It would appear that many, many years ago Chet Powers aka Dino Valenti, possibly a “pop music prophet,” ended up writing what just might be the inspired(?) theme song of the Emerging Church 2.o with its upgraded version of Progressive Christianity—a Liberalism 2.0—aka Emergence Christianity. That song’s full title is Let’s Get Together, though it’s typically associated with Jesse Colin Young as Get Together because his band The Youngbloods recorded it as such on their second album in 1967, which they had named after themselves. 

Oddly enough, apparently Get Together was actually used as a theme song “in a public-service commercial for the National Council of Christians and Jews” [1], which seems to have been the reason it was later re-released and would then go on to become a classic hit for The Youngbloods. And now as the years have passed by, we’ve been sent such “seers” and “prophets” as progressive/liberal theologians Harvey Cox, his friend Philip Clayton, and Emergent Church guru Brian McLaren, who know the church has gotten the Gospel all wrong before they showed up. And O, just how blessed we are.

Ok, so it seems that this song, as recorded by The Youngbloods, really does give us further insight into this newer version of progressive Christian theology—Liberalism 2.0—that’s currently being cobbled together in the basement of the EC, and which McLaren has begun openly sharing in his latest book A New Kind of Christianity. Now I must tell you that Tony Jones, progressive theologian in residence at the Emerging Church of his universalist pastor Doug Pagitt, has indeed been very concerned that I’m dishonest. It appears that Tony’s rather unhappy that the Lord’s been prospering my labors for Him.

As such then, I’m sure that he’ll be pleased when I tell you, truthfully but of course, that this new kind of progressive theology is what Jones writes about concerning the “Christ-followers” in his book The New Christians. And it’s the theology of Doug Pagitt’s book A Christianity Worth Believing, which Philip Clayton and his Transforming Theology project are also now using in hopes of attaining their lofty goal of completely “transforming Christian theology.” So with this in mind, and as I now place my tongue firmly in my cheek, I’ll do my level best to mine the emerging spiritual gold from Get Together.

In my little reductio ad absurdum exercise of exegeting—EC style— this song from the bohemian 1960s, which may indeed be the theme song for the EC 2.0 with its Liberalism 2.0 today, I think you’ll see that this new progressive theology is actually right in line with the “man-centered theology” Robert Schuller called for in his Self-Esteem: The New Reformation. Now without further ado, per new progressive theology, we must begin by closing our Bibles and then opening ourselves up to the actual lyrics:

Love is but the song we sing, And fear’s the way we die;
You can make the mountains ring, Or make the angels cry.
Know the dove is on the wing, And you need not know why.

C’mon people now, Smile on your brother;
Ev’rybody get together, Try and love one another right now.

Some will come and some will go, We shall surely pass;
When the one that left us here, Returns for us at last.
We are but a moments sunlight, Fading in the grass.

If you hear the song I sing, You must understand;
You hold the key to love and fear, All in your trembling hand.
Just one key unlocks them both, It’s there at your command.

C’mon people now, Smile on your brother;
Ev’rybody get together, Try and love one another right now.
Right now, Right now! [2]

The writer says: “Love is but the song we sing, And fear’s the way we we die.” For you see, if we love in mind only, we are but singing a song with no real meaning. But if we will walk in God’s unconditional—and universal love—then, we will never die with fear. No, we will no longer fear those who may be different from us; for example, LGBT people. No, and we will not be afraid of how God is working in the other religions; and therefore, we can dare—as they are already doing—to walk in His Grace, and even dream with them God’s dreams for this world.

It’s also written: “You can make the mountains ring, Or make the angels cry. Know the dove is on the wing, And you need not know why.” Here we can clearly see that we are, indeed, co-creators with God Himself. Remember, God is creative; and so, in the Imago Dei we also have a need to be creative, right? But fear can impede the birthing of this creation. And so, we’re told here “the dove is,” not will be, but even now is, “on the wing.” As Rob Bell has decreed, God is not angry with us [3]; there’s no need for individual salvation because His “dove” of peace, a divine spark, already flies within us.

And so because all of us, as brothers and sisters in this Global community, have at-one-ment with God these words can—even now—fully resound in a new reality for us: “C’mon people now, Smile on your brother; Ev’rybody get together, Try and love one another right now.” All people and to come on now; not tomorrow—and not in some heavenly place—but come on now. We are tobe here now; the kingdom of God is among us, which is why we now can smile in the inclusive family Jesus brought us into. So try, it shouldn’t be hard as a Christ-follower; try—right now—to love one another.

Our brother continues: “Some will come and some will go, We shall surely pass; When the one that left us here, Returns for us at last.” But we have no sadness, as people come and go; we’re even now living out the restored justice of the kingdom as McLaren puts it. Remember now, Doug Pagitt has already taught us that—regardless—God’s going to judge the life and repair and restore and heal the life of everybody in the same way. [4] And now that Jurgen Moltmann has given us the theology of hope, explaining the difference between chronos and kairos time, “the one” may have already returned “at last.”

The song also says: “We are but a moments sunlight, Fading in the grass.” You see, all the more reason to love; to not be afraid to cast aside systems of belief, which only divide in “the grass” of chronos time inside an irreducible plurality of truth. We’re told: “If you hear the song I sing, You must understand; You hold the key to love and fear, All in your trembling hand.” Jesus said we have ears, then let’s hear “the song” of the loving, inclusive, family of God. In this way we “must understand” that if we do more than merely believe, but rather dare to have faith instead, we can then overcome our “trembling hand.” 

Why? It’s also written: “Just one key unlocks them both, It’s there at your command.” Can’t you see it yet; we’re told right here in the song that we have the choice right there before us, that “one key.” We can love, and thereby be freed to follow God in the way of Jesus. Or, we can continue to give into fear, and thereby, remain a prisoner of the past. And so we return once again to the beautiful chorus: “Ev’rybody get together, Try and love one another right now.” Yes, not once does the text impore us to act “right now”; but, at least, three times; we simply must put aside all that hinders the kingdom, “right now.”

Let me finish up this look at Get Together with the words of a man working to bring together “constructive theologies that attempt to tranform society.” Dr. Philip Clayton, who is—dare I even say—quite Youngbloodian himself, tells us that, “Progressive theologies represent a general approach to transforming society.” [5]  In other words, teaching them all about “getting together,” as it were, to try and love one another, right now, because the kingdom of God is right here on earth. And, as our “brother,” everyone’s in it as well; which is why Clayton tells us that no matter:

What happens, don’t let battles about terms [i.e. doctrine] bring your striving for a “big tent,” transformative Christianity to a standstill. Wars over words are tragic and wasteful. Followers of Jesus can’t afford them, for we have urgent and important work to be done. [6]

Unfortunately, “big tent” transformative Christianity is at “a standstill”; because, in the end, it’s little more than original liberalism in a postmodern form — having a form of godliness but denying its power. 

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Endnotes: 

1. http://www.amazon.com/Jesse-Colin-Young/dp/B000UBME7G, accessed 3/22/10.
2. http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/easyrider/gettogether.htm, accessed 3/22/10.
3. http://store.flannel.org/tgaa.html, accessed 3/22/10.
4. http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-times/article.php?articleid=2713, accessed 3/22/10.
5. Philip Clayton, Transforming Christian Theology [Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2010], 122.
6. Ibid., 123.

See also:

DO WE BELIEVE IN THE SAME JESUS PHILIP CLAYTON?

THE EMERGING CHURCH, PHILIP CLAYTON, AND NEW PROGRESSIVE THEOLOGY

THE NEW CHRISTIANITY OF BRIAN MCLAREN AND THE EMERGING CHURCH

TONY JONES, THE EMERGING CHURCH AND PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY

DOUG PAGITT AND A “CHRISTIANITY” HE LIKES

THE NEW CHRISTIANS WITH CHRISTIANITY WORTH BELIEVING—NO SOLA SCRIPTURA: YES, WOMEN PASTORS AND QUEER CHRISTIANS

LIBERALISM 2.0 THE NEW PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY