Update from Your Input on Emerging Gathering 2007

Companions,

The response to the email I sent last week on a 2007 gathering has been varied and remarkable. I want to bring y'all up to speed on where we are at this point.

1) There's strong interest in two kinds of purposes for the gathering-- networking/peer learning in general, and some more focused presentations on the larger questions around what we want "mainline" or "denominational leadership" types to know about what missional, emerging ministry is.

2) Some of those presentation topics might include:

a) Theology and contextual missiology as the drivers of this work-- asking the right questions, not buying the right gimmicks

b) Questions about reaching a local youth culture and for creative contextual missional redeployment of existing ministry resources across multiple congregations

c) How "emerging missional" is not "that weird" in the Wesleyan context

d) Questions, praxis, and challenge of organic groups as missional strategy

e) Questions and non-anxious vision from John Wesley

f) Questions around practices, holiness, and emerging missiology and worship

g) Questions/practices around reclaiming the worship vision of Charles Wesley

h) What would it be like to be an "embracing church"
i) The stories and voices of women and "non-white males" in emerging missional life in the UMC

These are starting places for some further conversation- not a final list of "workshops." So if you have other ideas you've got some passion for presenting or raising, please let me know. I'm thinking we'll try to do a "pre-gathering gathering" with some folks want to offer these ideas to help refine, expand, and clarify how and what they might offer-- that might be next winter or spring. We'll see.

3) For the event itself, our timelines and event processes here mean we're likely looking at October 2007 at this point at the earliest.

4) As far as whom else we might invite... I think the "big names" are likely to be really difficult, both in terms of schedule and in terms of funding. But I'm pursuing those avenues, and will keep you posted.

Peace in Christ,

The Rev. Taylor Burton-Edwards
Director of Worship Resources
General Board of Discipleship
P.O. Box 340003
Nashville, TN 37203-0003
877-899-2780 X 7072
tburtonedwards@gbod.org
http://www.gbod.org/worship

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emergingumc

As I was reading some of the replies to Taylor's email about the prospective emergentumc gathering, I noticed that mention was made of the Congress on Evangelism and the workshops related to emerging/postmodern stuff. For those of you copied-in on my reply to Taylor's email, I'm sorry to be repetitious here; but, I'm one of those presenters, and I'd love to hear (read) your thoughts on what you'd like to see us cover. Here's the brochure description of the workshop I'll be presenting:


The world is changing. Changes in technology (communication, information, transportation) and changes in culture (media, merchandising) both reflect and shape changes in the ways people think … and understand … and believe. We live at the confluence of two streams of thought: modern thought (predicated on notions of objective truth and characterized by the scientific method) and postmodern thought (in which modernism’s method – skepticism – is applied to modernism’s premise). What does that mean for folks who take evangelism seriously? The thought-worlds of the “modern” and “postmodern” eras are colliding, and it is in the midst of this intellectual and cultural havoc that we make our proclamation. Drawing upon the hard earned lessons of our missionary brothers and sisters in cross-cultural contexts, this workshop will explore the challenge of sharing the gospel out of one thought-world and into another. This workshop is designed with three objectives in mind: a simple orientation to the issues and vocabulary of postmodern thought and the emerging church, an honest conversation about the fears, hopes, and misunderstandings that have arisen in recent years, and an exploration of evangelistic possibilities and priorities at the confluence of these two streams of thought.


If there are "things you'd hate for me to leave out" and have suggestions for any of the three sections -- orientation (issues, vocaulary), conversation (fears, hopes, misunderstandings), exploration (possibilities, priorities) -- please pass them along. I've been having this same conversation with a couple of close friends in north Georgia, and I find collaborative efforts, even when challenging, to be generative. Thanks.


emergingumc

emergingumc Gathering 2007

Colleagues,

I'm sending this via email (and to the blog) in part because I've not seen a lot of response to this request on the blog as of yet. I really covet your replies.

I mentioned on the blog that part of my workplan for 2007 is a gathering for us and others who are working at emerging ministry in the UMC-- a gathering in part to address the specific opportunities, and problems, that our church offers for those seeking to lead congregations in not currently "traditional" ways of mission, worship, theology, and spiritual formation. I say "not currently" traditional ion recognition that in addition to "new" things, much of what emerging has been about has been the recovery and reclamation of practices in worship, theology, spiritual formation and mission that have flourished in the church in the past from time to time and in many places across the globe, but are not now part of the "dominant paradigm" for whatever reasons-- though they may be finding new opportunities to flourish in the current set of missiological circumstances in which we find ourselves.

This morning, I had a conversation with a colleague here at Discipleship Resources (one of our publishing entities within GBOD) who is very interested in developing a book along the lines of "what we wish the mainline church understood about emerging ministry." The idea is to be a book written by and about practitioners in the field-- and especially United Methodist ones. So… in addition to a gathering, let me suggest there's likely a real opportunity here for you to get your voices into print, in a title that is likely to be widely read.

So let me now ask three questions…

1) When (2007 dates) and for how long (2-3 days, weekdays, weekend) would such a gathering work for you to be a fruitful gleaner and contributor?

2) Are there particular topics or persons you want to be sure to include in such a gathering?

3) What do YOU want the mainline church to know about "emerging" vision and praxis of ministry based on your vision and experience?

Peace in Christ,

The Rev. Taylor Burton-Edwards
Director of Worship Resources
General Board of Discipleship
P.O. Box 340003
Nashville, TN 37203-0003
877-899-2780 X 7072
tburtonedwards@gbod.org
http://www.gbod.org/worship

A correction/update

The East Coast Emerging Women's event has changed our venue from Virginia Beach UMC to The Sandcastle Oceanfront Resort. More information and registration are available at www.emergingwomen.blogspot.com.