Last night, Zondervan hosted at Gateway Community Church here in Austin a seminar for folks from faith communities who might consider themselves emerging (whatever that means) and for folks who are hungry for more conversation around this emerging church phenomenon. In terms of details, it seemed like there were ~250-300 folks, with a mix of gender, race and church background that is a bit unusual for church seminars (certainly pushing the boundaries of the stereotype of the emerging conversation as one of only 31 white males with tats & Macs). The panel was moderated by Scot McKnight and included: Josh Carney, Doug Pagitt, John Burke and Danielle Shroyer.
Truth be told, I went to this 4 hours session with some fears that it would most likely turn out to be something like this. Housing a multi-voice interchange that evens comes close to resembling a conversation is a challenge for our culture, steeped in hectoring and soundbites, in a point/counterpoint mindset with Jane, you ignorant slut too often serving as a dog whistle for people on "our" side or theirs". One of the real tragedies of contemporary American churchianity is how this "partisian hackery" that Jon Stewart characterized has become the norm when people of faith discuss their differences.
Jen Lemen captures some of the malaise that so many of us feel from this pathetic excuse for conversation in her post Tired of Secrets. She mentions the way so many of can feel weighed down in a soul version of mutually assured destruction, and then in her trademark glorious writing style captures the joy that comes from emerging out of these secrets:
This little word “secret” weaves like a thread through every story of power I know. Every story of hope. We each in our own way have to let go of some facade, some secret story we tell ourselves, some strange commitment we acquired to refuse to speak our truth. Telling the truth is never as life-threatening as we thought it would be. Look, I am still breathing! My eyes still open upon waking with the morning sun! But speaking our truth is life-altering, and sometimes letting go of the secret gets you so much more than you bargained for.
More clarity.
More chaos.
More courage.
More conflict.
More peace.
More life.
Despite a temptation, I did not liveblog the event. I wanted to soak it up & in, to truly listen, to watch the faces of the folks as they reacted to the conversation between 5 people on the stage. These 5 folks were not singing from the same hymnal - heck, I'm not sure that you could characterize them as sitting in the same pew. They carried their differences in a way that reeked of humility & respect - differences in understanding what the Gospel is, how faith communities live in that tension between knowing & being, how people in this time understand the mystery that is behind the Christian code word atonement (which, like so many things in Christianity, was ppicked up in a pawn shop from Judiasm and which continues to shape shift like some skrull from the X-Men series). I did not liveblog the event - but I sincerely hope that the folks at Zondervan are smart enough to edit the video they shot and post it on-line, maybe in an online conference (hint, hint).
Danielle Shroyer captured so much of what I hope and pray exemplifies the next stage of this unfolding phenomenon that is the emerging church. In response to a question around what is the Gospel, she leaned on a term that Leslie Newbigin coined - `open secret' - to refer to our mission as followers of Christ. Dannielle then used the metaphor of a playground to animate what communities of faith & practice might stretch for as they are re-membering themselves to the broader tribe of Jesus-followers and the creation we inhabit.
Far too often, discussion of theology feel like a playground fight, like 7 year-old bullies plow over kids that are just playing. Doug Pagitt touched on this a bit later, when he captured a core of what behind the tension in the ongoing reformation project that we tend to call the Christian tradition. He noted that the question is not just what is on the table to reform, but also who gets to decide. We seem to be living in one of those moments where folks on the edges, the margins, outside the room where the table is ensconced - they are clamoring. Not just to be asked to the table - they want the table moved out in the open, out in the midst of the public square.
I left these 4 hours with so many reflection, so many ideas and people I'll want to sit and live with in my life. I left at 10:35 p.m. with heart and soul that was lifted, with a bit of what Jen captures when she writes:
...speaking our truth is life-altering, and sometimes letting go of the secret gets you so much more than you bargained for.
More clarity.
More chaos.
More courage.
More conflict.
More peace.
More life.
Many thanks to all the folks who bravely hosted this event (and the companion today on practice). It was an honor to be among that crowd, this crowd, this open secret.
Now John, when can we see the video ?
Wow. I was at my beautiful daughter's high school football game, where she is captain of the drill team. I never miss the games; it's beauty.
But I would LOVE to have been in two places at once. This kind of conversation, that these people were modeling for us all, all of us who are trying to figure out how to follow Jesus, and love the world, and make sense of a pretty chaotic and exciting and strange time to be church, is important. I am grateful to John R and Zondervan and the emergent conversation people and all of this energy. It gives me hope.
Posted by: journeyingrick | Saturday, October 20, 2007 at 09:05 AM