to the final product. Charismatics have something to contribute at this point. For years they have stressed "body life" and the Pauline notion that the church matures as each individual member finds his calling and gifts for the common good, as well as submitting to the calling and gifts of others. What is happening at the meeting point of Tickle's four divisions is "body life" on a grander scale.

(The picture: this is Anne's Mom Alma on her 96th!)