Raleigh-Durham Emergent Church Cohort

Emergent Village Raleigh/Durham/Cary/Chapel Hill North Carolina Cohort

1. Emerging Church - Raleigh/Durham Cohort
   Next Meeting:
   
   Date: Thursday, May 29th at 6:30 pm
   
   Place: Bull McCabe's Irish Pub - Durham, NC
   
   
   

   Next Discussion: The Fidelity of Betrayal: Towards a Church Beyond Belief, by Peter Rollins

   What is a Cohort: http://www.emergentvillage.com/weblog/what-is-a-cohort-watch-this-video

2. Emergent Church Groups
   Emergent Church Cohort - The Triangle Emergent Church Cohort is hosted by Emmaus Way church at their weekly Pub Group at Bull McCabes Irish Pub in Durham (http://www.bullmccabesirishpub.com/). Each week an article is discussed. To get on the list-serve and receive weekly articles, contact Emmaus Way: http://www.emmaus-way.com/
   
3. The New Christians, by Tony Jones
   The prayer of Jesus was that we might all be 'one'. The Emergent Church is an effort to fulfill that prayer through a generous orthodoxy - both recognizing and valuing differences in interpretation and practice among Christians. Despite strongly held divergent beliefs among those who worship Jesus, emerging Christianity is an attempt to keep all these views in a conversation so that we can respectfuly learn from each other, better understand each other, and present to the world unity in the one thing that Jesus told us best describes his disciples - a love for one another.
   
   We've got to figure out a way to be robustly and distinctly who we are yet authentically open to and respectful of the other.
   
   Tony's new book sets forth the issues faced by the church today, clearly defining the various terms frequently used in our culturre and showing the development of what is called the emerging church. In his book you will gain a better grasp for who the original movers and shakers of emergent are and get a clearer look at the diversity of practice and belief among them.
   
   Additionally, Tony openly discusses many of the major theological issues being wrestled with today - and why we must re-examine our beliefs. Here are a few common beliefs among emergents:
   
   Emergents believe that theology is local, conversational, and temporary. To be faithful to the theological giants of the past, emergents endeavor to continue their theological dialogue.
   
   Emergents believe that awareness of our relative position to God, to one another, and to history breeds biblical humility, not relativistic apathy.
   
   Emergents believe that truth, like God, cannot be definitely articulated by finite human beings.
   
   Emergents believe that church should function more like an open-source network and less like a hierarchy or a bureaucracy.
   
   Emergents firmly hold that God's Spirit, not their own efforts, is responsible for good in the world. The human task is to cooperate with God in what God is already doing.
4. Everything Must Change, by Brian McLaren
   Consider these facts from Brian's latest book and you'll want to read the rest of the book!
   
   In 2003 the US military budget was $2 billion per day. p.163
   
   The 2006 budget showed that US military expenditures were 21 times larger than diplomacy and foreign aid combined and that the US was dead last among the most developed nations in foreign aid as a percentage of gross domestic product. 20.16
   
   If a mere 10% of the US military budget could be reinvested in foreign aid and development we could care for the basic needs of the entire world's poor. Or, if one half of 1% of the US military budget could be re-invested we could cut hunger in Africa in half by 2015. p.165
   
   Between 1998 and 2001, the US, Great Britain, and France earned more income from selling weapons to developing countries than they gave those developing countries in aid. 21.4
   
   In the year 2000 the world's developed nations contributed aid and foreign investments to the developing nations that amounted to 3% of their GDP. But in the same year developing nations paid the developed nations 6.3% of their GDP in debt repayment.
   
   In the US we have about 50% of the world's wealth, but only 6.3 % of its population. 20.9
   
   The richest 1% of the world's population owns almost 40% of total wealth, and the richest 5% owns 70% of the wealth. Take the assets of the world's three richest individuals and you have wealth that exceeds the combined gross domestic product of the world's 48 poorest countries. 27.3
   
   In 1969 the incomes of the wealthiest 20 percent of the world's population were 30 times higher than those of the poorest 20% of the earth's people. The difference factor today is 83. 27.4
   In 2003 the ratio of the average CEO salary to the salary of the average American worker (after taxes) reached 301:1. 27.11
   
   In 1998 the richest 1% of US households held 47 percent of all household financial assets.
   Meanwhile 6 million children under the age of 5 starve each year.
   
   $25 billion could improve health care so as to save 8 million people per year. In the year 2000 the top 400 US households earned a combined income of $69 billion (earnings, not assets). So, the 400 richest Americans, if they chose to do so, could save 8 million lives a year and still be able to live on $101 million of annual income each/year.
5. Pagan Christianity - by Viola & Barna
   There are many things about church-as-usual that have long bothered me as a pastor. As I have reflected upon my past church experience I realize that these idiosyncrasies not only regularly vexed me, they collaborated to burned me out - physically, emotionally and spiritually. In response (reaction?) I have often threatened to place the bumper sticker on my car that said, "Lord, save me from your people", thinking the problems I faced were simply due to the prevalence of twisted carnal minds. But I've discovered that our corporate dysfunction is predicated on the trangenerational, persistently flawed religious system we call church.
   
   In reading this book I came to the startling realization that the difficulties within Christendom are far more pervasive than I had ever imagined. Much - far too much - of what we take for granted as church - is not only devoid of biblical pedigree, but actually impedes spiritual maturation. Viola & Barna succinctly outline a large variety of issues, describe how they inter-relate, and provide convincing arguments - well sourced - to establish their thesis that church, as we know it, is not only not biblical, but actually contraindicated for anyone seeking to grow in faith. The church is a mess. It has been a mess for a long time. Most of us are unwittingly acting as gatekeepers of the mess. The mess we affectionately call church more often than not actually diverts us from the power of the gospel to reliance on men.
   
   Don't read this book - if you don't want to get angry. Don't read this book if you don't want to face truth and make some life-changing decisions. Don't read this book if you are happy with your spiritual life in the church. This is a book for those who want nothing to obstruct their walk with Jesus. Before reading this book, first decide if a life in the Spirit is what you really long for. If you answer is a resounding 'yes', then set aside some time to read, because you won't want to put this book down until you are finished. I'll pray for you.