Greg found this first, but I just got the official e-brochure and it looks really interesting. Renowned speakers, including D.A.Carson and Mark Driscoll, with joint sessions on "A Pastoral Perspective on the Emergent Church" (Driscoll) and "Evaluating a Complex Movement" (Carson), there are also really interesting breakout sessions, including "The Books of Brian McLaren."I intend to go (July 23-25) - student prices are $15, and there are discounts for groups as well. Check out the site here
This could be a great opportunity to be stretched and challenged in our thinking, especially in terms of having "open conversations" with other people. I think it will be a great event.
Posts
12 comments:
Hey Jesse, thanks for posting this. I'm going to be honest, we're not sure if we can take going to this. I agree it could be a good thing, but we are going to know some people there, and it might just be too weird and cause division where it is not needed.
What do you all think?
(oh, if you don't know, Jane and I currently attend a Xenos homechurch. We love the people there and they all passionatley follow God, we just have some general theological differences with them.)
If they want division, we'll show them there's a better way. It sounds simplistic; but to me, one advantage of emergent thinkers tends to be their refusal to draw sides and fight. I say go.
It's different for each person. I know for me, I don't have any history with Xenos (except like from maybe 12 years ago) and so attending the conference wouldn't have the same emotional attachments. I completely can relate to having friends at a church, and not wanting to cause division. I would completely understand and respect Nick and Jane's position as unique, but if others are interested in going, my attitude is that of Greg's as well. I'm not looking for a fight. I personally really enjoyed D.A. Carson's book ("Becoming Conversant with the Emergent Church") and would love to hear him speak. I know going into a Driscoll session I would have to put my personal feelings aside and just listen to his words, not over interpret them. But like Greg said, if we claim to be willing to speak with anyone, we have to be willing to hear from our strongest critics as well. I have found in my life that I learn the most from those I disagree with the most. That is the beauty of "orthoparadoxy."
I don't think frank dialog needs to lead to division. If they only way we can maintain unity is to not discuss our differences, that's a pretty shallow, even phony unity.
Also, I have always felt that a major shortcoming of Emergent conferences is that they call them conversations, but they're really monologs because nobody from differing views is ever allowed to speak. That's a monologue, not a conversation. We would like emergent believers to show up for this, so we can dialog. After each lecture, there will be opportunity to publicly question or even challenge the speaker during a quesition/answer/comment section.
I think people from emergent perspective should come.
Dennis, thanks for posting on our blog, we love hearing from people with other viewpoints who would like to have an honest conversation, and I'm thrilled that you found our little blog. I agree that we need an open discussion. To that end, I’ve noticed that there seems to be no pro-emergent speakers for the Summer Institute (I could be wrong about that, please correct me if I am). Would you consider inviting any? I do realize that the emergent church is not the focus of the Institute, but there do seem to be quite a few sessions regarding it, and as far as I can tell, none of the people leading these sessions consider themselves a part of the movement. Would you allow us to set up a booth or a table at the institute to discuss emerging ideas, or is there any other way for us to get involved beyond merely attending?
Yes, Nick, we are interested in having the emergent perspective represented, and have been having problems getting anyone. Would you or someone be interested in doing a workshop with me where we exchange views on a question like "when does relevance/contextualization become accommodation?" or something like that? At the first emergent conference I attended in CA back in 96 (before emergent was called that) they had me get up with Driscoll (back when his views were different than now) and another guy, whose name I forget, to debate this issue--really more of an exchange of views than a debate--and most people thought it was the most interesting workshop in the conference.
Dennis, Fantastic! We would be thrilled to participate, and your openness and willingness has warmed my heart. It might not be me in the panel (my training is in musicology, not theology, unless you would like to discuss 16th-century sacred music...) and we might want to discuss the topic a bit more, but you can mark us down.
Looking forward to it...
Well good! Let's get in touch. My email is mccallumd2000@gmail.com
Maybe email me with specific ideas for who would be willing to dialog and contact information.
Andrew Jones (tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com) had a lot to say recently about contextualization. If anyone is unfamiliar with his blog, it is really worth checking out, as he routinely offers well-balanced and witty posts on things emerging. He is also remarkably kind to his critics and in his critique of others.
Here is the first part of the series, but be sure to check out the other two parts as well. http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/
tallskinnykiwi/2008/04/context-does--1.html
Perhaps we could start thinking about Dennis's excellent question "here and now:" :) "When does relevance/contextualization become accommodation?"
http://www.covenantseminary.edu/
resource/Keller_Connect2004_Breakout1.mp3
I thought this session taught by Timothy Keller on "Contextualization" was very helpful. I see Keller's name pop up on blogs, and I think there are many evangelicals who agree with his teachings, and others (perhaps those from the pyro blog) who would feel he is going too far.
Dennis, what is your take on Keller's understanding of contextualization?
Keller was good. I couldn't find Jone' article. What about a simpler topic like "What is the Emergent Church?"
Hey Dennis -
I find it interesting that you thought Keller was good - I guess I got the impression from the blogosphere that many think he takes contextualization too far.
Regarding a topic for discussion, I think there are experts far more knowledgeable than any of us to address "What is the Emergent Church" and it seems like from the e-brochure that both Driscoll and Carson will be doing such. However, if you would like members of our cohort to share our experiences, how we met, formed, what we read and talk about and how we practice our faith and believe it fulfills God's call to "seek first the kingdom" I think that would be something we would all love to do. In fact, we'd be honored to be given that opportunity.
However, if you'd like a more formal topic for discussion, I'm sure we could narrow down an idea. Actually, the more I read about contextualization, the more I am interested - I'm really looking forward to the conference!
Post a Comment