Community Night this Sunday

We will be meeting for a community night this Sunday at 3:00 at Nancy's house. This is a great time to come together, share a meal, and share the things that are going on in our lives. The meal will be provided, but please let us know who is coming so there will be enough food. Nancy's address is: 750 Lazelle St, Columbus Oh 43206

UPDATE: We have changed the meeting location to Jesse and Kellye's house.

2406 Altenburg Ct.
Grove City, OH 43123

Discussion this Sunday

This Sunday (Jan. 3rd) we will meet at 3pm at the Global Gallery in Clintonville to have another discussion about the book, "Free for All." It has been well over a month since our last discussion about the book, so I suggest we pick up where we left off, in chapters 2 and 3.

In the second chapter, the authors give a brief recap of how the Bible has been used and interpreted by Christians in the 20th century. There are several key points of useful information, as well as clear statements demonstrating how the authors think the Bible should be read and used by a faith community.

If every one reads or re-reads these two chapters (pgs. 43-80), I think we will have plenty to discuss and catch up for a discussion Sunday afternoon.

As always, anyone is welcome to join the discussion, whether you have read the book or not. Also, if it will be your first time joining, we are excited to meet you! If you have any questions, feel free to email schroeder.jesse@gmail.com for clarification.

Identity of God's People

So it's that time warp thingy between Christmas and New Years. Some people working others not so much, still others traveling and such. Kinda hard to maintain the usual routines ya know? For me, my sister who lives out of state always visits her home state (OH) during this time. Because they have so many people to visit we wont get together until the 1st. That's when we will do our "Christmas" with them, it tends to work out that way every year. So even though Christmas is over I'm still endeavoring to keep my Christmas mojo rolling through this week. Still listening to Christmas carols on the i-pod, trying to stretch out the cookies etc. I said all that to justify what I want to bring up...I found this TODAY while reading a Christmas post from last week.

It’s the very first verse of Scripture’s Second Testament. And it picks up — majestically, beautifully — right where the First Testament left off, providing the genealogy of “Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

The rest of Matthew’s gospel and the whole of the Second Testament rests on this opening line. A Messiah has arrived, and this Messiah is the Son of David and the Seed of Abraham. He is the new Solomon, a rightful King for a Kingdom that, as explained by the prophet Nathan, will have no end. Unlike Solomon before him, this new King will lead Israel forward in their true identity as God’s people — to spread God’s favor to the nations, extending their blessing and fulfilling their covenant relationship with God inaugurated in Abraham.

A blessing to the nations. A Kingdom that has no end. Such significance in that very first verse of Matthew’s gospel.

Merry Christmas.

http://paulglavic.wordpress.com/


So what say you? I'm specifically asking about the take on "their true identity as God's people"...do you think the description of that identity given here is applicable to us/you?

I'm not sure how I feel...

Perhaps someone will say something that will help me gain clarity.

I hope you are all still "making merry":)

Next Sunday

We had a Jesus Study planned for next week, but a lot of people will be gone or busy because of the Christmas season. If a few people are still interested in getting together for a Jesus Study please put a comment. Eve and I would still be happy to host it.

If you have a specific section of scripture you would like to read than you can post that too otherwise I was thinking we would re-read the Christmas story again or just starting a gospel to work through.

The other option would be to do another "intentional day/week of blogging" in hopes we could reconnect with some cohortians who have moved away or we haven't heard from in a while.

Or we could do both?

It's already a bit late in the week for planning sorry, but let me know.

UPDATE: Sunday Dec. 20th no cohort meeting
It's the holidays, and we could all use some extra time with our families! Our Next meeting is Jan 3rd at Global Gallery

The Christmas Story (The Best Part)

Last Sunday we had a wonderful time of worship and celebration at Adam and Kara’s home. It was based on Advent and we discussed not only the time of waiting, but explored the Christmas story asking the question, “What is your favorite part?”

From wondering how Mary must have felt as she was ridiculed and shamed to the emotions of Joseph, we discussed several different pieces of the story. Andrew even said that he would have loved to have been a shepherd that night.

As I sat there and listened, I realized this was one more story that I was no longer certain about. And I thought to myself... “What makes this story true instead of a myth?”

(To be honest, I will tell you I’m weary of asking the “Is this true?” question.)

Instead I want to ask:

“What am I doing to radically immerse myself in this story so that something extraordinary may come?”

In that long ago Christmas story, they were waiting for a real, live Messiah to come and literally rescue them from yet another oppressive rule—to save them from their circumstances. They wanted miracles and a happy ending.

And thinking about that, I realized how many times I too have waited to be rescued from my oppressive circumstances. I am happy ever after girl longing for fairy tale endings, wanting magic and miracles too.

I haven’t lost that happy ever after girl who believes in miracles. It’s just that I know the incredible value that comes from embracing heartaches and loss—it is the combination of all that shapes, defines and carves my character into who I am fully with God.

That same Breath of Heaven that Mary received long ago is the same Breath of Heaven conceived in my heart, my mind and my soul giving birth to pain, heartache, hope, desire for a better life, empathy and a reason to love deeply.

So what is the best part of the Christmas story for me?

All of it!

P.S. Regarding whether I think the story is true--if God can take a bee and a flower and add it up to a tomato, a virgin birth would have to be easy breezy for Him. :)

COEC CHRISTmas PARTY

12/13/2009 A.D.

4:00pm 4:00pm 4:00pm 4:00pm 4:00pm


179 Bridgeport Way, Delaware, OH 43015

Queen Mary is on a roll...she's got the elves hopping!

The Miller's will be providing:

MEAT - including crab cakes, chicken wings and Stromboli.
BEVERAGES - including, beer, soft drinks, some sort of special holiday concoction.


WHAT YOU MIGHT BRING (or the Queen's suggestion):

SALADS: Potato, Macaroni, Green Leaf, Relish tray
SIDES: HOT Vegetable dish ( broccoli or green bean etc), chips & salsa, cheese
and crackers
DESSERTS: ?????

A beverage of your own liking (to share of course)

PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT YOU WILL BRING SO WE DON'T HAVE DOUBLES OR TRIPLES OF THINGS. THANKS!

WHAT WE WILL DO:

EAT
GIFT EXCHANGE*
GAMES
PICTIONARY
FOOS BALL
WASSELLING
SHARE YULE-TIDE SPIRIT
DECK HALLS

* GIFT EXCHANGE to be of the white elephant variety. Feel free to define "white elephant" however you please, haha!

COME ONE COME ALL!!

Telling our Story?

The latest Emergent/C email newsletter linked to this post on the EV blog. Some selections:

"You have a story to tell. It’s probably a local story, the kind best told among friends over coffee on a winter day. Maybe it’s your community’s perspective, an unanticipated incandescence that brought your tribe some new Kingdom resolve. [Stories] can also be potentially profound to this, your family of friends and would-be-friends called Emergent Village. It’s no surprise that this village is also connected by—and centered around—the stories of the collective. What is surprising is how few stories filter up and lend their voices on the national and international scale. The Village is sustained by new stories, by new storytellers. Emergent|C hopes to bring your stories to the wider Village each month. Consider this your invitation to tell, retell, question, prod, report, critique, interpret or celebrate."

What is our unique story? It is worth asking, what is God doing amongst us? How are we transformed? How might our story help others in a unique way?

Could we discover our story together, and then tell it?

This Sunday- Celebration of the Faithful

This week we are having a Celebration of the Faithful, scheduled at the Newby home. Adam and I have some ideas- mostly around the idea of advent and the season- however, if any of you have any ideas and would like to do the celebration, please let us know. Also, as a reminder, with the Celebration we will have a a potluck-style meal. I have no idea about "theme" but post/comment if you are planning on being there and if you are planning on bringing anything and we can just coordinate that way. We have not had a COF in a while, so I'm really looking forward to this time together.

House Churches: More Numerous than You Might Think

The duly-respected and much-venerated, not to mention well-traveled and extremely-attractive Tall Skinny Kiwi has a couple of short posts trying to show that house churches are alive, well, and growing across the Christian West.

The first simply states that we should not ignore house churches, because there are tens of thousands across Europe and Australia. In addition, somewhere between 6 and 12 million people in America attend house churches.

The second offers six different types of house churches, per Wolfgang Simpson.

A couple of quick thoughts: 1) It's cool to see that Xianity in the "West" isn't totally dying, but is just growing in uncharted and unusual ways. IMO, house churches are really interesting and exciting. 2) Now that we have a bit of track record (more than 2 years for the COEC now!!), would we consider ourselves a "house church"?? Would we be in the first category, that of an "off the grid," the "God-yes-church-no" crowd? Not that definitions really matter, but, you know - for the sake of conversation ;)

Rob Bell: December 10: Columbus

Rob Bell will be in Columbus for his "Drops like Stars" tour on December 10th. It would be great to go to this event with a group of "cohorters" (cohortians?).

Info: Palace Theatre, 8pm. Tickets are about $25 after all charges and fees and are general admission, so purchase them on your own (but definitely purchase ahead of time is my advice).

I would recommend trying to get a rough head count for the even within the next week or so, each person purchase tickets individually, and then perhaps we can work out some carpooling or a meeting spot before the event, and then drinks and conversation afterward.

Perhaps a good event to invite some new and/or different folks for conversation as well??

Other thoughts/ideas??

Definitions....

Here is an interesting post that discusses evangelicalism's obsessions with defining who is "in" and "out." I thought there were some interesting points for those of us who have come "out of" evangelicalism, and also now struggle with defining what exactly "is" the "emerging/ent church."

It is astonishing that so many intelligent Christians seem to believe there is a deficit in emphasis on evangelism and scriptural literalism, and that, if the hatches are just battened down on a more solid “worldview,” evangelicalism can resume explaining the universe to new generations of believers. In this respect, evangelicalism’s true believers resemble the faction of the Republican Party that asserts with a straight face that returning to “core principles,” and not a radical restructuring of priorities, will bring waves of Americans back to the right wing.

But so many twenty-somethings are not calling themselves “post-evangelical” because they know too little theology or have put too small an effort into synthesizing it with reality. They have come from the most apologetics-obsessed generation of Christians in American history, and have realized that many of their prepared answers are for questions that no one is asking. Adrift in the cultural sea, many turned to traditions and theological systems of the past, only to find those similarly unequipped to address the questions of our time. The only choice has been to begin the messy and at times overwhelming process of drafting something new.

The growing collection of post-evangelicals is what the defensive, definitional evangelical fears the most, and could by itself explain the recent obsession with protecting the label. Surely many of the intelligent professors, students, writers and bloggers rushing to its defense have also felt the naggings of cognitive dissonance and the inkling that the world might make more sense if they abandoned some of their cultural presuppositions. But haggling over the details of theology provides a psuedo-intellectual haven from real-world questions, where evangelicals can exercise their minds without coming to any unsettling conclusions. And thus the cycle of definition and redefinition continues, providing endless diversion as it cuts deeper and deeper ruts into what was once known as the Christian dialogue.

Refusing to align squarely with evangelical shibboleths requires courage, but the sooner it happens on a larger scale the better. All signs point to a near future where religion will play an increasingly climactic role in global culture and politics. Men and women who, as Mark Noll puts it in the final pages of The Evangelical Scandal, “think like a Christian”—by which he means “take seriously the sovereignty of God over the world he created”—should be leading the way on the meta questions that are already besieging society. But as long as they are busy drafting manifestos in their barricaded salons, hubristic rationalism will continue charging unchecked into the 21st century.

America & Modernity

There is a good post on the story of modernity in America over at the American Creation blog. In light of our recent conversations about how we read the Bible, I think it is relevant. It supports the idea that the "modern" way of thinking is a recent development, especially when it comes to how we approach religion. And especially to how Americans in particular approach religion.

This Sunday: Operation Christmas Child

This Sunday (Nov. 15th) we will be gathering together to participate in the Operation Christmas Child (OCC) project. OCC is a component of the Samaritan's Purse ministry, which is founded and led by Franklin Graham. The effective mission of Samaritan's Purse is to go "to the aid of the world's poor, sick, and suffering...with food, medicine, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ." One way they do this is by giving needy children around the world shoe boxes filled with small, simple, but meaningful gifts.



In 2008, over 8 million shoe boxes were collected and were sent to over 115 countries around the world. This is really an incredible program, but it has to start with people who are willing to purchase the items and pack the shoe box. So, that's us!!

We will meet at 3pm at Adam and Kara's house (thanks for hosting!). First we will watch a short video about the program so that everyone has a good idea what we are participating in. Then we will drive to the store (probably Target) to purchase the items for the shoe boxes. We will return to the house to wrap, pack and prepare the boxes. Kellye and I will bring the necessary papers that are included in each box, and then we will take the finished shoe boxes to a drop off point in Grove City.

Some things you should try to bring to our OCC party:

• An empty shoe box to be packed and given away.
  
• Wrapping paper
  
• Any items you would like to include in your shoe box, such as individual size soap or shampoo; hard candy; new toys; school supplies; etc. See a list of suggested items here.
• Money - have your checkbook so you can include the $7 shipping donation. Also whatever money you plan to spend at the store.
• Snacks?? Not a necessity, but always welcome ;)
  

This is really a service event. It definitely requires a sacrifice on our part. You will probably spend around $30 on a shoe box, which might be a lot of money depending on your life circumstances right now. It will also take us a few hours. And it might seem weird to spend all that time and money so a kid can get some small toys; I mean - couldn't we do more with our money? Couldn't we really get to the root of issues like poverty and war?? Maybe. But this is also a simple and easy way to bless an unknown child in an unknown part of the world in a really special way. We have no idea what a small gift like this could do. OCC promises that no child receives a shoe box twice in their life, so for each recipient, this is their first time ever receiving a gift that is this special. It's really a great opportunity for everyday people like us.

Scripture In Community

This Sunday we will meet at Zach and Eve's home at 1270 Courtland in downtown Columbus. As a continuation of the study of the book, "Free for All" by Tim Conder we will be discussing Chapter 5, The Word in the Obscure (Genesis 34).

Despite (and maybe because of) the enormous challenge of this ancient story, I volunteered to lead this time. See you Sunday!

Nancy

What bias do you bring to scripture reading?

Is it ever possible to get to the "true meaning" of scripture? Or are we always reading into the text things that aren't there through our biases?
Should we try to pull personal meaning from the Bible or just try to only read it based on what it originally meant?
Is it possible to read some of the Bible as poetic non-literal literature while firmly believing other parts?
What sorts of biases do we bring when reading the scriptures of other faiths?
What is scripture's place in an emergent community?

We'll be discussing scripture at 3:00pm on Sunday Nov 1st at Global Gallery based loosely around the book Free for All by Tim Conder and Daniel Rhodes. Please come out and share your thoughts on how you interact with scripture.

If you are unable to come feel free to start some discussion in the comments of this post.