A Node in the Web of the Emerging Church

Two Great Events This Fall

Posted Aug 21, 11:09 AM | 1 comments | by Editor | Link

By Tony Jones, re-posted from the Emergent/C email newsletter:

Emergent Village is proud to be co-hosting two great events this fall:

Reclaiming Paul: The Apostle in the Emerging World

In partnership with Nazarene Theological Seminary and Jacob’s Well Church, Emergent Village is thrilled to announce our 2008 Theological Conversation.

Convening in Kansas City, October 22-24, “Reclaiming Paul: The Apostle in the Emerging World” is bringing together emerging church leaders and Pauline scholars for a robust theological conversation on Paul and the Church. This event includes four presentations by Pauline scholars, responses by emerging church leaders and a variety of related workshops. There will be plenty of time for interaction between all participants.

Conversations in the emerging church tend to have an immediate affinity with the gospel narratives. There does not seem to be a similar affinity for Paul’s writings, prompting the critique that emerging churches have not come to terms with Paul. Many emerging church leaders have indeed had great difficulty with an extremely forensic and individually focused view of Paul, a view based mostly on particular interpretations of Romans and Galatians.

In academic circles, many Pauline scholars also react to this particular view of Paul based on careful historical, exegetical, and theological arguments. The resulting portrait of Paul among the scholars, while still a bit fuzzy around the edges, is easier to relate to the Jesus of the gospels than the extremely forensic, individually focused view of Paul to which many in emerging churches react.

The purpose of Reclaiming Paul is to provide resources for appropriating Paul to leaders of local churches and at the same time provide several leading Pauline scholars with an exposure to leaders of local communities where some of their proposals about Paul are already being instinctively embodied.

We invite you to join the conversation on October 22-24, 2008. The cost of this conference is $189. Registration is capped at 300, so reserve your place today.

Learn more about the conference

See the schedule

Read the blog

The Great Emergence with Phyllis Tickle

”’The Great Emergence’ refers to a monumental phenomenon in our world, and this book asks three questions about it. Or looked at the other way around, this book is about a monumental phenomenon considered from the perspective of three very basic questions: What is this thing? How did it come to be? Where is it going?”

So begins Phyllis Tickle’s extraordinary new book, The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why. In this much-anticipated book, Tickle brings her encyclopedic knowledge of American religion to bear on the current shifts in the Christian landscape. Paired with her Southern wit and charm, The Great Emergence promises to be the bellwether book in emerging Christianity.

The Great Emergence National Event, December 5-6 in Memphis, Tennessee, is a unique and freshly designed event built on innovative adult learning techniques including interaction, participation, and inspiring content on the current state of and future possibilities for Christianity. Co-hosted by Baker Books, this event is a rare opportunity to experience the wit and wisdom of Phyllis Tickle, a renowned expert on the church in America.

Around the four main sessions with Phyllis, participants will also enjoy the daily office—thrice daily times of prayer—based on her bestselling book, The Divine Hours, in the majestic and historic Cathedral of St. Mary in Memphis, Tennessee, which will be bedecked with Advent greenery.

And there’s more! Workshops will be offered with some of the best practitioners of emerging Christianity, including Tim Keel, Peter Rollins, and Lisa and Will Samson. And don’t forget all that Memphis has to offer: Graceland, blues on Beale Street, Sun Studios, the National Civil Rights Museum, and world renowned bar-b-que!