All I had today at Cstone was the second of a three-part series with Phyllis Tickle.  We had a great and engaged crowd, and it seems that people are intrigued by the emergence of Christianity. For those of you who are Facebook friendly, Billy Reeder has put up a picture of our session yesterday.

Yesterday, I used the story of the man who proclaims to Jesus, “I believe! Help me overcome my unbelief,” as the entree into a conversation about the practices and rhythms of emerging churches being in sync with those of us who are a mix between faithfulness and agnosticism.  Today, I read Mark’s account of the Transfiguration to point out the human tendency, embodied in Peter, to want to hang on to that transcendent moment by erecting three shelters.

Phyllis has talked about global emergence, technological emergence, and about the voice of God’s Wisdom as the speaker in various biblical narratives — that provided a nice conversation about the emergence of Pentecostalism in the 20th century and its resonance with emergent Christianity.

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I’m about to run out the door for Day Two of the Cornerstone Festival, so this will be a quick post. Yesterday was good fun, for sure. Unfortunately, there’s no public wireless on the grounds, so liveblogging is out.  And AT&T sucks, so I barely even get coverage. Thus, no tweeting, etc.

I did a morning session with Phyllis Tickle that was good fun, got a tour of the grounds from the Stegalls, ate lunch with Tim and The Intern (from Solomon’s Porch), worked on the Didache book edits, and then did another session.

Back at the hotel, I supped with Andrew Marin and Richard Twiss, and then hung poolside with them into the evening.

More thoughts when I get back to the hotel this afternoon.  In general, my feelings toward Cornerstone are entirely positive to this point.

I’m diving back into the blogosphere after a needed break (ever feel overwhelmed when you open your Google Reader after a few days away and see that Andrew Sullivan has written 343 posts?!?). I’m at the Cornerstone Festival, a legendary Christian music festival put on by the Jesus People USA church. Assuming I can find wireless once I get onto the festival grounds, I’ll write updates as often as possible.

So far, I’ve shared dinner with Mary and Phyllis Tickle, a beverage with Richard Twiss, breakfast with Daniel Harrell, and had a John Perkins sighting.  Plus, lots of dudes with tight jeans and tattoos — I assume they’re in bands.

If you’re at Cstone, send me a tweet.

Next week, I’m speaking at the legendary Cornerstone Festival. I’ve never been.

Have you?  What are your tips and hacks for my time at Cornerstone?

For the third year in a row, I’ve spent the past few days in Waco, TX at Baylor University.  As a yankee, I hear all sorts of stereotypes about things and places Southern.  But, with the exception of some rather rude treatment by a Baylor professor at the Wheaton Theology Conference a couple years ago, I have been hospitably received by all of the Baylorites I’ve met.

Mandatory college chapel services are, without question, the most difficult speaking gigs that I get.  It’s tough to look out over a sea of uninterested faces and see earbuds, texting thumbs, and literally dozens of sleeping freshmen.  Baylor’s no exception to that.  (I will say that my experience in chapel a couple weeks ago at Houghton College was an exception — their chapel is well-lit with sun streaming in through windows, and it’s populated by faculty and staff as well as students; there was an energy in that room that I rarely experience in mandatory college chapel services.  The only other place I recall that had that energy was Pepperdine (also well-lit with windows).)

But Baylor, and its affiliated seminary, Truett, is not the stereotypical “Texas Babtist” institution that you might think.  Instead, Truett is more like my alma mater, Fuller — it’s evangelical, but open and moderate.  I had a great lunch with the staff of the Spiritual Life office, and we were interrupted by a couple students who stopped to thank me for my chapel talk.

On Monday afternoon, I stopped in Amy Jacober’s class.  Amy’s an old friend, and I got the chance to explain the Princeton approach to practical theology. I felt at home at Truett.

Last evening, Doug and I presented at an open forum, and the undergrads (not our usual crowd) were engaged and talkative.

Baylor is good people.