LaRed Cohort

1. The Emergent Gathering - A synopsis
   Hey Everyone,
   I attached a description of what took place at the Emergent Gathering in
   Glorieta, New Mexico. This time was a 'cure for the common conference' by
   creating space for real life genuine interaction on an equal field for
   everyone involved.
   
   I highly recommend this gathering to anyone who would like to experience new
   thinking in how to follow Jesus and to witness deeply thought out faith.
   
   The conference was coordinated by emergentvillage.com
   
   Thanks,
   Eric R.
   
   The Emergent Gathering:
   October 2-5, 2007
   Glorieta, New Mexico
   Cost:
   Registration $75
   Housing $2-$80/night depending
   Attendance: 120 people (room for 200)
   Travel: for me was $226 by bus + $40 food
   
   This event is best described as a ‘gathering’ because there are no paid speakers and virtually no plenary sessions where you sit and listen to a central figure. The main activities of the gathering are ‘conversations.’
   
   Events:
   Each day there was an informational meeting where the day’s conversations were explained and directions were given as to which hour the conversation would take place and where it would happen. There were 3 conversation hours in a day; each 90 minutes long. Anyone could create a conversation. The groups varied from 5-30 people, depending on the conversation. At the conversation it almost always was a ‘guided discussion,’ meaning that someone introduced the topic and then asked a question. Then it just went from there, everyone would interact in a conversation. The topics varied from “Exploring the Essential Message of the Gospel” to “Felt making for Beginners” to “Utopianism, Isolation and Communities of Justice.” The beautiful thing about this gathering is that everyone was a contributor and everyone took ownership for what happened. This prevented the passive attendance and fostered a time of genuine interaction.
   
   Meals:
   Meals were also announced at the morning meeting. Meals were the individual’s responsibility but most of the meals took place communally. The whole time I was there I only ate one meal by myself. What this meant was that someone would announce, for example, that they were making spaghetti at 6pm for dinner at cabin 358. So if you wanted to join this event you came, cooked, cleaned, chipped in a few dollars for the people who bought food and you all ate together. It was a fantastic way to eat in genuine community, support a sustainable lifestyle and interact with many different people. Every meal was this way. One group from San Francisco offered breakfast every day at a different location. They cooked eggs, hash browns, etc and different people were there each day.
   
   Housing:
   This conference center is owned by the South Baptist convention, so there was everything from $2/night tent camping to $100+/night luxury hotel. Many people stayed in some sort of communal arrangement like a cabin with multiple bedrooms or a dormitory.
   
   Hospitality Center:
   This really got my attention. Every night a place was designated as the hospitality center. Which indicated where the after dinner conversations took place! Invariable there was crackers & humus, cheese & wine, beer & Chips, stogies & wine, bread & wine, and some more wine. What I liked about this was that about 20 bottles of wine would be consumed each night and it was a given that this was OK, there was no pretense for consuming alcohol. It was a very genuine time together with very deep conversations ranging from the influence of Heidegger on Derrida (philosophy) to how Nate met his wife, to what is going on in Holly’s faith community, to how to properly pack a tobacco pipe. It generally filled out with 60+ people at about 9pm and lasted past 1am.
   
   What Was Significant for me:
   • There was no competition on any level. For example everyone was dressed in normal clothes, as opposed to the newest and latest fashion show going on at every meeting.
   • There are no experts, no super stars; just beautifully flawed followers of Jesus. I talked with everyone- those who had written books and those that had not. When everyone shared and contributed to the gathering this changed it from a passively involved conference to real life interaction. It brought home the reality that I can live as a follower of Jesus at every moment of my life. This also allowed those who would not be the main speaker to share and contribute significantly.
   • The connection to people living in new monasticism. Think of a relevant, 20th century monastery that dives into the culture of the street to communicate the good news that Jesus proclaimed. I met amazing people who are living out there faith in creative ways that match the context in which they live. One of these communities takes vows each year to live out the teachings of Jesus. This was a blast of sunshine to the dark cellar where my faith as resided for so long.
   • Hippies. Oh, yeah! Vegan hippies! They taught how to make felt from raw wool!
   
2. A Glimpse At The Conversation
   

   These are just a few glimpses of the overall conversation. I am looking forward to when everyone gets the book and adds their voice to the conversation.

   "After reading this it has become even more obvious and clear that many
   people today are struggling as they leave a foundationlist world. I
   find myself going back and forth and am currently struggling through
   the theological question of embrace and homosexuality. What I have
   found is my own presuppositions and foundationalism has cornered my
   thinking and not allowed me to step out of my own limited imagination.
   Though I do not suppose this book will solve my problem as I grapple
   with embracing homosexuals and a part of the Christian community and
   the many webs of theological questions it brings up, I do think it
   will help me develop a model on which I can work off of. I will
   leave this pondering at that at this time so i do not bore you with my
   struggles as a pastor trying to be embracive and biblical." (Steven White)

   "Steven,
   I see your question and it is a difficult one. I think there is a danger in declaring one’s self to be free from foundationalism and in the process just create another foundation and thus not enter foundationalism. However the word foundation and the idea of foundationalism are two different things. The foundationalism tends to create universals but a foundation is a starting point or a base. In this manner I think it is possible to move beyond the universals (foundationalism) while having a foundation but the difference comes in how you treat that starting point. I think there can be no perfect starting point, as we all come from different places (ideologies, education, culture...) which greatly shape all ‘starting points.’ What do you think?
   
   Great question. "
   Eric R.

   "Here is a question. Can the ‘fragmentation’ of the theological spectrum actually be overcome/ resolved/ left-behind? I think it definitely is not resolved by sticking to the current argument. I picture it like this: imagine the a town council arguing over some issue and no one is willing to compromise. Now to resolve the issue what someone does is shout ‘Fire,’ then everyone has a common goal- get the heck out, the issues are dropped and the council members never return to the debate. Do I honestly think this can happen? No.
   
   Here is a question: is fragmentation a bad thing? The theological differences that exist, should they be resolved or just left to themselves? " Eric R.

   "Though I don´t have the book yet, I would like to respond to Eric´s excellent post which gets at what seems to me to be important "first questions." How do we do theology? From my LT influence I like their "hermeneutical circle." It doesn´t matter where one starts in this circle to develop "theologies" that are always changing. Human theologies are not authoritative as we say Scripture is at least in some way.

   Biblical Study

   Personal experience Theological reflection

   Pastoral Action

   So then, How do we use Scripture? Scripture is a divinely inspired collection of books that are designed to instruct, inspire, encourage and challenge us as we seek to follow the will of God in this world. It is one of a number of tools at our disposal to help us discern how we ought to act toward ourselves, our neighbor, our environment and our God. "

   Swanyriver

   "I think Eric poses a great question regarding hermeneutics and the how of doing it. Grentz & Franke( G&F) talk about the task of engaging Theology and the communitarian approach to doing so. I think we might be butting up against the distinction between Theology and Biblical Studies as unique disciplines and rules of engagement. Does the following disciplinary comparison stand ? --- Method is to Theology as Hermeneutics is to Biblical Studies" JP Anderson

   
   

   
3. "Our Emergent Global Village"
   We are a "glocal" cohort with participation from S. Korea, Switzerland, Mexico and the US. We are just getting to know each other and are about to begin our first book study of "Beyond Foundationalism." It has the potential for an eye-opening, heart-awakening and spirit-reviving experience. Check back often for regular updates about what we are learning.