What does mission look after colonialism?  Are we truly postcolonial?  What forms is colonialism taking today?

If you can join the conversation its still not too late.  Its in Atlanta, Nov 1-3.  Register here.

Hope to see you there.

Peace, dwight

Like prior EV theological conversations, academic luminaries will enter into conversation with pastors – no notes, no papers delivered, no formality – simply a conversation about things that matter.
Past scholars include: Nancey Murphy, Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Walter Brueggemann, Miroslav Volf, John Caputo, Richard Kearney, and most recently Jürgen Moltmann.

This year in Atlanta, November 1-3, 2010, Musa Dube, Richard Twiss and Colin Greene will enter into conversation with practitioners exploring:

Postcolonialism & the Missional Future of the Church

What is “Missional” in a postcolonial world?  Can hardly wait!

Follow the event details on Facebook.

Peace, Dwight

This book was born in the context of an eleven-year life altering experiment in ecclesial life, fleshed out in learning communities with thoughtful women and men who never ceased to ask insightful and revealing questions, and now it is being published by my new friends at Baker Books.

I hope you’ll take a look at it.  I’m very excited to offer my voice and contribute, even a small piece, to the ongoing conversation. . . let me know what you think.

Peace, dwight

It gives me great hope for the unintuitive purposes of God through the church in the world.

While with Christian Churches Together I was able to facilitate a two hour conversation.  The title of the workshop they asked me to facilitate was “The Emerging Church Movement.”

One of the primary misconception I tried to address head on was the mistaken notion of the “Emerging Church.”  As I see it there is no such thing as “the emerging church.”  Of course there are local faith communities, pastors/priests, and community members who are influenced and shaped by the emerging conversation, but the emerging conversation is not a church.  The conversation does not have a theology, it does not have an ecclesial structure, no emerging constitution/by-laws, it has no formal authority/accountability structure, does not maintain offices or ordination, no formal member communities, thus it to call it a church assumes a kind of structure that I think is misleading.  I think it is more helpful to remember that every community or person influenced by the emerging conversation is also linked to a larger historic stream within Christianity. So a person or a local community is Presbyterian, Methodist, Mennonite, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, Coptic, Orthodox, Quaker, Free Church, Assembly of God, Congregational, Baptist, or whatever tradition and shaped by by the emerging conversation.

In fact I have found it fascinating that often as people participate in the emerging conversation they find that their unique narrative shaped by their respective tradition becomes even more important to them.  Often inviting deeper study of their tradition’s history, theology, distinctives, contributions and even their liabilities or short comings.  This is part of the reason why the emerging conversation continues to be thought of a as a missional network.

Peace,

dwight

CCT has invited me to facilitate a couple of workshops on Emergent.

From their “What We Do” tab on their site they state:

“The purpose of Christian Churches Together is to enable churches and national Christian organizations to grow closer together in Christ in order to strengthen our Christian witness in the world. The by-laws list seven specific tasks:

1. to celebrate a common confession of faith in the Triune God,
2. to discern the guidance of the Holy Spirit through prayer and theological dialogue,
3. to provide fellowship and mutual support,
4. to seek better understanding of each other by affirming our commonalities and understanding our differences,
5. to foster evangelism faithful to the proclamation of the gospel,
6. to speak to society with a common voice whenever possible, and
7. to promote the common good of society and engage in other activities consistent with its purposes.

To fulfill its purpose of growing closer to Christ and to each other, Christian Churches Together focuses, in its annual meeting, on praying together, discerning the guidance of the Holy Spirit through prayer and theological dialogues, and providing fellowship and mutual support. Out of this process, participants discern how and when to take action together in common witness to our society. In 2006, CCT began to address the scandal of domestic poverty; specific proposals for CCT actions will be brought to the next annual meeting for consideration and decision.

CCT encounters Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.”

Peace, dwight

Philip Clayton and Tripp Fuller are putting together what is looking to be a fascinating conversation.

Peace, dwight

Here’s a link to the talks.

I will be representing emergent village at the National Workshop on Christian Unity in Chicago later this Spring. I’ll have the privilege to present a workshop on emergent village and ecumenism.

BTW, Emergent may have some opportunities to include some other people at the ecumenical table as official delegates to a number of ecumenical gatherings, provided you have the funding to cover your expenses. If you’re interested please contact me, or Tony Jones.

Peace, dwight

Allelon (Mark Priddy & Alan Roxborogh) is holding a gathering for creation of a Missional Order Andrew Jones and others will be there.

Missional Order Gathering
Pacific Northwest
Oct 15-18 2007

Another event coming up in Spokane is An Emergent Mainline Dialogue which will feature Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, Karen Ward and John Franke.

An Emergent Mainline Dialogue
Whitworth University, Spokane, Washington
November 9 & 10

peace, dwight

Just returned from the 50th anniversary celebration of the Faith & Order Commission of the National Council of Churches in the USA, which took place at the site of the first gathering at Oberlin College.

It was great to rub shoulders with people like: Martin Marty, Mark Calhoun, Jeffrey Gros, Susan Davies, Barbara Brown Zikmund, Don Dayton, Peter Heltzel, Avery Dulles, Mel Robeck, Jione Havea, Aristotle Papanikolaou, Amos Yong, Tom Finger, Kevin Mannoia, Mary Tanner, Carlos Malave, Mark Arey, James Forbes, Alberto Silva, David Cole, Paul Anderson, Thomas Ferguson and so many more.

Some papers of special note to those in the emergent conversation (sadly these are scheduled for publication and so they’re not available online yet):

• Keelan Downton’s “Ecclesiological Malleability as Ecumenical Horizon”
• Jione Havea’s “The Bible on Postmodern Surfaces”
• Aristotle Papanikolaou’s “Orthodoxy, Post-modernity, and Ecumenism: The Difference that Divine-Human Communion Makes”
• Cecil M. Robeck, Jr.’s “The Apostolic Faith and the Holy Spirit”
• Kevin Mannoia’s, “Issues Facing Ecumenism” and
• Jeff Kursonis & Russell Myers co-facilitated workshop titled, “Local Faith & Order, Emergent Cohorts: Possibilities for New Dialogues and Partnerships”

I was at the event representing Emergent Village (as impossible as that may be) and trying to serve as a voice for the boarder emerging movement or “Avant Churches” as most of the groups represented there are historic faith traditions or denominations. I was given an opportunity to speak to my observations of the event at one of the final plenary sessions.

I continue to be impressed with both the hospitality and the genuine interest the people I’ve been meeting from within the NCC and the more historic traditions express toward us in the emerging conversation.

I have an ever deepening appreciation for the history of this ecumenical group and the courage that has been required for many of its participants to engage in these intrafaith dialogues, and found it striking to imagine the courage that may be required for this organize to serve the American Church in an increasing Post-Christendom, postmodern, post-denominational context.

Special thanks to Ann Riggs, Susan Davies, and Keelan Downton for pursuing, and making space for younger emerging theologians at the table.

BTW, Mark Calhoun has a good day-by-day narrative of the event.

Peace, dwight