Emerging in Memphis with Phyllis Tickle

For the next few days I will be hanging out with some folk who like to fancy ourselves thought leaders within the realm of the Christian faith. Oh who are we kidding . . . most of us are just huge fans of Phyllis Tickle and smart-assery. There will be skinny jeans, tattoos, ironic eye-wear, curious facial hair, beverage snobbery, other kinds of snobbery and hopefully plenty of genuine self-depreciation and humor. And all wrapped in a warm blanket of Jesus.

So fun.

Framed around Phyllis’ follow-up to Great Emergence, The: How Christianity Is Changing and Why, our conversations will center around her book, Emergence Christianity: What It Is, Where It Is Going, and Why It Matters. With hundreds of folks converging on St. Mary’s Cathedral in Memphis TN, we will gather to listen, talk and cavort all in the hopes that together we will find our way into what is next for the parts of the church we call home. The time will be spent listening to Phyllis, hearing from some panels, diving into Pecha Kucha presentations and just hanging out . . . and being community.

Yep, that vague. As usual.

I know — f or some people, the whole “emergent” church thing is sooooo over and as a brand, sure. Not one to get too caught up in needed precise definitions *shocking*  the core values of this population — the ones that have drawn me into relationship with these folks are still there: a genuine passion for the Christian faith, a curiosity about what may be happening and a willingness to try some things . . . and best of all — huge, empathetic and frustrating intentions about life and the world. From the conservative Baptist to the way-too-liberal Presbyterian and everyone in-between, I have been inspired by the many conversations – glancing and deep – that I have had over the years and so I look forward to yet one more gathering that will feed my soul and spark my synapses.

If you want to keep up here are a few networks that you may want to track.

• The main website with all of the info: here.
• The instagram/twitter hashtag will be #EC13
• The twitter stream via twubs: here.

Plus, I’ll be live tweeting big concepts via @breyeschow and doing a little play-by-play tweeting via @brc_live and pinning resources here as they are mentioned. There is also a Facebook Group and a Google+ Community where people can connect who are attending.

Originally posted on  www.reyes-chow.com.