Alright, well, we got a good little discussion going on my previous post, in which I suggested some of the gnostic attitudes of emerging church types - or at least the potential for it. Let me stress a couple here: first, I'm only talking about potential, and second, I'm talking only about attitudes, and not theology or teaching. The truth is that the emerging church potential for gnostic thought or theology or practice is no more or less present than its modernistic predecessors.

The point of my post is that we often spend far too much time and energy on talking (or in the case of bloggers, typing). The talking is of value for many - this ride we're on is getting more and more riders all the time, and it's important to remember that we were all beginners at one point or another. The talking helps us sort out a lot of the assumptions we've made along the way, and do so in a community (virtual or physical). However, at some point, we've got to get beyond just talk. Some of the people I respect the most in this grand journey are those who were active members of the conversation for a good long time, but then went quiet on their blogs and public appearances. Why? Because they discovered that the only way to get to the next level in this was to try to work it out on a local, physical level, rather than merely in the communal space of the blogosphere. Ironically, they've done the stuff that is actually worth talking about and have much to teach the rest of us, but they've found the comfort of working below the radar so appealing that they've chosen to stay quiet. Perhaps some day they'll find their way back into a more public role - who knows?

So wherever you are on your journey - pre-emerging, emerging, nevergonnabeemerging - take your time to talk and relate and grow. But don't miss your opportunity to work it out. That's the real way to avoid gnosticism. Get into the practice of it.