Emerging Church Update and events

Here are some emerging church type events in USA over the next month or so.

Oct 26-28 Westminster Seminary has an Emerging Church Forum with Michael Horton, Scot McKnight and John Franke – all three guys are totally worthwhile hearing.

Oct 26-28 GodBlogCon, Biola University, California

Sweet website. A conference for bloggers – mostly conservative God bloggers with a Republican bent but you will find other varieties also. Andrew Jackson and Mark Roberts are two bloggers i would like to meet in person. Blogministry is asking who is going. I almost make it to last years event but stayed longer at Emergent Gathering in New Mexico – where many of my blogging friends were hanging out anyway . . . which reminds me . . .

Oct 9-12 Emergent Gathering, Glorieta, NM

Last year was fantastic and I am a BIG FAN of this event. I have criticized Emergent Village in the past for the stupidity of hosting an “emergent church” event using the non-emergent context of an expensive hotel, high profile leaders, hefty admission, platform driven seminars and a non-flexible schedule. How can you claim to be emergent if you host conferences that are non-emergent? But then Doug Pagitt and Tony and the gang came up with the Gathering idea which was everything I dreamed it should be – open schedule, FREE admission, lots of eating together and being together, enthusiastically inclusive of CHILDREN and FAMILIES, houses to share, workshops on demand according to supply and demand – all in all its everything an emerging church event SHOULD be. ABSOLUTELY recommended if you don’t mind a drive into the desert.

This was me last year being HAPPY at Emergent Gathering. I rigged up a house for my session and taught on making pizza and the yeast of the Kingdom – and i had 100 come to my pizza party. Now THATS the context in which i like to teach. I wish Seminaries would install large ovens and invite me to teach in their cafeterias rather than sterile classrooms.

Nov 7-9 UBA, Houston

Union Baptist Association are hosting a series of events for emerging church leaders who are thinking through training structures, pilgrimage trails, monastic centres, business ventures. Many of my friends from UK, Germany and USA [even Doug Pagitt] will be there. They have invited me and I am on the schedule but I am not 100% sure if i can make it. But if i cant come, I will at least send my wife and possibly a video presentation on the global emerging church – Because this is one of the most strategic meetings of the year. Tuesday from 1 – 2:30 am is a meeting with area pastors at the UBA HQ. Thursday morning at Houston Baptist University. Karen Campbell is the organizer.

And heres a little update on emerging church stuff . . .

Technorati Tags: emerging church

– Justin Taylor summarizes Darrell Bock on emerging church(or hear it from Darrell himself)

– Interesting quote from Linda regarding myths about the emerging church: “The emergent church began one day when Jerry Falwell had a splitting headache. He called Jim Dobson, who promptly fetched a battle-ax and smote Falwell in the head. When his skull split, Brian McLaren, Spencer Burke, and Tony Jones emerged, fully grown, clothed in flannel shirts, and drinking Starbucks. They called themselves ”emergent“ and joined the pantheon of American religious celebrities.”

– Mark Driscoll did a good job at Desiring God last week. This video snippet is a good piece. i am sure there will be some minor backlash . .. The emergent crowd will no doubt protest his description of them as liberal and unorthodox, and many would rather stay being the flock of God rather than being separated into merino, suffolk, purebred and crossbred, hill grazing and pasture-bound. Me included – especially since i see myself in all 4 camps that Mark described.

BUT . . .

and its a BIG BUT . . .

But . . . its a helpful description for the Reformed folk who really need to see that there is a wide variety of thought and expression within the emerging church [and room enough in the playpen for them to have some fun also] – so i say . . . good on ya Mark . . go for it!

Emerging Church on Wikipedia – I refer to it less and less. I believe the wikipedia definition of emerging church was hijacked by the Americans a year ago and is not very accurate . . . at the moment . . but it is improving. I was involved in a clean up about 15 months ago which helped a little. Someone needs to organize a clean up day. My name is on there again under leadership for UK – which is weird because i have only been in UK for 3 years. I have taken my name off this Wikipedia page a number of times – mainly because i was helping to load up content on the site and thought there would be a conflict of interest. I might remove it again and see it reappears. Thats a good way of determining if it should be there the first place.

And if you have submitted your own name as a leader of the emerging church, then take if off and let someone else nominate you. Jesus suggested we take the lesser seat and the table and allow the host to invite us to a place of greater honor. This works on the internet also.

Where are the Germans and the Norwegians and the Brazilians?