I’ve heard a friend say that defining the emerging church is like trying to nail Jell-o to the wall. It doesn’t have any formal institution or maintain a set of doctrines or membership requirements. It is, when defined by its adherents something of a conversation that is categorized more by ethos than doctrine. The people who are a part of the conversation have brought excellent questions about the way we do church to the table whether or not you agree with the solutions then espouse. I have benefited from the books, blogs, and public forum discussions that have occurred because of people who are a part of the emerging church movement.
Here is a link to a video that is very, very helpful in providing a number of different perspectives on what the emerging church is. It’s long (90 min), but worth the watch.
http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2009/04/the_emerging_ch.html
The panel members include: Scott McKnight, Tony Jones, Kevin DeYoung, and Alex & Brett Harris