The kick off was Phyllis Tickle who brought a sense of order yet excitement for the place in history that we find ourselves in. Then Brian McLaren and Richard Rohr and others shared. After each speaker, we chatted with others around the banquet tables–which is a great way to learn, grow, and become acquainted after a speaker. That was a highlight as well.

I have been on this journey for awhile and have probably kept the Emerging Church stuff at a distance. I completed a doctoral dissertation on people leaving churches under dominating church leadership and tracked how people recovered from this distressing life situation. You can read it online at: http://www.ChurchExiters.com.

So the Albq. conf. was again a huge EC adventure for me. It brought a huge sense of peace and a generosity of spirit among the almost 1000 who attended, ages 15-85, Protestant and Catholic. The sweet Spirit of Jesus was there and the Holy Spirit was orchestrating both personal and corporate connections.

So when I got back to Viola’s book, I was delighted with so many insights, as Bro. Maynard has indicated, but I also felt uneasy and am finding that I am not alone in this regard. And as Bro. M. has stated, yes, I am finding that one of the values of the EC is to bless diversity and make room for one another. The theme of: ‘Have a Listening Heart’ was repeated and practiced and carried away by each participant.

So critique is not wrong, but welcoming is crucial in our conversation about so much that is plus and minus in the Church and in the now ‘Emerging Christianity’ as Phyllis has termed it. I like this term as well since it is so much broader than I and many others had originally ‘imagined’. So there is room for Frank to grow and be stretched in some areas, and for us too.

If anyone is further interested in my observations about the Albuquerque conf. just email me at: info@churchexiters.com. Anyone else who went there? Bye for now.

1) 3 must read books on EC
2) 3 names I should be familiar with re EC
3) 3 sites/blogs
4) a real, live place I can go see this! I live in north FL but can travel
Thanks!
Peace

I don’t think this is being oversensitive, but if so, well, maybe I’m just more thin-skinned than I realize. If the boat’s going down, I guess I’m just going to have to learn to walk like Jesus when stranded in the middle of a lake without a boat. And yes, I do have a lot to learn on that score.

Gratia vobis et pax,

If he’s serious about joining the conversation, it will be most helpful for him (or anyone else joining) to understand the nature and tone of it so far. Frank comes across as wanting to pull the conversation in his direction, but that’s not the way it works. To join, one simply joins in best without an agenda, and gives their input, dialoguing as we go along. Attempting to win someone over from the outset indicates neither of these characteristics (agenda-free, dialogue), but rather fosters debate.

Maybe he just got off on the wrong foot, but when I read his other work it makes me wonder. My intent here is not to offer a thorough response to his critique, which is why my post is thin on quotes of his article… as noted by you and by me, Frank says some favorable things (I encourage people to read it, linked above), after which his criticisms fall into 3 categories. To respond to them as I categorized them:

Lack of track record: no response necessary, you can’t start something new and already have a track record for the new thing. On the other hand, most participants have a wide variety of experience in ministry. Some level of experimentation is plainly admitted up front, and many people are joining on that basis.

Discussion of Frank’s issues: not all of EC is house church, and it never will be. To participate in the conversation freely, you must make peace with diversity in practice. A lot of Frank’s issues are considered negotiables and therefore may never be discussed on the level he’s asking. We’re all at peace with that.

Centrality of Jesus: if you read EC writings and testimony, you find a lot of people rediscovering Jesus in EC after having lost sight of him wherever they came from. Frank’s support of the criticism is bad… there are entire books of the Bible that don’t mention God, and I’m sure he’s written a chapter or two on other subjects than “The Lord” because in an overall sense, it’s all about him anyhow.

Mike, as you know, there are a lot of house-church-ers in EC, but EC is bigger than just them. I think Frank’s critique may reflect his stance toward EC, but in general I wouldn’t expect it to spark much dialogue because it comes in a different tone and with different expectations than the already-ongoing conversation. otoh, it doesn’t come in the same tone as the criticism from D.A. Carson et al, so that kind of response wouldn’t be appropriate either.

Probably all of this says little more than that he’s as welcome to join the conversation as the next guy, but shouldn’t expect to steer it (maybe he doesn’t, but it came off a bit that way)… the first stab is not a good opener, but that doesn’t mean everyone’s going to write him off if he sticks around. ;^)

Gratia Vobis et Pax,

And Frank’d likely say, “guilty as charged,” ’cause he likes the Catholic mystics, et al…How do I know? Because Frank is in my (eclectic, non-conservative) house church network.

As far as the book “ Who Is Your Covering,” it helped me at a time when I was being bullied by a hierarchical church situation…the confidence of his words really helped assure me that I wasn’t abandoning Christ when I questioned the top-down system of church “leadership.”

I understand what y’all are saying when you feel that Frank is using “fighting,” all or nothing language…give the brother some grace. It takes time for us all to learn both/and. I think he’s serious about his desire for dialogue…if he comes across like a cowboy in some places, be sure to see other aspects in places like this:

“The emerging church phenomenon is exploring fresh ways to revamp and recontextualize the gospel message to postmodern people. Not only do I applaud this new emphasis, but I shamelessly admit that I have a great deal to glean in this area. Thus, I would like to learn more from those who have plowed further in this field.”

As a “house-churcher” who stumbled into this conversation three years ago, I think there’s a lot we can learn from each other.

Exclellent, Arlen!