emergent lehigh valley

emergent lehigh valley

1. Brian McLaren conference at Moravian - my thoughts
   I attended the conference on the Emerging Church at Moravian Seminary on April 21st. Brian McLaren was the featured speaker. Overall, I thought it was a very good introduction for anyone new to the emerging conversation. Much of the material he discussed is in his books, but I always enjoy hearing Brian speak. His humble and gracious manner (especially when asked how he handles criticism) is very welcoming, especially in light of the growing “circling of the wagons” against this conversation by some in the evangelical church. His comment of “I love to go out to the internet to see what I believe” was humorous, yet unfortunately true.
   
   One of the things that I found encouraging was the audience that attended the conference. In general, it was an older crowd than I expected. I am very happy to see that though. One of the criticisms of the emerging church “movement” (a term which I, like Brian, really do not like) is that it is a bunch of young, angry whiners. Thus, it was encouraging for me to see that the conference was attended by younger and older generation folks.
   
   A helpful thing that Brian did at the very outset was to refer to the movement as more of a conversation among emerging churches (plural), instead of a one size fits all faddish church model. He borrowed from Bolger and Gibbs book Emerging Churches, and proposed 9 characteristics of an emerging church. Again, these are characteristics and not methods. From my cursory reading of the book, Bolger/Gibbs would also offer that not all of these are present in every church:
   
   1. Recentering the Gospel on Christ and the Kingdom of God
   2. Engaging culture without a sacred-secular dualism
   3. Doing life together in 24/7 community
   4. Listening with openness, including the outsider
   5. Serving those in need without ulterior motive
   6. Involving participants in worship
   7. Valuing creativity in the image of the Creator
   8. Leading through networks, not hierarchies
   9. Integrating ancient and avant-garde in spiritual formation
   
   He also talked about a few models for describing what he sees happening in the church in regards to this conversation, and the acceptance/criticism of where it is going. The most helpful one for me was the analogy of the tree. As the tree grows upward, it also grows outward, adding rings. The rings are what interact at the fringes. He proposes that the fringe (culture, the world) is where we need to be engaging, as opposed to turning inward to fight each other. However, the essential DNA of what makes a tree is there in the trunk…the same way that the essential DNA of what makes us a historical community of faith is preserved, while still engaging the fringes.
   
   He mentioned a very startling fact (based on research from Gabe Lyons). Gabe surveyed people based on their reaction to three words: Christian, Born Again, and Evangelical. The list of the top12 reactions broke down this way: 9 negative (with “anti-homosexual” being the top), 2 neutral, 1 positive. Those are sobering facts folks.
   
   I’ll close with what I thought were 2 very good questions from the crowd, and Brian’s responses to them:
   
   1. What can we do, as existing churches, to make this transition? Brian contends that existing churches must “imitate” practices of emerging churches, while new churches have the chance to “innovate”. Anyone else who was at the conference can fill in details for why he said that, but mostly around what it takes to change the culture of an existing body of believers.
   
   2. Where are the voices of minorities in the emerging conversation? Brian will be continuing his travels this year all over the world to engage more of the voices that for too long were considered in the “margins” by the established church in America.
   
   There was more good stuff, but I’ll allow others to fill in things I missed.
2. Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?
   I posted this on my blog (Rob), but thought it would be worthwile to share with others.
   
   At the recommendation of a fellow Oozer, I picked up the new book Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism? Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church, by James KA Smith. It is the first in a series of books to be released in “The Church in Postmodern Culture” series. Apparently, some of the more scholarly types in the emerging conversation have taken to heart the constructive critics, and are working on shaping a theology of practice for the church in the emerging postmodern culture. I am excited about this effort, and look forward to more great forays by some brilliant thinkers.In this first book, James KA Smith engages the work of three postmodern thinkers: Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault. He sets out to “de-myth” their work, by getting beyond the “bumper sticker” phraseology that these thinkers are usually engaged at and criticized for. Specifically, he looks at three such bumper sticker phrases associated with these thinkers:
   
   • Derrida – “There is nothing outside of the text”, i.e. everything is interpretation
   • Lyotard – Postmodernity is “incredulity towards metanarratives”
   • Foucault – “Power is knowledge”
   He engages these thinkers in their own writings, not at a surface level like some of the critics and even supporters do. He shows that while there is some valid critique of their writings for the Christian faith, the majority of what they say may very well be a clarion call to the church of Jesus Christ to move beyond modernity and approach an “ancient-future” faith. At the end of each chapter, he lays out what it would like look to adopt these theories in actual practice in our churches. I won’t say anymore at this point, but would welcome you to read the book. I think it’s a must read for postmodern friends, critics, and skeptics alike.
3. April Update
   Tomorrow, April 21, is Brian McLaren's lecture at Moravian Seminary. Anyone attending is invited to reply to this post with short or long reflections on this event. Keep checking this space for an announcement about our first gathering (early May?) where we'll talk about the lecture and other things. Some fodder: Is the Lehigh Valley a hard place to minister in? What are people searching for? What's relevant in our suburbanly sprawling, post-industrial commons? What impact might we have for the causes of justice, equality and development in the Valley's urban centers? What Good News have we for the newly arriving? Your thoughts and reflections are welcome.
   
   drop us a line at emergentlv AT gmail DOT com.
   
   rawk,
   
   emergent lehigh valley
4. March Update
   linked at emergent-us, shout outs to Scranton, McLaren conference, suggestions for a meeting place
   
   Good news, everyone. Just heard from emergent-us and we've been added to their list of emergent cohorts. I also heard from the newly forming Scranton cohort and am looking forward to working together with them and others. Remember to sign up for the Moravian conference (there's a link to the top right) and watch this spot for information about our cohort's first gathering. We're open to location suggestions, too. Borders? Granny McCarthy's? We'd like to avoid pubs out of respect and support for anyone recovering. Drop us a line. We're working on getting an email set up but until then feel free to reach us via the comments feature.
   
   Peace out,
   emergent lehigh valley
5. First Things
   Welcome to emergent Lehigh Valley, hopefully soon to be a member cohort of Emergent-US. In the coming weeks, emergent Lehigh Valley will begin hosting regular discussion gatherings for anyone interested in emerging church issues.
   
   emergent Lehigh Valley aims to be a community of people following Jesus into God's kingdom and encouraging others to do likewise. Believing that Jesus reveals the fullness of God as His Son and Word, discussion and dialouge will mark our experience.
   
   Ideally, we will be up and running by the time Brian McLaren comes to Moravian Seminary in April and are looking to tie our first gathering to that event.
   
   Please check this site regularly as we expect things to get moving soon.