It’s crass statements like the following that make it difficult (but not impossible) for me to value even the very relevant writing coming out of the Emergent crowd:

Beware of any literature that starts with these words: “Jesus was the greatest leader of all time.” The sentiment behind those words may be true, but the point they make is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter if Jesus was the greatest leader of all time. Jesus is our leader (and, in a holy sense, we’re stuck with him).

An otherwise excellent perspective on our Evangelical tendency to “Americanise” Jesus is immediately deflated in the first paragraph because of an Emergent tendency to crassness and irreverence. That won’t stop me, however, from recommending you read the whole piece. I am, after all, an open-minded cranky Calvinist.  🙂