A review by mattgroot1980
The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why by Phyllis A. Tickle

4.0

As someone who has been familiar with the emergent movement in practice since the late 1990s and intellectually/theologically since 2003, I judge such introductory discussions about it less on the content itself than on the presentation. In this respect, Tickle does a very admirable job in tracing a general trajectory for developments in Christian theology and church structure both in history and today. The author would no doubt agree that this is but one way of exploring these themes (indeed it would not be emergent if it claimed to represent THE story itself). Taken in this limited sense, it is a very good book indeed, though I certainly take issue with details here and there. And, as it discusses an ongoing phenomenon, its 2008 publication date also makes it a bit dated already. But, as an introduction to the changes and reactions in contemporary Christianity, for the bewildered, confused and curious alike, it remains a success.