Emerging Posters

I just stumbled on these "Motivational Posters for the Emerging Chaos" through Andrew Jones, but they are HILARIOUS!!! I'm considering the entire collection for my home and office. In a quick response check out these from Nick and Josh. And while we are tongue and cheek regarding the emerging church, please check out this new dictionary from Apologetics Index.

M7 Audio Tracks

For those who were at M7, interested in M7, or interested in the emerging workshops there you can now (finally) download the mp3's here, along with all other workshops. You'll need to scroll to the bottom of the page. Or you can follow these links to the emerging church workshops I hosted.

Panel Discussion: Tim Keel, Tim Conder, Mike King, Jon Middendorf, Jim Wicks, Sean Heston - What is Emergent?
Tim Conder - Missional Approaches to Leadership
Tim Conder - The Church in Transition
Tim Keel and Mike King - Emerging Spirituality
Tim Keel - Reckoning with Intuition: Rediscovering Imagination and Releasing Creativity in the Local Church
Jon Middendorf - Emerging Theology

Flat Earth: Many Bumps Pt. 1

This is Part 1 of what will probably end up 4 parts.

I have been thinking a lot about the global nature of some of the emerging church conversation. Dave and I have been going back and forth on whether this is truly a global conversation, or whether it’s an anomaly to the white suburban church. This is particularly important to me because of the global nature of our Nazarene church, the global nature of my growing worldview, and the global nature, I believe, of the gospel.

The Disconnect

The disconnect lies in the many, many conversations that I’ve found myself involved with here in the U.S. They all seem to be full of educated, white males who are trying in some way to both deconstruct the church of their past or even their now and are trying to live into a church that they dream of. In and of itself this is not a bad thing. I truly do believe that it’s worth following the Scriptural mandate to “Test everything. Hold onto the good.” It’s simply Christian to test everything and keep testing everything.

In the process of thinking and testing many have come to the conclusion that the world is continuing to change, especially in this postmodern era, and that the church is failing at its missional core of asking missionary questions of the culture and the church and so there grows a disconnect between the culture and the church. Instead of embracing the models and methodology of the past (and perhaps ideology and theology as well), they are choosing instead to dream again of what God might want for the church to do and be in the context in which they find themselves. All of this is good stuff, generally speaking, because it is indeed testing everything and seeking to hold onto the good. It is an attempt to strip the methodology and models away and get back to the missionary questions that engage both the church and the culture in the gospel and the kingdom!

But if this truly is a conversation about re-imagining the present and the future asking these kinds of missionary questions, how come all of us in these conversations are educated, white, middle class guys?

1. I would theorize that there are a couple of options to this answer:1) This is truly only a conversation for those who can afford to have it. Meaning because we have financial resources to survive without the old we don’t mind kicking it around a bit, much the way a teenager kicks around the safest person they know (usually their parents) because they know somewhere deep inside that they may be the only people who would take it and keep on caring.
2. There are more people interested in the conversation, but they haven’t really been invited.
3. There are other people having the same kinds of conversation, but using different language and different avenues.
4. There are other people having the same kinds of conversation and we just haven’t really bumped into each other yet.
5. This is a conversation that has turned back into an issue of methodology and models which is the issue that always seems to push different people groups apart and never brings them together.
   

Futurist

My amigo and compadre (and also new daddy) Josh and I were emailing a bit today. I think he was asking me some questions out of his blog post which is great, but I had not yet read. We got to talking/emailing about openness and change... here are some questions I landed on and thought I'd throw them out...

Erwin McManus calls himself a “futurist” with the understanding that he is just telling people where they are right now and because everyone (especially the church) is constantly looking at where they have been, his comments seem “futuristic”.

What would it take for us to be real and aware? Is this called relevance or something else?

What personally do we fight to do so? Corporately? Systemically?

I wonder if Jesus wasn't the perfect model of being aware and real. He was... "I AM" in flesh.

I know personally I fight fear of failure and change and vulnerability a lot.

Corporately I think we fight the urge to want to make sure we're all okay and people still really like us. I don't think that we are committed enough to one another most times to be truly honest with each other. And while this can come across as being "nice", I actually think its one of the shallowest ways to be together because it constantly avoids honesty and confrontation. It seems to me that we grow and change and come together only at that point of vulnerability and reality. But again that's scary.

Systemically I think we fight our memory as much as anything. And I also must point out that our memory ain't so great most times. We remember what we choose to celebrate or fear most and forget the rest. I'm not at all for tossing where we've come from, rather I'm all for being faithful to that by pushing ahead, just like most of them did. And by the way, a lot of people aren't going to like us for doing it. There's also a sense here where systems seek equilibrium and the things that are in the "now" somehow tip that.

God help us to faithfully proclaim what you've given us to proclaim, whether through word or flesh or both.

M7

I've been getting geared up for M7 which is Monday - Wednesday. It's a Millenial conference (whatever that means) and is basically a chance to get Nazbo's together during the lull between the quadrennial General Assemblies. It happens to be here in Kansas City this year.

OK, now let me tell you what's going to be interesting. There are 200+ workshops over 2 days offered and among them will be some "Emerging Church" workshops that we are hosting. I'm really excited about some of the folks we've invited and who'll be joining us: Tim Keel (Jacob's Well), Tim Conder (Emmaeus Way), and Mike King (YouthFront) will all be joining us. We also have some great youth workshops that we are doing. Put that together with the 700+ college kids that are coming and two late night worship experiences that we are helping pull together (Mike Crawford & Jacob's Well worship folks!!!) and we should have for some late nights, good conversations, new friends, stories told and general chaos.
If you are going to be there be sure to try to look me up. If you are a blogger and going to be there be sure to drop me a comment here and we can connect stories throughout.

Emerging Friends

I spent some good time today with some D. Min. students at seminary. I was part of a panel talking about the emerging church. Joining me were two handsome fellows who are far more intelligent and articulate than I: Sean Heston and Mike King. It was good conversation mostly (in my estimation and memory) centered around how a traditional (read "modern") church context continues to live out the gospel in a post-modern world. I loved the spirit in the room of grace in spite of some discomfort at times. It was great to see revolution happening in peace and grace, the way it should be and the way so many have prayed and dreamed for it like Martin Luther King. I know its not on the same level, but I want to say thanks for his commitment to reconcilation and his poetic and prophetic voice.

Sean, in case you don't know him, is the pastor of two churches at once - Faith church and University church. Both are in Lawrence, Kansas and one is 50 years old and the other he planted. He spends some time bringing those two together and some time with each separately. You can read more here.

Mike is the president of YouthFront and is on staff at Jacob's Well. He is a partner in the kingdom and in his love of Wesley.