There are lots of different definitions. @Grace we claim our emergent identity for one simple reason: we are emerging. Actively. Right now.
We wrestle weekly with what it means to be a 21st century community who desires to follow Jesus. Tradition isn't on our radar screen. We never ask: what did we use to do? Instead, we are always looking toward to future. An urgency propels us forward to find new ways of being. We understand that many faith traditions inform our own and enrich our own practice as faithful people.
Grace displays many characteristics of "defined" emergent churches: it is experimental in worship, prioritizes dynamism over stability, and prefers stories to doctrine. At the same time, Grace is progressive: the congregation supports gender equality (the pastor is female and feminist), participants include members of the LGBTQ+ community, and members treat non-Christian religions as equal spiritual partners. Valuing change, Grace uses “spiritual journey” as its controlling metaphor for life together. Like pilgrims, participants gather wherever they are in their own spiritual life, then move together toward a common destination. The metaphor also links us to the original disciples of Jesus, who learned and sojourned unbound by creed or tradition, inspired by the person of Christ.